There was a time when living and dining rooms were separate in most houses. In today's world, however, a part of the living room usually becomes the dining space. This has led to an enormous change in how we live. In earlier times, the living room was a place where the emphasis lay on interpersonal interaction, and the dining room was the space where people could concentrate on and enjoy their food.
The dining room is a place that can be both cozy and formal, stylish and casual. But first of all, it is a place for you to enjoy your food - not only its taste, but also its structure, its textures, its decorations. On the other hand, the living room is also meant to be cozy/formal and stylish/casual, but it is an open, well-lit space meant for recreation and interaction.
Decorative Shelves
While decorating a living-cum-dining space, therefore, the first requirement that emerges is lighting. Clearly, a variety of lighting is required - reading lights for the students and scholars, dim lights for relaxed evenings with a beer and loved ones, and somewhere in between for social occasions.
Decorative lighting fixtures such as chandeliers and candelabras can come to good use in these cases. Chandeliers often come with dimmers, so that you can adjust the brightness of the light to suit the occasion and individual preferences. Chandeliers are available in wrought iron as well as alloy metals. While initially made to hold candles, today they also support lightbulbs - whether tungsten or CFL.
Candelabras, too, come in many different sizes and types. From a five-candle dim candelabra suitable for a small dinner table, you can progress to a large, 12-candle holder that will easily light up the table for ten people or more. Like chandeliers, these are made out of several types of metal, and even stone or wood.
In the modern household, reading lights are absolutely essential. You can get creative with your choice of reading light holder, by using a former storm lantern or tea light holder for the purpose. Wall-mounted lights are best if there are certain fixed positions where people may want to read, while table lamps work better if you want to leave arrangements flexible. Battery-run table lamps can give you even more mileage for your money.
Using decorative light shades and holders, you can combine the advantages of modern lighting methods such as OLEDs or CFLs with the beautiful, quaint and detailed carving of older times.
In order to retain the spirit of old times, you can also choose wall sconces, shelves and table accessories that match your light fixtures. Certain table accessories will never go out of fashion, as long as eggs, tea and bottles have a place in the household. Placeholders, egg baskets, tea-cosies, flower vases and bottle carriers are needed in both the home and garden, so keep an eye out for items that can be mixed and matched, producing several different combinations that make your home a treat for the eyes.