As we say farewell to 2022 and prepare for the new year, interior decor trends are starting to crop up on social media platforms. With new colours of the year, and emerging trends taking over our searches on Pinterest and Google, how exactly should you be looking to style your dining room next year?
From bold colours, natural design, and social dining, Andrea Waters, Head of Brands, at Portmeirion and Spode shares her predictions for the biggest dining room trends that 2023 has in store.
1. Bold colours
With Pantone releasing their colour of the year 2023 as ‘Viva Magenta’, it’s clear that bright colours will continue to be a top trend. Bringing in colours such as magenta and teal into your dining space can add joy to the room, creating a catalyst for imaginative dinnertime conversations.
Andrea says: “Pairing vibrant colours such as the hot pink ‘Viva Magenta’ with darker block colours is the most effective way to achieve the bold colour trend to really allow the colours to pop.
“The best way to use pink in the dining room, without having to completely re-decorate, is to select dining accessories like dinner sets, placemats and vases that incorporate the bright colour alongside complementing tones like teal, navy and grey, as featured in Sara Miller Chelsea’s dinner set collection.
“Add a touch of sophistication with gold cutlery or look out for dinner sets with metallic edges to frame the statement magenta colour. Finish your vibrant scene with a large centrepiece of beautiful blooms in a stylish vase or scatter the colourful flowers along your table to create a fresh and fun table feature.”
2. Natural design
At the other end of the spectrum to Pantone’s bright ‘Viva Magenta’, is Dulux’s whimsical ‘Wild Wonder’, which has been named their colour of the year. This warm neutral colour is another popular shade we expect to see featured within dining rooms in 2023.
Andrea says: “The popularity of Wild Wonder confirms that natural elements found in Scandi design is a trend that will continue in the new year. Achieve this minimalist and natural aesthetic by using wooden elements, earthy colours and blending of textures.
“Style your dining room by harmonising earth’s colour palettes, such as amber, stone, forest green and moss green, found in the Botanic Garden Harmony range. Decorate your windowsills, table and cabinets with natural accessories foraged from the garden like pinecones or green foliage to bring the outdoors in.”
3. Banquette seating
With Google searches for ‘banquette seating’ hitting over 40k searches in the last three months, it seems many of us are looking to achieve the perfect group dining experience and this is a trend set to continue in the future.
“Whether you are looking to jump on TikTok’s butter board trend or share a more traditional charcuterie board in your beautiful dining room, the addition of banquette seating is the best way to ensure a sociable and enjoyable evening for the whole group. Add a soft cushion and a cosy blanket to the long bench seat to ensure ample comfort throughout the meal and into the evening.
“For a more casual dining experience, plate up your food on serving platters and let guests help themselves. Assign each guest with a small side plate so they can tuck into your cuisine of choice in a tapas setting style” adds Andrea.
4. Folk florals
With ‘eclectic interior design vintage’ trending on Pinterest with searches up 850%, it seems that vintage home decor is set to be a new homeware style to look out for. The trend of folk florals is emerging as a result of antique chic trending on the social platform, with traditional serveware adorned with repeating patterns of pretty petals and bold botanical designs being incorporated into the modern home.
Andrea says: “Floral design brings so much joy and happiness into the home and can be used all year round. The great thing about folk floral patterns is that their repeating design will fit seamlessly into your dining room regardless of its current decor, being stylishly mismatched by nature.
“Folk florals are the epitome of quintessentially British design, celebrating our nation’s love for nature, great craftsmanship and unique style. Create a fun and creative afternoon tea party using Morris & Co. plateware, complete with finger sandwiches and sweet treats stacked on a coloured cake stand and herbal tea served from a patterned teapot”.
5. Diagonal dining
It can be difficult to find the perfect dining table to fit your room. One solution is by combining the social practicalities of a round table with the shape and size of a rectangle table by pivoting your table to a diagonal angle.
Andrea explains: “Angling your table on a diagonal slant frees up floor space whilst also creating interest. It works particularly well in long and narrow dining rooms as it allows you to manoeuvre around it much easier, meaning you can attend to your guests with ease, whether that be topping up glasses with wine, serving dinner, or clearing away empty plates.
“Play around with different shapes and sizes by using unusually shaped tableware on your angled table. Steer away from circular and square plates, by serving meals on Sophie Conran’s Arbor & Floret dishes for an extra bit of fun around the dinnertable.
“If you’re having additional dinner guests, the new diagonal set-up might also allow you to add an extra table to the end of the space – perfect for smaller children to be involved but also letting the adults take part in their own conversations. Decorate the adjoining tables with a long table runner and matching placemats so everybody feels included.”
