design project: dining room

Some friends asked me to help finish decorating their dining room. Their house is a big updated colonial, with both warm and cool colors; outside it's light blue, with a red wooden door and a big front porch. The dining room already has a rectangular dark wood table and chairs; it needed a light fixture, a rug, and something for the walls. For a room that combines traditional and modern, and is appealing and comfortable, here's what I came up with:

Shades of Light shell necklace chandelier
because it's pretty, delicate, and fun

West Elm gradiated-stripe rug
to play off the round shapes and daintiness of the lamp

Prints from Perla Anne, whose work I love;
I suggested hanging three or five in a row, in matching frames

On the facing wall, they could try this Jessica Snow print

or something else big and graphic and colorful,
like this map from These Are Things

or, because one of them is from Southern California,
a motel print by Sean Finocchio

or, because one of them likes birds, this Dekanimal peacock

Not to sound cheesy, but you don't have to spend a ton of money or time to put together a nice-looking room. Everything above is inexpensive and easy to find online. You just have to know where to look, and trust your taste.