Dining room design ideas - in pictures

For painted antiques like these, try Antique Interiors. For a similar wall colour, take a look at Old White by Farrow & Ball. And the same place for floor paint. These lights are vintage, but you'd get a similar look with John Lewis's Polo Globe Ceiling Light. Photograph: Holly Jolliffe/Guardian

The owner created this glorious wall finish by sanding back through layers of paint to the cement below. The dining table, in reclaimed wood with antique legs, is by Baileys, and is used with street-find chairs and a kilim-covered bench. Rockett St George sells similar lighting flex and fittings in various colours. The wall letters were salvaged from a fun fair in Chicago – Not on the High Street sells a good selection. Photograph: Holly Jolliffe

With its exposed brick, tiled floor and leather bench, this corner, defined by a stripe of plum-coloured paint the height of the window ledge, has the feel of a diner. The floor was salvaged from the staircase of a local apartment block that was being knocked down: find similar at Walls and Floors. That banquette was made by fixing vintage sofa seats onto a wooden box. The teak chairs are by Eric Buch – browse the dealers on Modern Shows for stockists. John Lewis sells a similar blue factory light to this one, which looks great hung in a series. Photograph: Rachael Smith

This room contrasts warm parquet, cool walls and pop art chairs. Little Greene's Blue Verditer paint is a good fit (£30.50 for 2.5 litres). For chairs, try the Vitra Dar armchair by Eames, £293, from Heal's; John Lewis's gel dining chair, £99; or the Eames DSR chair, £218, from The Conran Shop. Photograph: Beppe Raso

There's little excess adornment in this quiet dining corner – lighting consists of three suspended bulbs (try Not on the High Street for similar). Posters featuring quotes from Andy Warhol, from a major retrospective of the artist in 1968 at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, break up the bare walls. The black chair is similar to the Eames’ classic Eiffel chair (from The Conran Shop). For the stacking stools, ­try Alvar Aalto’s design from Aram or Ikea’s four-legged Frosta. Photograph: Pia Ulin

It's always a good idea to have the dining area lead out to the garden. This dining table is the Fronzoni ’64 for Cappellini, available at Skandium. The Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs are from Aram. Photograph: Rachel Whiting

The owner of this Parisien former factory has filled her home with contemporary pieces, including a selection of mismatched Eames dining chairs surrounding a large dining table. Photograph: Camera Press/MCM/Christophe Dugied

The owner found this 50s G-Plan table on Gumtree – it folds out to seat eight. The stacking chairs are by Ercol and were bought at a modernist fair at Brockwell Lido (try Ercol’s Chiltern range from John Lewis). The dining space is nominally separated from the living area by an alcove painted in Blue Verditer from The Little Greene Paint Company. The painting is by Juan Antonio Roda, a Columbian artist. Photograph: Rachael Smith

The dining table is bespoke, but Ikea’s Melltorp is a good-value match. For similar chairs, go to Directors Chairs. A lush-leaved cheese plant adds some colour. The round pendant light is hung low for a cosy feel (try Haysom Interiors). Photograph: Cristina Olsen

An entire wall, wending down the stairwell, has been papered with family pictures printed on ordinary A4 paper. “It was inspired by an exhibit," says the owner, "a huge photomontage wall by Frida Kahlo. New pictures go up all the time – it’s a constantly evolving photo album.” For coloured lino like the flooring here, try The Colour Flooring Company, which has a range of colours from around £26 per sq m. Photograph: Rachael Smith

This dining room's blue wall (Mid Blue from Crown Paints is a good match, crownpaint.co.uk) was inspired by Carrie Bradshaw's apartment in Sex And The City. Flea market mirrors and a vintage sideboard feature on one side. The only thing missing from the display is a soda siphon. Photograph: Megan Taylor for the Guardian

The original panelling and plasterwork in this dining room are so beautiful that the walls have been left fairly bare. The table was made from pine and plywood with a very thin layer of corian on top. The plastic chairs cost a tenner each from Cobbled Yard and the high chair is a classic design from the 1960s, found in a local antique shop. The Plopp stool by Oskar Zieta is a bashed-up prototype bought for a steal. Photograph: Cathy Strongman/Cathy Strongman

When the owners of this house moved in, the decor was very 1970s. Everything was woodchip, which took days to remove. The fireplace was painted white and given a new lease of life and a round table was added into the square room, giving it a nice balance. The table is from BO concept, and the chairs are Ikea. Photograph: Karlyn Evans/Karlyn Evans

In this Edwardian house, warm wood panelling harks back to the days when the dining room was a billiard room. The 60s mushroom table and chairs are by Maurice Burke for Arkana (try 20thcenturywarehouse.co.uk, or eBay). Try thefrenchhouse.co.uk for a similar light. Photograph: James French