Dining Drama

“Dark and uninviting” is how Nancy de Bin describes the dining room in the Little Rock home she and her husband, Chris, purchased a few years ago. Eager to create a space better suited to their lifestyle, one that was elegant enough for formal entertaining yet relaxed enough for family meals with their young son, they decided a renovation was in order. And with the help of designer Scott Paterek of Massimo, they got exactly what they wanted—beginning with a heaping dose of red paint. “The color is warm and inviting but also dramatic,” Nancy explains, “and it blends with all of the warm earth tone colors that I am drawn to for tablescapes.”

To complement their choice of color, the couple also kept the other elements of the room colorful and interesting. Silk draperies in a similar bold hue line the two windows that flank the fireplace, and the mantle features brilliant rusty-colored glass tile. The de Bins, who are art collectors, also opted to hang a graphic painting found in Italy, as well as a mother-and-child painting by New Jersey-born artist Gino Hollander, to punctuate the color-saturated walls. As for the dining table, while long and simple lines give it a formal feel, tall chairs with copper backs lend a touch of whimsy, and a statement-making crystal chandelier, which hangs centrally from above, emits a warm and relaxing glow throughout the space. “The room looks lovely at night because it shimmers,” Nancy says.

Design Resources

Builder Chris de Bin Construction, Little Rock
Interior design Scott Paterek, Massimo, Little Rock
Accessories, dining/side table, lamps, rug Massimo, Little Rock
Chandelier refurbishing Lamp Works, Inc., Little Rock
China Cobblestone & Vine, Little Rock
Draperies Cynthia East, Little Rock
Glassware Dillard's, locations statewide
Tile Elder Distributing, North Little Rock