Dining Room Buffet Decorating Ideas

Decorating sideboards and buffets in our dining rooms and other rooms in our home is so important! These are prime pieces of decor real estate that can show off our personality! Today I'm sharing easy ways to decorate a sideboard or buffet and useful, fabulous, and doable styling tips too!

It does not take a lot of time or things to decorate a buffet. With my tips, you can style a buffet beautifully in minutes.

I've decorating my white sideboard three different ways to show you how easy it can be!

My white buffet is one of my favorite surfaces to decorate. I love the height and length of it! Most buffets and sideboards are wonderful areas to add pretty decor to your home!

The buffet was once in our dining room at our StoneGable house but now it is in the great room of our Tanglewood house. Buffets are not just for dining rooms!

I thought it might be helpful to show you three different ways to style a buffet. And I'll share a couple tips that will help you use your buffet to add YOUR personality to your dining room.

Actually, any long flat surface can benefit from these easy tips!

SOME BUFFET GUIDELINES TO REMEMBER

three faux plants in cardboard containers

Basic buffet decorating things to know…

decorate your buffet's space but don't overdo or overlayer it!
try to avoid using lots of little collectibles or small things
use faux blooms and plants only if they look real up to 1 foot away
experiment and play with your accessories
less is more
keep a tight color palette
change things up often

A LOOK AT THE BUFFET IN A DINING ROOM

When we remodeled our StoneGable dining room (feels like a hundred years ago) I found this pretty white buffet and knew it would work in the room.

One thing I did to keep it updated and fresh was to keep my china and dishes off the top! This is very important!

Lots of dishes on the top of a buffet even in a dining room looks cluttered and dated.

Try stying it without dishes! Keep the dishes in the buffet and not on it.

dining room buffet with lamp and dough bowl with textured moss balls

The buffet decor is classic, adding a juxtaposition of bling and burlap! I love those two words together! BLING AND BURLAP!!!!

I like this decor because it looks sharp and clean and pretty!

A DINING ROOM BUFFET IS A SUPPORTING ACTOR

Your dining room table, in most cases, is the star of your dining room. And the centerpiece on it should be its Diva! Nothing in the room should show up the Diva! So the things on your buffet or sideboard should not fight for attention.

But that does not mean your buffet should not be decorated too.

Here is a decorating recipe for styling a fabulous sideboard every time.

USE SOMETHING ORGANIC ON A SIDEBOARD

Whether your buffet is in the kitchen or in your living room like mine is now all sideboards can use a bit of pretty organics.

Buffets and sideboards are the perfect place to add an element of organic design.

Here are a few ideas…

a bunch of seasonal greens or flowers
moss balls
plants
topiaries
a trio of the same potted plant

You might like to see how to make these moss balls. TEXTURED MOSS BALL DIY. They are so super easy!

If you are thinking about going the faux route you might like to read CREATIVE WAYS TO USE FAUX FLOWERS

USE TALL ITEMS ON EITHER END OF SIDEBOARDS AND BUFFETS

Have you heard of buffet lamps or candlesticks? You know, the tall, skinny, candle-type lamp duo that go on either side of a buffet? They were so popular years ago because they added ambient light to either side of a sideboard and added a great bit of symmetry to a buffet.

We can bring a fresher, updated look to sideboards and buffets by using the buffet lamp principle but giving it a more modern feel!

Do add something tall to either side of your buffet. A lamp with a little more heft and a tall item to the other.

The mesh lamp works on the left side of the buffet. It's just the right size and scale for the buffet. It's a nice tall element at one end of the buffet. And it offers another layer of lighting too!

Use something tall on the buffet opposite a lamp.

A tall vignette would also work on one side of the buffet.

I often find myself creating a simple vignette using three items. And no wonder! Our eyes and mind LOVE anything grouped in threes. To see how to use this magical number when decorating, see THE MAGIC RULE OF THREE.

ADD "BRIDGE" DECOR

It's a good idea to add a little something to bridge a lamp and tall item at the other end of a buffet.

Three things that are alike make a beautiful "bridge" between the lamp and the other tall element on the buffet.

Instead of the three faux ferns in the same pots, I popped the middle fern in a slightly different container and put it on a couple burlap-covered books. I think just that little difference adds a lot of interest and a bit of texture to the decor on the buffet.

TIGHT COLOR PALETTE

One easy way to create a buffet that has a cohesive look is to use the colors in the room on the buffet. For the image above I used the browns in the lamp the sand and white colors of the baskets and the greens and browns of the faux plants.

And even if your room is colorful still use a tight color palette on a buffet.

Now it's your turn! Take a look at the buffet in your dining room. Could it use a bit of a makeover? Why not put these tips and ideas into practice during a few commercials? I know you can do it!!!!!