The dining room in any home ends up being one of two things. It is either a central hub of activities, where meals are shared, children do their homework, and parties center, or it is that room that remains spotless and almost never sees a speck of food. If you want to get more out of your dining room, you need to pick out furniture that suits your needs and invites people in. Here are three ways to do just that, and advice for picking out the furniture.

• Dining room china cabinets.

While dining room china cabinets are a great way to display china, or double as wall curio cabinets, they can be thousands of dollars. Their size and elaborate design often puts them out of price range for a lot of people. You can save money by shopping with a company that buys directly from manufacturers. You may need to purchase a membership, but the savings could be worth it. Fill your cabinets with items that may see more regular use, like your everyday flatware. This will give your family more reason to use the dining room.

• Dining room sideboard.

A dining room sideboard can store napkins, extra dishes, or even store centerpieces for the dining room table. They are almost identical in design to dining room buffets. Sideboards are an excellent way to inject more personality into your dining room by matching them to your decor. For example, if your dining room leans towards the Gothic, with dark reds and dark furniture, put some dramatic candles on the sideboard. A stack of old books and some wrought iron accents would also help pull together the dining room.

• Discount dining room sets.

Look for sets that maximize comfort and space. Consider if they can stand up to the kind of use that your family will make of them. For example, kids and frequent parties may require more resilient materials. Will the dining room table often double as a craft center and place to do homework? If so, then the chairs that are going to be used very often should be extra comfortable.

Your dining room does not have to be a barren wasteland, as long as you choose appropriate furniture, bring in a few personal touches, and allow your family to enjoy the space. Remember to try to buy furniture through a service that connects directly to manufacturers. Even with the membership price, you will likely save a lot of money on those dining room china cabinets by eliminating retail mark up. Good refereneces: www.directbuy.com