Whether it's the site for a dinner party of 12 or homework for one, the dining room can be many things to many people.
photography by MICHEL ARNAUD
Creating a comfortable dining room in a small apartment can be challenging. Try these tricks of the trade and you'll find your tiny dining room has never looked bigger.
photography by MELANIE ACEVEDO
Lighter look
Instead of a massive hutch that towers over the room, consider keeping dishware on a slender side table. This one, with mirrored shelves, makes things airy and bright, and the table lamp is cozier than a scene-stealing chandelier.
photography by MAX KIM-BEE
Clear solution
The reality is that when you're in a small space, furniture needs to step into double-duty roles. A table can be used for dining and working from home. A "Louis Ghost" chair avoids cluttering an already compact space centered on a heavy table
photography by MIGUEL FLORES-VIANNA
Repurposing an awkward space
It's a dining room, it's a library, it's your own personal reading room. An unused area that feels like a glorified corridor can be converted to a cozy multi-use space by adding shelves for books and art and a table for entertaining.
photography by ANNIE SCHLECHTER
Expanding horizons
Tables that expand are compact in close quarters but extendable when you need to spread out your work or add bodies around the dinner table.
photography by FRANCOIS DISCHINGER
Movable feast
Chairs gathered around a light pedestal table make for a living-room seating area that can quickly be transformed into a fireside dining space.