Lemon and lime dining room

A hi-gloss dining table and white walls transforms this dining room into a contemporary and airy space. Zesty colour is added with vibrant dining chairs upholstered in cool blue stripes, and bright tableware. housetohome

Relaxed Dining Room

Turquoise is the dominant colour in cushions, tablecloths and tableware, with dashes of orange as the accent shade. Choose natural materials where possible for a more relaxed mood: smooth oak contrasts well with a rustic console table, cane chair and a rush basket. homesandgardens

Vintage modern dining room

The deliciously enviable dining room of Raji Radhakrishnan, a self-taught Washington D.C.-based designer. The art deco dining table and chairs (from an estate sale) are amboyna wood, a Southeast Asian burl. She found the Gio Ponti console table on maisonettoi.com; it holds Claes Oldenburg’s “Geometric Mouse."Photo by Erik Johnson, Metropolitan Home, Dec. 2008.