/ Home / Articles / Gulfshore Life / 2006 / 11 /

search

Tools

Print this page

Email to a Friend

Digg This Article

Purchase this Issue

Subscribe to Gulfshore Life

eBrochures

»» View all eBrochures

Design Trends

By: Shellie Benson

Nights at the Round Table

For some, it’s that rarely used space reserved for special occasions; for others it’s the social hub of the house. When it comes to dining rooms, the staples are simple—table, chairs, ample space to sit and eat—but the rest is up to you. The dining room can be a showcase of your tastes and interests, a cozy environment for family meals or even an eclectic room filled with artwork and other conversation starters for all those saucy dinner parties. "Get out of that head-of-the-table concept," says Troy Beasley of Beasley & Henley Interior Design, who is using round tables in Gulfshore dining rooms to encourage the social element. Add some glitz and glamour with dramatic lighting and functional furniture with a taste of contemporary style. Here are a few of our favorite new things to add style and pizzazz to your dining room.

Multi-use, multi-style
Closed, it’s an on-trend wenge-stained round table that seats four. Open it up, and you’ve got seating for eight. The Quadrondo table can work in a contemporary home or a transitional abode in both formal and casual settings. It’s also been used on yachts, thanks to its versatility. Shown here with dark-stained ashwood and an open-pour lacquer that allows the wood grain to show through; but you can go all stained or all lacquered, if you prefer. $7,600 at möbelform at the International Design Center in Estero.
Sharp and edgy
Admit it; you’re warming up to minimalist, contemporary design. How could you not adore this Master 2 dining room table created with horizontally cut Ovangkol wood—the same material used to make acoustic guitars? It is paired with upholstered Fly 2 chairs, all of which were designed by Pepe Tanzi for Poliform. Price available upon request at Richlin Interiors-Poliform in Naples.
Fashionable flatware
The name Oscar de la Renta
conjures up thoughts of elegance; and the new flatware collections from De la Renta Home certainly live up to those. The designer teamed up with Lunt Silversmiths to create this City Collection of flatware that’s just a little bit retro but very sophisticated. De la Renta pulled this Chevron print from his famous fashion collections and melded it with stainless steel and bone. $125 for a five-piece setting. Available through Saks Fifth Avenue in Naples or Fort Myers.
High-tech dining
Don’t worry about taking up space in your hall closet for the extra leaf of this ultra-modern table. A turn of a lever activates a mechanism that shifts the middle leaf lower and brings the outside portions of the table together, and vice versa. You can seat six to 10 with no heavy lifting involved. The table top is shown with frosted and clear glass but is also available in granite. The K 5000 is $8,100 at möbelform at the International Design Center in Estero.

Dancing lights
The disco ball never looked so elegant, thanks to Schonbek’s Da Vinci collection. This perfectly round chandelier is made with thousands of octagon-shaped Swarovski crystals and comes in 10-, 12-, 18- or 24-inch diameters for a dramatic effect in your contemporary dining room. At $15,895 for the largest model, you may or may not want to take advantage of its most unusual attribute: you can clean it in your dishwasher, which, Schonbek says, will make it sparkle like new. Available at Wilson Lighting in Naples.
Romantic setting
You may not have a private beach off your back steps, but you can still create an amorous atmosphere with McKinnon and Harris’ Albemarle dining table, $13,900, and Beaufort side chairs with cushions, $4,230 each, all finished in classic white. Beautiful and functional enough indoors or out. Available to the trade only at J. Batchelor in the DCOTA.