Throughout history, as ideas about the purpose of a home shift, interiors evolve.

Lately, we’ve been thinking about how the function of living spaces, in particular, shared living spaces, take form in modern day design, and how that inspires our process.

Open-concept floor plans may seem like they’ve been around forever, but it wasn’t too long ago that many large, new homes were built with closed, sectioned off spaces to create as many rooms as possible. And now, although we’ve knocked down the walls and connected these spaces, it seems like there is still a question of how to style them.

The dining room is one of the most apparent areas of change in this space. Once created for formal, every-so-often events, they are now becoming places of gathering for the everyday.

Whether or not your dining room is connected to your living and kitchen space, chances are you’ve had questions about how to style it when you’re not eating there.

We’ve been experimenting with and finding inspiration for simple, laid-back ways to do this that feel live-able but done.

Here are some of our favorites:

Look #1: The pot, the vase and the serving tray

This fool-proof combo is ready for anything. Divide and conquer with simple stems, an empty, low-maintenance statement plater, and a beautiful vintage tray with everything you need for serving cookies or snacks. Move it to the side for game night, and re-style the pieces on the kitchen counter top, any dining space can pull this one off.

Look #2: The arranged marriage

Simple and beautiful. We love pairing bowls with vases that can be dressed up with an arrangement or left alone.

From The McGee Home

Look #3: The half empty & half full

Using two similar vases at different heights creates an eclectic styled look in minutes. For this look, we love using tall natural-looking stems to bring the outdoors in and create a curated yet effortless feeling to a more formal dining space.

Look #4: The gathering place

Knotted napkins, a wild arrangement and a batter bowl for fruit make for easy gatherings and a lived-in look. Cascading grapes not required but strongly recommended.

From our Pine Brook Home