Dining Designs
Oh fertheloveofgawd. 
What in hell is THAT? A dining room.
GAG me now…no don’t, I’m already choking myself to near death.
For years, Boston architect Brent Zeigler has longed to be a part of Dining by Design, a national traveling show where interior designers from around the country showcase over-the-top dining room creations.
[…]
In a nod to the city’s thriving design community, Dining by Design finally came to the Boston Design Center. Twenty-two local interior designers and event planners, including Michael Ferzoco of Eleven Interiors, Fotene Demoulas of Fotene Design, and Zeigler of Fourply Studio, unveiled their visions to a crowd of more than 400 people at a cocktail party on Friday. The following night, 270 guests paid $1,000 a ticket to dine on fare from restaurants like Rialto and Gaslight.Many of the tables were quite outlandish. Charles Fletcher, eager to take “formal” out of the dining room, put live goldfish in a crystal centerpiece and used grass as carpet. As a finishing touch, he selected Lucite chairs with flower decals. “People aren’t interested in formal dining rooms anymore,” said Fletcher, owner of Charles Fletcher Designs in Boston.
YOU call this a dining room? Really now…that ain’t no room to dine in. Lucite chairs? Flower decals? How sweet. (NOT)
Eric Roseff embraced color, painting his walls mustard yellow. He added panels with black-and-white zebra prints. “I’m not afraid of patterns and colors,” he said. “I was a painter for 12 years before I became a decorator.”
How stylish. How avant guard. How utterly extravagant and rich. All for a good cause. Well just damn.
In my house I have always had a few rules for my dining room - which was always part of a big kitchen. The table I have was built out of pine woods from my Grandparents house from the 1800’s…it’s strong and sturdy and made to LAST…and it has withstood the tests of many generations of use and abuse. It seats 12 people very comfortably, but 20 can be crammed if needed.
My “dining room” isn’t fancy- and the house I owned before my divorce didn’t even have this room. We never used all that dinnerware and silverware either…it was one fork, one knife, one big stoneware plate and a mug. If I felt generous I might put out a basket of napkins.
We preferred eating in comfort and not style. And to this day we still do.
THAT dining room pictured here isn’t MY kind of place. Not even effin close. I wouldn’t eat in a room like that if someone offered me a million bucks! These dining “creations” are for the rich maybe; but not for real down to earth, living breathing folk who like to relax, kick back and truly enjoy their meals and other fun times with family and friends.
What possesses people to think they MUST live in such awful surroundings is beyond and above me. And thankfully so.
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Well… The chairs do look marginally more comfortable than SOME of the torture devices I’ve seen masquerading as seats…
No, it’s not my style, either - waaaaay over the top! I do see some amusing little touches, but if *I* were to implement them in my home (which I won’t), they would be far more subtle and not make a “statement.”
I like casual dining, too, Raven - heck, my kitchen’s one fault is that I don’t have my cooktop in the center island with seating all around (yeah, I like to play Emeril when I’m cooking for company, LOL)! I love to chat with family and guests in the kitchen while I’m working, and am usually found sitting on the floor to eat when we have a big crowd…
However, I will say that some meals “feel” better to me in a more formal setting. Although I love cooking for family for the holidays, the number of people attending and the particular “style” this family has prohibit me from bringing out my Lenox china, my silver, and my crystal glasses *sigh*
I do love to set a beautiful table sometimes, for special occasions. Of course, THAT table ^^^ doesn’t fall into the “beautiful” category for me: more like “ostentatious” or “pretentious”! LOL
December 18th, 2007 | #
A headache is setting in just looking at that hole….
December 18th, 2007 | #
That’s a hideous room!
It makes me appreciate the house I have. It might not be much by a lot of people’s standards, but it’s nowhere as ugly as this so-called designer room.
December 18th, 2007 | #
There is something quite wrong with the thought of “mustard yellow” and AIDS programs. Let’s not go there right now.
I read the Globe article and it is fairly obvious to me the designers of these rooms are gay and it shows in their work. I think it’s really to bad they cannot come up with a better way to raise funds for such needs…AIDS services and programs and education and outreach. Wasteful as this is, it sure did get a reaction from you. A bad one. So I can imagine how most average people react as well, as evidenced by your other commenters. Does this reflect upon the thoughts of AIDS?
December 18th, 2007 | #
That picture is making me dizzy!
December 19th, 2007 | #
I got a headache, got dizzy, got sick, got totally ill when I first saw the picture. eeew.
Gross. Yuke time!
LOL
December 20th, 2007 | #
Kat I can picture you in a beautiful dining room, wearing a gown, lighting those taper candles, on a perfectly set table…so elegant and gorgeous! I wish I had the will and desire to do those things. I really do. It’s not that I hate this stuff, I just find it all really unnecessary and a little over the top.
And besides I would break everything!! I have when I’ve been at well-to-do friends homes. eeck!
My table is a farm table. I’ve never owned a table cover/cloth. I don’t have china. Or those fancy wine glasses. Just plain things that are practical and that last without any fuss. When I’m alone I tend to sit on the floor in my living room and eat there…when the girls are home or friends are over we do the table thing. Funny: I know most people serve up their meals from pans and pots into dishes, which they bring to the table. Not me. The cast irons come right from the stove/oven to the table. Why make more mess to clean up?
LOL
December 20th, 2007 | #