How to Style Original Art in Your Dining Room
The dining room is one of the most underrated spaces in the home when it comes to art. It's where we gather, linger, celebrate, and connect, yet so many dining rooms have bare walls or generic prints that do nothing to elevate the experience of being there. Here's how to style original art and fine art prints in your dining room in a way that feels considered, beautiful, and completely yours.
Start With the Feeling You Want to Create
Before you think about sizing or placement, ask yourself how you want your dining room to feel. Warm and intimate? Bold and celebratory? Calm and sophisticated? The art you choose should amplify that feeling rather than fight against it.
For a warm, welcoming dining room that feels like an invitation to linger, rich colour and layered texture work beautifully — think original acrylic paintings with deep tones and abundant subject matter. My Mediterranean Table series was painted specifically with this feeling in mind: food, warmth, memory, and the particular generosity of a table that always has room for one more.
Choose Art That Speaks to the Space's Purpose
The dining room is a food and gathering space, and should have art that reflects that and feels instinctive rather than decorative. Food art, botanical prints, and nature inspired paintings, statement or "talking pieces" all work beautifully in a dining room context because they connect visually and emotionally to what happens in that room.
The Mediterranean Table series featuring blood oranges, figs, pomegranates, oysters, sardines, garlic, honey and oil, and more was designed exactly for this kind of space. Each painting celebrates the beauty and abundance of food and culture in a way that feels at home above a dining table. Same could be said for some of my textured originals, such as The Wren-Ovated Bird Bath:
The subject matter and texture of this "garden tea party" painting invites guests to talk and touch (if you'll let them).
Consider Scale Carefully
Scale is everything in a dining room. Too small and the art gets lost — too large and it overwhelms (though you almost always want to veer closer to too large than too small). As a general rule, artwork above a sideboard or buffet should fill roughly two thirds of the width of the furniture beneath it. For a feature wall with no furniture, a large scale original painting or a coordinating group of prints creates far more impact than a single small piece.
For a standard dining room wall, a large original canvas in the 76 x 101cm range makes a commanding statement. For those who prefer prints, a coordinating set of four fine art prints grouped together — like Luna Burlo's Blue Set, Pink Set, or Dark Set from the Mediterranean Table series — creates the same visual impact at a more accessible price point.
Think About Coordinating Sets
One of the most effective ways to style a dining room wall is with a coordinating set of prints that share a unified palette and mood. This creates a cohesive, gallery-like installation without requiring an interior designer or significant budget.
The Mediterranean Table series is built around exactly this concept — three coordinating sets of four paintings, each sharing a background colour and aesthetic.
The Dark Set features deep midnight blues with gold edging and subjects including oysters, garlic, sardines, and honey and oil — a dramatic, sophisticated choice for a formal dining room.
The Blue Set with its fresh turquoise background and citrus and stone fruit subjects feels lighter and more relaxed.
The Pink Set with its warm magenta and orange background brings energy and playfulness to a casual dining space.
Placement and Hanging Tips
The most common mistake when hanging art in a dining room is hanging it too high. Art should be hung so the centre of the piece sits at eye level when seated at the table, roughly 140 to 150cm from the floor to the centre of the artwork. This feels counterintuitive but makes the art feel connected to the dining experience rather than floating above it.
Above a sideboard, leave 15 to 20cm between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the artwork. For a group installation, treat the whole arrangement as a single unit and centre it on the wall.
Framing for a Dining Room
In a dining room, framing can make or break a piece. For a formal dining room, a simple timber or metal float frame adds polish without competing with the artwork. For a more casual or maximalist space, an unframed canvas print has a contemporary gallery feel that works beautifully. This is particularly true for my rolled or stretched canvas originals or prints, which come with several framing options.
My fine art prints on cotton rag paper are available unframed, allowing you to choose a frame that suits your existing interior perfectly. A standard A2 frame from Ikea, Kmart, Spotlight or a local frame shop works beautifully for individual prints, while a professional framer can create a custom multi-opening mat for a coordinating set installation.
Find the Right Art for Your Dining Room
Whether you're drawn to a bold large scale original canvas, an intimate Works on Paper original, or a coordinating set of fine art prints, there is a way to bring genuine colour, story, and warmth to your dining room walls.
Browse the full Luna Burlo Art collection on this website, originals and fine art prints available now, ready to transform the space where you gather most.
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