Updating a formal dining room can be as easy as changing your drapery

A formal dining room, while very nice for designated family meals or holidays, can often feel a little too stately for everyday use. In many houses, such rooms are actually used only once or twice a year and usually sit empty and unseen most of the time.

If you're finding this problem with your dining room, you may be able to update its decor and make it more accessible. If this room becomes one that you really like, rather than a fancy addition to your house, you're likely to use it more often. You might even find yourself having guests for dinner just so that you can enjoy your new space.

If you're planning on updating your dining room, there's no need to replace your existing furniture. Since dining sets are typically a big investment, you'll want to have yours for a long time. But you'll be amazed at how much better your furniture will look when you have changed the decor in the rest of the room.

When initially decorating your dining room, you may have felt pressured to choose formal curtains, assuming that this was the only window treatment that could suit such a grand room. Simply changing your formal curtains for something that shows a little more personality though, will make the room feel a lot more human.

Feel free to make a more creative choice for your window treatments, but be sure to maintain the elegance that your dining room demands. A great way to find this balance is by using banded silk drapes. The unexpected bands on these drapes will make the room feel more fun, but the lovely silk fabric will retain the formality of this room.

Simply rethinking your window drapes can make your dining room into a more inhabitable space.