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Dine With Personality Use color, imagination and a dash of the unexpected to bring your dining room roaring to life 
Is your dining room functional, festive and friendly? Or does it get used twice a year and gather dust the rest of the time? You can increase your use of the room by making it a more friendly space, and improve its appeal by adding creative touches that reflect your personal style. Spice up the Seating First things first: are the chairs and the seating arrangement working as hard as they can? If your dining room suite is old and tired and the budget won't stretch to buy new, consider painting each of your chairs in a different color, or paint the host and hostess chair in one color and the rest in another. A table with six mismatched chairs can look charming. Make sure they have the same seat height and that they have at least one design element in common (they can be made from the same wood, be from the same period or be similar in their overall shape, for example.) Or, unify them by painting them all in the same color. You can pick up single chairs for reasonable cost at season-end closeouts or garage sales. Make a matching set of six chairs more interesting by replacing the host and hostess chair with larger, upholstered pieces. Use the leftover chairs elsewhere in the house. To make after-dinner conversations more comfortable, make or purchase color-coordinated pillows and lean them on the back of each chair. A Stylish Sideboard Most homes have a traditional hutch or sideboard positioned in the dining room to display china and glassware. Buying one at the same time as you purchase your dining set is a safe way to go, but if you dare to be different there are other options. Try a six-drawer bedroom dresser, which offers storage and display. A sofa, settee or love seat positioned in the dining room will add color as well as new seating. Other options: -a hall table with an antique trunk underneath; -a Japanese tansu, or traditional wooden chest fitted with iron hardware; -a credenza; or -a long board resting across two sawhorses, draped in yards of a wonderful fabric. When displaying your treasures in a hutch or other display case remember to cluster like objects together, weed out clutter and lean plates up behind your stemware. Row after row of dusty goblets are boring. Store some of them out of sight and rotate clusters of them between groupings of other objects. Innovate with Table Linens Your selection of linens invites a sense of fun and surprise to dinner. Try an unusual tablecloth: Aunt Melba's old quilt, a Beacon or Mexican blanket, a colorful sheet or bedspread. Make place mats out of old blue jeans and use bandannas as napkins. Make long-lasting mats: have your child decorate six to eight sheets of construction paper, or create a unique collage yourself. Take the mats to a copy shop that offers lamination services and have them laminated. All you need to make a napkin is a piece of fabric, about 18 by 18. I've made one-of-a-kind napkins out of old shirts, dresses, tablecloths, curtains and fabric remnants. Creative Centerpieces A dining room table can look barren without a centerpiece. Why not try something more interesting than the standard bowl of flowers and candlesticks? How about: -a bowl filled with marbles, buttons, glass fishing net floats, beach stones, nuts, billiard balls or a heap of colorful scarves; -a pair of antique stuffed bears, sitting back to back, surrounded by smaller stuffed animals; -a row of graduated pinecones; -a fish bowl with several goldfish (be sure to provide the fish with a good home after your dinner party); -a water-filled bowl with a single blossom or three autumn leaves floating in it; -a dozen vases in varying heights, clustered together and brimming with fresh cut flowers from your garden; -a grouping of harvest-colored gourds and pumpkins; or -a collection of candlestick holders in varying heights. Dish It Out Most households have two sets of dishes: the 'good china,' used once or twice a year, and the every-day dishes. I have one set of dishes I love, a strategy I think saves hassle and expense. And none of my family or friends has complained about eating off my everyday dishware yet! Casual or moderately priced sets of dishes are typically sold in boxes of four place settings. Buy three boxes; use two sets and store the third. Replace the plates that get chipped with those from your spare box over time. For a colorful setting buy two or three solid-colored sets of dishes and mix them together. Pick up mismatching antique dinner plates at closeouts, rummage sales or flea markets. When placed on lace placemats, the effect can be charming. One Last Touch Drape silk ivy tendrils from your chandelier. Add a bird's nest and bird for fun. For the holidays, tie strands of ribbon or ornaments from it. Happy dining!
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Kit Davey, an interior designer based in Redwood City, Calif., helps clients redecorate their homes through the creative use of their existing furnishings. E-mail Kit your questions: 
