Rustic Dining Ideas – 15 Authentic Dining Room Looks

The key to creating a rustic dining room is to layer your textures – think raw reclaimed wood furniture, slubby linens, antique furniture, aged finishes, natural elements like picked branches from your garden, and accessories from handcrafted quality.
As dining room ideas go on, it is by no means a modern look, it is about unique character pieces.
Sarah Fishburne, Director of Trends and Design at The Home Depot, explains, âRustic dining rooms often create an inviting appeal with their rich textures and colors, making them simple and comfortable.
The result? A welcoming atmosphere that will make your guests relaxed and comfortable.
Rustic Dining Ideas
We’ve picked 15 fabulous rustic dining room ideas that will inspire you to update your dining room.
1. Look for natural elements like wood and glass
(Image credit: Graham & Green)
Rustic dining rooms work best when they contain as many natural elements as possible. Weathered wood, bare floorboards, piles of logs – and, if you’re lucky, glass.
It’s about creating textures that add interest, like this chunky dining table. You can mix and match pieces like chairs for example – it’s not about matching, it’s more individual than that.
Just add a wood stove idea to make the look more cozy.
2. Choose trendy lighting for your rustic dining room
(Image credit: David Hunt Lighting)
Hollie Moreland, Creative Director at David Hunt Lighting explains why statement lights are essential in a rustic scheme:
âNowadays there is a wide choice to create a dynamic kitchen lighting idea or scheme to suit every home and every trend, pendant lights are a great way to personalize yours and make a real statement. design in your diagram without compromising space.
Our hand painted Antler collection is a great way to add a sophisticated design element and a bit of natural beauty to your home, sitting beautifully in rustic kitchens and dining rooms.
3. Go for the modern rustic trend
(Image credit: Shutterly Fabulous)
If the classic rustic dining room look isn’t your thing, there is a modern rustic version. It has a fresh and more streamlined look but still has the tactile elements.
Black is a great accent color to use as it adds a punchy contemporary touch. Earthenware should be as natural as possible and work well in neutral tones with a hint of blue.
4. Don’t forget your curtains
(Image credit: Warner House)
Creating a rustic dining room is not as easy as buying the necessary table and chairs, there is more to it.
Curtains and blind ideas will complete the look, but don’t go for the simple in this case, go for botanical prints that represent nature, good earthy patterns that have a healthy feel and if they have woodland animals. above, so much the better.
5. Go for pretty floral prints for a cottage style
(Image credit: deVOL)
Sometimes, depending on the layout of our homes, we have to share spaces – like this fabulous kitchen-diner.
Super quaint, this charming house has all the classic rustic feel, small prints, playful stripes and lace on the table top.
Fringed lighting, wooden beams and white painted cabinets and floors. If you like the old-fashioned feel, copy this look.
6. Make the most of exposed beams and walls
(Image credit: Furniture Village)
Obviously if you don’t have the above that’s fine.
They both add that tactile quality that instantly gives a rustic feel to a dining room. However, you can create the exposed brick wall theme with wallpaper or a feature wall idea, and when it comes to beams, they are a plus if you have them.
Also worth noting is the faux leather bench and chairs here. They have a similar tone to the color of brick, which is why they look great in this frame.
7. A neutral scheme works well in a rustic dining room
(Image credit: Habitat)
A rustic dining room can be light and airy, which is ideal if you like white dining room ideas with neutral accents.
It can still have a rustic feel with a wooden table and bench, and look for a rattan shade to add texture.
Stems picked from your garden will add a beautiful centerpiece and choose bowls and plates that have a creamy natural color. Open shelving ideas are practical and create a decorative feel.
8. Make yourself a rustic table from reclaimed wood
(Image credit: Industville/@the.little.grey.house)
For a 100% rustic dining room look, make yourself a reclaimed wood table top.
You can get planks from a salvage yard and assemble them underneath.
Pair it with wooden bar stools and pretty ribbed glass lights for extra texture and your rustic look will be complete.
9. Color palette plays an important role
(Image credit: Ikea)
White, gray and stone are key colors to create a rustic dining room, they act as a blank canvas for accessories which are very important.
Baskets, terracotta jugs, a wood-framed mirror, a coir mat and bamboo boxes are an integral part of it.
An open cabinet is great for storing your dishes and also adds color to your decor. Keep it organized and style each shelf – a great idea for a small dining room.
10. Mix old and new rustic pieces
(Image credit: Iconic Lights)
You can create a rustic dining room vibe in a more modern home. In fact, it works well with the clean lines of a modern dining room idea, black crystal doors, and black floor tiles.
As long as you incorporate some key âingredientsâ it will work. For example, a slub linen tablecloth with fringes, knit blankets, mixed material cushions and rattan accessories. Choose curved dishes rather than angled ones.
11. Add a color for a feeling of freshness
(Image credit: Habitat)
We tend to think of rustic as a color palette of stone, rust, plaster, and ocher. But, a bright green can work very well with mid-tone wood and rattan while still retaining the rustic element.
Also look at what you already have in a rustic living room idea, like natural beams – these will really add character to your rustic dining room.
12. Add shutters for a rustic element
(Image credit: Shutterly Fabulous)
The charm of a rustic dining room is how the original pieces fit together, they can be a mix of old and new – we love the combination of these Eames chairs paired with thrift store finds.
A vintage pine table will also do the trick, as will shutters. They create a character look that works well in a modern, more traditional dining room idea.
13. Include lots of wood in a rustic dining room
(Image credit: Dulux)
As long as you have wood in your dining room, it will give it a rustic feel – beams, chairs, stools, and benches will all help create the look.
Although in a more modern setting, this chalet-style home has a rustic feel, mostly due to the wood cabinetry, ceiling, and beams.
And you can see how to fit it into the dining space with the wooden benches, cork stool, and rustic accessories.
14. Contrast the dark wood parquet with pale walls
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
Use the original features to your advantage, these beautiful dark wood floors really create the “rustic” scene in this dining room.
The table, chairs and bench harmonize perfectly while the pale painted walls give the space a pleasant feeling of light and airiness.
The artwork is the finishing touch, a bold pop of color that warms the rest of the space – note that it’s full of textures rather than just plain in color, which would make it too modern for this room.
15. Use wallpaper successfully
(Image credit: Mindthegap)
If you love wallpaper ideas and want to use it in your rustic dining room, go for a design that has a connection to nature.
Botanical, wildlife and animal illustrations will all look perfect and enrich your rustic dining room.
Keep the rest of the scheme fairly simple, as the wallpaper will be the focal point.
How do I make my dining table rustic?
You can give your dining table a rustic look by choosing carefully what you put on it. Texture is key, so lots of linens and textured cottons.
Muslin can also work, you can layer a piece on a linen tablecloth. Linen napkins with wooden supports, handcrafted ceramics, embossed glassware, and handcrafted candles will help create the rustic look.
What are the best colors to use for a rustic dining table look?
The best colors are those that resemble a fall color scheme. Rich undertones of ocher, rust, dark reds, turmeric, mustard and some creamy off-whites. Also shades of gray and stone, natural colors that you see around you throughout the seasons.
âThink about the elements that are found in nature and use those materials as a starting point for the pieces and colors you select for your dining room,â says Sarah Fishburne, Director of Trends and Design at Home depot.