Design Dilemmas
Problem: My apartment doesn’t receive much natural light, and my natural light, and my dining area is especially dark as the windows are at the living room end. How can I make the dining room area appear less gloomy?
Solution: I don think a dining room has to be well-lit, but it depends on when and how it is used, says the designer, Helen Lindman. It’s nice to have natural light streaming into the home, but if you only use your dining room for dinner, then that wouldn’t make a difference. If breakfast is an important meal at home, have a bigger coffee table so that you can enjoy it on the sofa with sunlight, says Jason Yung, the designer of Jason Caroline Design. It also creates an alternative casual dining space in front of the TV.   If you do insist on light, Helen suggests having lights behind hanging screens of fabric along the walls. It’s also a beautiful way to seal off a room within a room.

Problem: I love to entertain and host diners for friends, but I’ve just had to move into a 500-sq-ft studio. How do I set up a dining area while still have space for a private bedroom area and storage?
Solution: This depends on the shape of your studio, but the general advice would be to custom-make multi-purpose furniture. For example, you could have a bench with built-in storage instead of dining chairs. Or, follow In Him’s Interior Design’s lead and install a table that folds up against the wall; its clever design means that the table looks like a framed poster when it’s stowed away.

Try to use your dining area as your living room, too, and keep the space clean and simple, says the designer of Studio Concepto Andreas Kourouklaris. Translucent materials and furniture, such as a glass-topped table, will increase the feeling of space. Make the most of dead space – work banquette seating into a recess or bay windows to make the most of the square footage. If your bay windows are hollow, install some drawers: these will provide easy and tidy access to any belongings you keep inside.

Section off the private area from the rest of the studio with a screen, or, if you are naturally tidy and neat, use an open shelf system to show off your collection of books or ornaments.

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