THE PERFECT MARBELLA DINING ROOM
When you are designing your dining room, it is a good idea to start by thinking about how you want it to reflect your personality and your culinary tastes before contemplating what the space itself offers in terms of the style of furniture, accessories and the arrangement of both. In Marbella, we are blessed with a climate that permits long periods of al fresco dining as well as meals indoors during the winter months, and you will probably want to consider how to accommodate both in your home.
The contemporary dining style is much more flexible than in previous decades and, according to Flora Di Menna, a Canadian interior designer, is “very much inspired by the bounty of different lifestyles coexisting in our society, from formal to casual.” She describes what we have moved away from very accurately: “Gone are the days of a four-walled, enclosed dining room with a table, chairs and pretty, framed picture over the buffet.” Indeed, we have dramatically departed from this convention, and in Marbella there are numerous opportunities to create more personalised dining areas that express an individual sense of style.
Personalisation is rapidly becoming the core concept in interior design and we as designers have already seen a rethinking of the dining room amongst clients, who no longer slavishly follow a furnishing style for the space where they enjoy eating and socialising around the table. Instead, they want to think about how the space to be used relates to the activity of cooking and eating, as well as connecting it to other living spaces, rather than cutting it off from them.
One of the ways that we can achieve a more contemporary use of space that also follows the concept of ‘flow’, which is particular to the modern home with its open plan arrangements, is by using sliding doors to provide a boundary between a dining space and another area whilst still ensuring that they feel connected.
Large sliding doors in a variety of materials are ideal because in summer they can be opened fully, and in winter they can be closed without losing the view of gardens, pool areas and the landscape. It is a solution that provides the best of both worlds.
The use of sliding panel systems is another option. Sliding panels are usually used on large expanses of glass windows or doors, but they also make attractive and easy to clean room dividers. With the array of panel fabrics, colours and designs available now, our choices are very much expanded.
Add to these ideas, a glass-fronted wine cellar, textured metallic wallpaper and other accessories that maximise the room’s light. And then there is the table. The table is a central feature of any dining room and there is a multitude of designs to choose from that make a statement about your tastes, ranging from natural woods to stainless steel and glass.
Please contact us at ID Latina if you’re thinking of furnishing a new dining room or revamping your existing one – we will be delighted to talk through your ideas and offer you the right solutions for your home.
