Grey dining room ideas

Grey is a versatile shade that works well in any room and it is still very much the colour of the moment. All grey dining room ideas, be it light and bright or brooding and dark, work perfectly well for a multifunctional entertaining space.

Thanks to its versatility, grey is the ideal hue to dictate what you want your dining room idea to say. Whether you want to create a calming colour scheme to host everyday family mealtimes, or create a more ambient space for hosting dinner parties – grey is a timeless colour choice.

Breathe new life into your dining space by choosing a grey combination to suit your style. From moody dark grey to light pastel grey, here we show you how to choose and update your dining room idea with grey.

1. Welcome accent grey on wall panelling

Image credit: Brayer Design

Adding an elegant wall panelling idea to a dining room is a fabulous way to add an air of sophistication, helping to make even everyday dining feel that little bit more special. While wall panelling benefits from a splash of colour, to accentuate the design, it doesn’t have to be bold to be brilliant – as this mid-tone grey dining room from Bayer Design proves.

If your wall panelling is on one wall, the added colour helps to create a focal point. This sets the scene for the dining table to be placed centrally in front.

2. Pair cool grey with pops of bright colour

Image credit: David Giles

Inject a touch of vibrancy to your grey or white dining room by adding brightly coloured accessories. Cobalt blue is a dreamy accent colour to stand out against cool shades of grey, as are fuchsia pink and emerald green. The cool nature of the grey allows the accent colours to really pop.

3. Be expressive with paint effects

Image credit: James French

Grey dining room ideas can be more than just a blank canvas of colour with the addition of thoughtful paint effects. The trend for expressive paint effects has been going from strength to strength in recent years, as homeowners look to get more creative with their colour choices. Use a tonal grey palette to add decorative interest to your wall.

This fine example of dining room wall decor has chosen a dramatic mountain scape to set the scene for family dining. But you could tone it down slightly by simply creating a faux dado rail with the darker colour below and a lighter shade on top.

Add a further fun element by painting a stencilled rug design on the floor, to welcome pattern and colour to your grey scheme.

4. Add depth with strong saturations of grey

Image credit: Dominic Blackmore

Add depth and warmth to your dining space by choosing a darker accent grey. Not only can darker shades help to add ambience, especially when dining by night. They can also help to make your dining room furniture choices stand out.

Take for instance how well this shade of Trilby by Earthborn paints helps to accentuate the lighter wood and honey leather tones found in the furniture and the decorative dining room lighting idea.

Creating an entertaining space with warm, gentle colours and honest materials will give your home a style and quality that transcends trends and creates a sense of calming wellbeing.

Stylist’s tip: Create a foraged display for decoration. Dried stems are very of-the-moment. They are ideal for a dining room because they add natural drama without strong colours and don’t require any maintenance.

5. Add another dimension to monochrome

Image credit: Jo Henderson

Make grey the third colourway in a black and white monochrome scheme. Here, grey wood panelling and a grey concrete floor provides the perfect backdrop for a monochrome patterned rug and dining furniture that mixes natural materials and black iron.

A soothing grey helps to add an effortlessly sophisticated feel to this laid-back Scandi style decor.