Broaden Your Horizons - Part 2 - Add Visual Impact To Your Dining Room

In our next instalment of Broaden Your Horizons, we are taking a look at dining rooms and expressing some ideas for change. It is one thing to see dining rooms in their functional sense - for eating, entertaining and yet more eating - but what about the visual?

Visual Impact Method 1 - Focal Points: A focal point is the area within a room that you are naturally drawn to on entering. If you were to strip a room down bare this focal point would likely be an architectural feature such as a fireplace or a bay window. When you don't have any period features you can always create your own focal point which can have the same visual impact.

• Have a look to see if your dining table and chairs can be rearranged to draw an imaginary line towards your focal point for instant visual impact without spending a penny!

• Use a real zesty and eye-catching colour on bay window treatments such as lime green blinds or hot pink curtains and place your dining table in front.

Visual Impact Method 2 - Using Colour and Pattern: Knowing how to use colour to your advantage can be a great skill when you want to make a room visually attractive and pattern can be used to add even more interest. Sometimes the quest to make rooms larger, smaller, wider, lighter etc. can really act as a barrier to creating spaces with visual impact. We know some clever tricks to pull things together in a flash.

• Narrow dining rooms are overcome with horizontal stripes in harmonizing colours - use paint and create your own stripes or purchase striped wallpaper which will instantly add length. In the same sense, vertical stripes will give more height to a dining space - use attractive ceiling lighting to add to the impact.

• To make a dining space lighter and more open you can draw attention to the window by using an interesting pattern on ready made eyelet curtains. As the eyes focus on the window, the outdoor space will seemingly add to the size of the room. Alternatively, choose patterned wallpaper that has a beautiful sheen to it.

Visual Impact Method 3 - Modern Update: You can really make a statement and visual impact to the dining room by showcasing something uber-trendy and modern - just watch your guests go green with envy!

• Pencil pleat curtains are cheap and yet they do wonders for adding modernity to a room - they hang streamlined and give the impression of height. Furthermore they come in a wide range of contemporary colours and the latest pattern trends.