{AD- Paid partnership with Habitat}

As you’ll know if you follow me on Instagram we have been living in build and renovation chaos for the last five months or so, one of the things that we have missed the most as a family is not always having the space for a dining table and being able to sit and eat together around a table. I have always insisted, since the kids were little, that we all sit down and eat together in the evening, no phones allowed, just chatting about our days and enjoying each others company, it is something that is very important to me. I also love entertaining and enjoy nothing more than hosting dinner parties, so all in all its been a big change not having a dining area….

Luckily we are approaching the end of the build, the windows and doors have been fitted and the dining extension is now finally open to the rest of the house…. So, when Habitat got in contact and asked if I would like to be a part of their ‘Family Dining’ campaign the timing was perfect!

We still have a lot of finishing off to do on the internal decor, there is still bare plaster and the concrete flooring isn’t finished, but the thought of having the dining table up and being able to eat together again, makes all the work we still have to do pale into insignificance…. Habitat have a great range of dining furniture and I knew as soon as I saw the Manford dining table that it would work perfectly in our new dining space. The black metal frame looks perfect next to the black framed windows and doors, and alongside the solid oak table top, it’s the perfect combination for my home. I love being able to see the natural beauty of the grain of the oak and love the contrast of natural oak and the powder coated metal legs.

The solid oak top on the Habitat ‘Manford’ dining table….

The Habitat ‘Etta’ grey velvet dining chairs with brass legs add a touch of glamour….

I love to mix materials in my home and the dining area is no exception! When choosing from the fabulous selection available at Habitat I had in mind the materials I’ll be using in the kitchen, which the new dining area opens on to…. We will be adding some oak beams to the kitchen area along with other natural materials and accents of brass. I also have a velvet sofa that will be going in the dining room, so rather than going for oak or black chairs to match the table I chose these velvet upholstered dining chairs with brass legs….. I went for the grey ones which I think look great with the concrete flooring, they come in blue and pink velvet too so it was hard making a final choice!

The grey velvet seat looks gorgeous with the brass coloured legs of the dining chairs….

The black table legs of the Manford table work so well with the black framed doors….

I love contrasting textures throughout my home and the Habitat dining collection has enabled me to have the look I’ve been dreaming of….

Now the kids are older and eating their food rather than throwing it down themselves or at each other, it’s lovely to be able to dress the table, and not only for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions, I always try and make the table look stylish for Sunday dinner too which is my favourite meal of the week!

Habitat have a wonderful collection of tableware and when it came to choosing I knew I wanted to add some drama to the table, adding texture and pattern and having an eclectic rather than matched look….. I chose the ‘Noir’ graphite dinner plate. I have always liked the thought of black plates but others I’ve seen elsewhere have been too ‘modern and shiny’ looking for me, these stoneware plates have a subtle, lightly speckled surface giving both a matt and shiny effect and giving the texture I was looking for. I also love that each piece is unique.

Beautiful plates and bowls from the Habitat dinnerware collection….

Alongside the graphite plates I wanted to add colour and as soon as I saw the ‘Sintra’ green side plate I knew it was for me…. The beautiful green glazed pattern is just the look I was searching for, it also has a dark base so works really well with the graphite plates. I also chose the pasta bowls from the ‘Sintra’ dinnerware range as not only do they look fabulous, two of my kids would live on pasta if they could so they are the perfect addition!

Gold, green and black make a fantastic looking dining table….

The green ‘Sentra’ side plate and pasta bowl….

The texture shown on the stoneware reflective glaze…. So beautiful!

When it comes to entertaining I find a few quick simple additions help to make the dining table always look great…. I always add candles to the table, go for unscented ones though as it’s not good to be tasting the candle scent as well as the food!

Candles add a warm ambience to the dining table….

Serve your courses and sides on wooden boards of different shapes and sizes and pop knobs of butter in a glazed dish rather than just having the block on a plate….

Green dinnerware looking beautiful on the oak dining table….

Add flowers to the table, whether fresh or dried, and in an intimate setting avoid strong scented flowers such as lilies as they can be overpowering.

Dried Hydrangea add texture and interest to the dining table….

An intimate, eclectic dinner table, perfect for dinner with friends and family….

Whether you’re having a buffet lunch or serving cheese board for desert add some fruit and fresh herbs…. Not only does it look great, fruit such as grapes, figs and pomegranate taste fabulous with cheese!

Fruit and herbs giving this cheeseboard the wow factor….

Coloured and patterned dinnerware makes the dining table more interesting….

Noir graphite dinner plate and Sintra pasta bowl

So, there we have it! I am so looking forward to being able to sit at the table again for dinner as a family and to entertain in our new dining area, especially over Christmas…. Both myself and my husband turn 50 next year too so there will be a lot of celebrating and friends and family around the table next year, just as it should be!

As always thanks for reading,