I’m an interior designer – what’s making your dining room look cheap and dated and what to do instead

BETWEEN family meals and entertaining, people spend a lot of time in the dining room – but it may be time for a decor update. An interior design expert and TikToker says there could be one big thing making your dining room look cheap and dated, and she helpfully shared how to fix it. Julie […]

BETWEEN family meals and entertaining, people spend a lot of time in the dining room – but it may be time for a decor update.

An interior design expert and TikToker says there could be one big thing making your dining room look cheap and dated, and she helpfully shared how to fix it.

TikTok/@the_avantgarde

Julie Sousa tells her TikTok followers how to avoid a dated dining room[/caption]

TikTok/@the_avantgarde

Julie Sousa uploaded a TikTok video explaining how your choice of kitchen or dining room furniture can date the room.

She asks her viewers: “[Do you] want to make your dining room look expensive?”

If your answer is yes, she advises against buying matching dining sets.

In Julie’s opinion, matching dining sets will make your space look old-fashioned.

Instead, she says you should be mixing and matching textures and materials during the interior design and home decorating process.

She shows an example of a table that appears to be made out of white wood.

Instead of adding chairs that are also made of white wood, she suggests adding tan chairs with cushions, or green-colored chairs with black metal legs.

Julie says, “This is called juxtaposition. It’s critical for creating visually interesting rooms.”

Several people in Julie’s comment section on TikTok love the way she described her interior design tip.

One person wrote: “I love the olive green chairs!”

“Oh, that’s a great tip! I’ve seen it, but I’ve just never seen the difference. Thank you!“ another person added.

“What if my bench matches the table but the chairs are different? Still dated?” someone asked.

TikTok/@the_avantgarde

She responded by saying: “That’s perfect! Mine is the same way.”

Another woman wrote: “I have a toddler so fabric on the dining set isn’t an option, any suggestions for non-fabric chairs?”

Julie responded: “You could still go fabric just opt for performance fabric! You could also go leather.”