7 Deliciously Rustic Dining Rooms

October 26, 2016

Vanessa Childers,

Gather 'round, pull up a chair, and delight in these designs, inspired by rough woods, stone hearths, Mother Nature, and good ol' mountain living in luxury.

Placing a trestle-style dining table in the corner with built-in benches on two sides was a space-saving move that provides seating for eight. An iron chandelier overhead is an antique the designer found at Brown Lighting in Houston. “It’s old, but it has an urban, industrial feel,” says Crested Butte-based interior designer Carolina Fechino-Alling, of Interni Design Studio. “I like things that are a little edgy.”

Photo: James Ray Spahn
Architect: Daniel J. Murphy
Interior designer: Interni Design Studio
See more: A Guest Cabin Filled With Rustic Comforts

To keep the dining area from feeling cluttered, Denver interior designer Rebecca Kaufman paired a custom trestle-base table with upholstered benches in lieu of traditional dining chairs. The Dufrene head chairs are by Artistic Frame, and the light fixture is by Ragged Mountain Antler Chandeliers.

Photo: Kimberly Gavin
Architect: Chris Dallmus, Design Associates
Interior designer: Rebecca Kaufman, rebaL design
See more: A Mountain Home on the Range

The idyllic setting was the perfect complement to the couple’s active lifestyle—and their vision for a house that would honor the property’s history. “From the very beginning, we knew we wanted the home to look like it had always been there, like it belonged on the ranch,” the owner explains. “We weren’t striving for a Western or cowboy look, but we wanted our home to have the character of an old barn or farmhouse.” The dining room’s hand-hewn beams and steel-framed windows give guests the sense of dining al fresco.

Photo: Audrey Hall and Ron Johnson
Architect: JLF & Associates, Inc.
Interior designer: Associates III Interior Design
See more: A Ranch Redux in Jackson Hole

When it came to the design of the home, interior designer Sherri Luhr preferred something she considered “rustic modern,” joining rugged materials and textures with free-flowing interior spaces that readily open to the outdoors. Luhr cleverly filled the narrow spaces between reclaimed wood boards on the dining room wall with strips of mirror to reflect light from the adjacent great room. “It’s funny when friends take a close look and try to figure out what they are seeing,” Luhr says. The salvaged-wood table is surrounded by rattan chairs and lit by custom metal pendants.

Photo: Heidi A. Long
Architect: The Jarvis Group
Interior designer: Sherry Luhr
See more: Where Rugged Meets Refined in Idaho

"An American lumberjack marries a worldly princess, and they really like each other!” That’s how interior designer Charlene Petersen describes her family’s sumptuous Montana retreat, where unlikely pairings result in a home as fanciful and colorful as its owner’s daring design sensibility. “I’m not afraid of the patterns,” she says of her assemblage of antique tapestries, Suzani rugs and Indonesian pieces. “My style always embraces a collected aesthetic—African artifacts, Persian and Moroccan carpets, bold ethnic patterns.” The dining table is from Mitchell & Yanosky custom furniture.

Photo: Audrey Hall
Architect: Locati Architects
Interior designer: Charlene Petersen, Cashmere Interior
See more: Culture Crush

Reclaimed materials, often with local origins, and a soothing gray, cream and brown color scheme give the home a more tranquil and organic feel. “Montana is so inspirational —the colors, the sense of space and the texture,” interior designer Rain Houser says, “and we like to take our cues from our surroundings.” Houser repurposed a rusted steel fire bowl as a light fixture above the custom dining table. “We wanted something more intimate, more moody and completely unique,” she says.

Photo: Audrey Hall
Interior designer: Rain Houser, Pearson Design Group
See more: A Montana Home Renewed With Rustic Style

“We wanted the house to take advantage of the views of mountains and trees all around us, while also feeling cozy and looking like it had been here for many years,” says one of the homeowners. With that in mind, she and her husband decided to hire an architectural firm based in Bozeman, Montana, widely regarded for the way its designs seamlessly blend contemporary living with the authentic rustic style of the Rocky Mountain West. The dining area has motorized screens recessed above the room’s folding glass NanaWalls. They descend to keep out pests at the height of summer. The batik image of a bison, by artist Bonnie Kassel, resembles a cave painting.

Photo: Audrey Hall
Architect: JLF & Associates, Inc.
Interior designer: Associates III Interior Design
See more: An Unconventional New Home in Jackson