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Steep downward sloping garden; how to make dining room feel safe&cosy

3 years ago

How do I fix this NW-facing room without knocking it down (yet)? Our step-down, lowered-ceiling, dining room has a large bay window looking down onto a long, steep, downward slope, and I can't figure out how to make the room feel safe and cozy. Grounding the space with rugs and the outside chair has helped a bit, but psychologically, the room always feels like it is about to tumble down the hill. At least, I think that is the problem with it. We're not yet ready to do the big renovations, like raising the ceiling and replacing the floor. What can I do in the meantime?

Featured Answer

Carolina

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

How about a nice upholstered bench in the bay window? Don't know if this fits, but I think it (or something similar) will give the space more of a base than the rug alone. And a good spot to enjoy the view from https://www.made.com/scott-ottoman-bench-navy-cotton-velvet

Comments (32)

Sonia
3 years ago
Do you have a patio/seating area outside the large window, or does the garden tumble down? I’m thinking you could get a wooden deck built out there, with rails, to create a visual stop so you don’t feel you’re going to fall down. Deck is relatively cheap but doesn’t last long, but may tide you over? A picture of the garden from that window may give us an idea what you are working with.
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
good point--thank you. I have a small, 3-4 foot space before the diagonal rocks mark the next level, which is about a foot down. (The large rocks form a stepping path down to the next major terrace.) We don't use it for seating because it is almost always shaded, but I have put a chair there for visuals.
E D
3 years ago
Just to say the view and the garden are gorgeous. 👌
Ellie
3 years ago
The view is gorgeous and I wouldnt want to take from that.

I am not a fan of curtains but I think it is the solution in your case as the curtains would make it cosier would just frame the view.
Ellie
3 years ago
My eye is actually drawn down because of the dark rug in front of the window, so that doesn't help to stop your eyes going down. I'd remove that rug, replace with one same colour as floor maybe if needed.
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you, everyone! I think a bench might be the answer. We've always kept a sheepskin by the the window for lying down and watching the birds. It never occurred to me to upgrade to a bench. I hear what you are saying about curtains. The problem with curtains is that, due to the lowered ceiling, the curtain rail is about head height from the kitchen, and so it draws attention to the ceiling of doomAs for the dark rug--I will keep playing with it.
Sonia
3 years ago
Another good bench manufacturer is Footstools & More. I bought a storage footstool from them and the quality is amazing, so strong. They do about 25 designs with hundreds of fabrics, including leather, and huge range of leg styles too. Really good customer service. Look at their Facebook page for lots of pictures, here’s just a few
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
You could paint it a deeper colour to draw attention to the view outside. This would darken the room but could make it feel cosier.
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
A pinky brown would bring out the greens from outside and may warm it up?
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you, colourhappy. Could you please point me to an example of a pinky-brown? I've spent 15 minutes now staring at the various browns in my house trying to guess whether any of them could be called pinky-brown....
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
But your suggestion, of bringing the greens in from outside, is exactly what I would like to do. The front room, which faces S/SW, somehow brings the greens in with pinks, brown woods, and teals, but those colours don't seem to work in the NW light of the rear dining room.
aisling
3 years ago
I would rehang your pictures at a lower level, as at the moment they emphasis the lower celing.
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this, but getting it right is tricky, especially with paint on a screen. One idea I read about the other day in a brilliant design book is to look at a photo of a room, rather than standing in it. If you do, can you see that the eye is drawn straight to the pictures on the wall rather than the view? This is because we see strong value contrasts first. Squint and see what I mean. I wondered if the wall was darker and without pictures it might act as a picture frame. Will have a think.
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
colourhappy--yes, thank you, I do see. The bright ceiling lights in my initial picture accentuate that contrast. This is a better representation of what the room usually looks like. But you are right, if I think of the window as a picture in its own right, then thay opens up other possibilities.
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
Aisling, thanks. I struggle with the picture height, because when they are at the correct height for the dining room, they draw the eye down and emphasize the height, and ceiling, difference from the kitchen, which is the room we use 90 percent of the time. I don't know whether to hang them for viewing from the kitchen or the dining room, which probably means that they don't work for either one!
Carolina
3 years ago
Here's a visual, hope I picked the right(ish) colour for the wall. I've also lowered your paintings and added the bench
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
This is very tricky isn't it? I would remove the paintings and other items to really focus on the view in order to solve this. You probably want a colour that feels welcoming on a morning and makes the most of the evening light? Blues and cool greens will feel too cool I think. The rug in the window seems to really help. Maybe it would be worth keeping darker things low so that the eye goes up to the view and isn't disrupted by the pictures etc. A colour that is a deeper version of the floor may help but it's hard to know what that is. Another trick is to introduce colours inside from outside, such as earthy landscape colours.
Carolina
3 years ago
I’ve painted a wall in a deep aubergine once and it really framed the view of the green meadows perfectly.
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
Yes, aubergine could be lovely. The red rug seems to really help. Reds, oranges and aubergines look great together. It may be worth removing the picture and painting some test pot samples onto very large sheets of paper and sticking them onto the back wall.
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
Ok, next round. Pictures lowered and make-shift bench in the window. It does look better already--thank you! And colourhappy, you somehow got exactly the colours of the rug, which also explains to me why it seems to work there. It is an antique Azerbaijani piece, but the deep purple in it might be the deep aubergine you two are thinking of--I will have a play. But...I might need somebody to hold my hand if I am to paint the wall purple!
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
Caroline, are you a wizard in your spare time? That image is magical--thank you. It absolutely showed what was possible. Here, I have removed the last picture, too.
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
I would remove all pictures from the back wall, it instantly draws the eye to the window. I think the red rug and the bench really help. Stoney colours and reds and terracotta would really warm it up. It's hard to pick a stoney colour for the wall without knowing exactly the colour of the tiles.
aisling
3 years ago
looks lovely. the view is amazing.
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks colourpro and aisling. The floor tiles are a white, slightly cream vinyl. (The carpets are also a white cream.) I think the previous owners of our house were trying to replicate the bounced light effect they had seen on their travels in the middle and far east. My personal taste would run towards painted floorboards for that effect, but I do enjoy the light for now.
But. I have accidentally withheld some key information, which may explain why I try to keep a picture on that wall. The view from the dining room is stupendous, and the outside garden is amazing. This is not a complaint, but a bemusement: May I present the view from the kitchen counter, where I spend 90 percent of my kitchen time? ;)

(The radiator is on the old rear wall of the house, which had a window on the right and a patio door on the left. For some reason, they left the wall in when they added the dining extension.)
Carolina
3 years ago
Looks so much better! I’m from a long line of Dumbledores 😁
Carolina
3 years ago
Lol, I wasn’t referring to the radiator view. Alas I cannot magically remove that for you
Lynn Baba
Original Author
3 years ago
and, coulourpro, this is a close up of the rug's colours, just because I think it is a beautiful palette that you might like to see. It is an antique made with vegetable dyes--the yellow is turmeric-- and I don't think it is a colour palette I have often seen in the West.
Carolina
3 years ago
It’s gorgeous
KXD
2 years ago
Interesting discussion Lynn. Your dilemma is similar to what I am pondering on at the moment for my house which made me pull out an old design book. As human beings we have a psychological need for shelter and safety. This is the principle of ‘refuge and outlook’. Per the book “ In a truly comfortable house, the inhabitants will feel sheltered and safe.... The core of the experience is to be able to comfortably observe the outer world from a position of relative security. Usually, the refuge is at a higher position and is enclosed and dark, the outside look is normally below, unenclosed and lighter. At its simplest we are outside looking out..”.
Based on this I agree with the suggestions above that you should frame the window. I think it is the full glass wall all the way to the floor that is eliciting the unsettling feeling. So 1. yes put a bench in front of the window or better still build in a more permanent structure eg open shelving/cabinetry with a seating on top. Or
1. Could you possibly put railing across the back of the window on the outside? This will still let light in but give it a sense of security.
2. Consider adding some trim to the window to frame the view?. 3. Paint the room a bit darker to make it feel enclosed.
If only I could take my own advice! I have an L-shaped dining room and I am thinking floor length glass doors all round will look stunning! However I am also thinking of how I would feel sitting there at night and so considering a half wall with windows instead - not as stunning but more comfortable? 😉. Still looking for the win-win scenario so ideas welcome. 😁
KXD
2 years ago
Let us know how you solved your problem.☺️
sharon sutton
2 years ago
Embrace the amazing view. Remove pictures. Turn your dining table around and put a compact swivel chair and small coffee table in front of the window in a muted green. Turn it inwards to provide a barrier but swivel it around to enjoy the view for your coffee break.

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