5 Tips For Styling Dining Room Hutch Decor

I recently finished up a new project and wanted to give you guys a sneak peek! Plus, I’m sharing some tips for styling your dining room hutch decor.

Our dining room has been a slow remodel. First, there was the wallpaper. Then, a new Tumble rug. Then, the milk painted sideboard. Oh yea, and a bunch of new light fixtures.

Despite adding a new sideboard with an antique mirror – that wall was not speaking to me or bringing me joy.

And then the idea popped in my head to build a tall pine hutch to put on top of the sideboard. I could paint it to match the sideboard and you would never know it wasn’t a complete set! And so….tada…I present to you this new pine hutch.

You can watch on instagram the makings of it.

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A post shared by Karen Sloan – Home Decor & DIY (@decorhint)

5 tips for dining room hutch decor

1. visually divide the shelves first.

An easy way to style shelves is to first divide the shelves in half or in thirds. You can do this in your head, or use painters tape to create a divide. Then, style a small vignette in each of these divided spaces, leaving a little bit of room between each vignette for the eye to rest.

2. layer your objects.

close up view of a black painted dining room hutch

Nothing should fall in one straight line. Objects should be different sizes and tiered so the eye can move across the shelves effortlessly. Also, some things should take up a good amount of height in the shelves, meaning there shouldn’t be too much empty shelf space above. A common mistake I see is using too many small objects. It’s best to use larger, medium and small and vary them across the shelves.

You also need to step back and look at the shelves above and below – don’t repeat the same type of vignette above or below – keep it varied. This is also where stacks come in handy, which leads me to my next tip.

3. Stacks are your friend.

A stack of books. A stack of plates. A stack of bowls. Stack, stack, stack. When you need height and you don’t have a large vase or object to fill the space – use stacks to your advantage. Stack a tall set of bowls next a smaller stacked set of bowls, etc. Set a single bowl on top of a small stack of books. Set a collection of pretty glassware on top of a wood pedestal.

Keep the eye moving along with interesting and varied height objects.

4. keep the colors cohesive.

We want our hutch to feel like one cohesive piece. The way to do this is by repeating the same colors throughout the hutch. Whatever color you are drawn to and have the most of (for me it’s whiteware and wood objects) – repeat, repeat, repeat.

5. Add in seasonal elements last.

First, style your hutch decor so it’s functional and works for you. Layer in seasonal decor last. I have a wood dough bowl that can be filled with seasonal items and a few vases that I can throw in a seasonal stem or two for a pop of color. Right now, I have this styled for Fall with pinecones and pretty fall stems.