Your dining room is a perfect place to add a touch of Italy.  This makes a Venetian theme is a wonderful choice for a formal dining room.  Here are some tips for creating a Venetian dining room.   

Begin by adding a Venetian Plaster wall finish to your walls.  This can be done quite easily with any number of products especially designed for a Venetian look.  You can find this at your local hardware store.   

Next, you will want a Venetian mural on the wall of your dining room.  If you cannot paint it or hire a muralist, consider purchasing a wall art with a scene from Venice, or perhaps a large standing screen with a painted mural.   

Furniture for your Venetian Dining Room should include an elaborate table and chair set with scrollwork and carved legs.  It should be richly upholstered in a tapestry fabric.  You should be able to easily find reproduction furniture that is specifically Venetian in style.   

Finally, you will want to add Venetian décor and accessories to your room.  Use a richly colored table runner and a series of old-world vases and bowls filled with flowers and fruit.  Also add Venetian décor to your walls such as this Venice Metal Wall Flower Vase.  At 22.5”H X 12”W this vase is will serve as a large focal piece in your dining room and will be able to hold a wonderful bouquet of white roses that you can cut from your garden. 

• November 2007