# I need some picture ideas for my dining area, and I'm trying not to be cliche. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018 "2015-02-18T16:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/1 "2015-02-18T16:59:25Z")
I’m getting new pictures for my dining area. I don’t want to go with wine bottles or food because it seems like everybody does that. The problem is, I’m drawing a blank as to what sort of theme I should go with. Anybody out there with some more unique ideas? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/2 "2015-02-18T17:03:56Z")
In the past, I’ve found [art.com](http://art.com) very helpful in terms of getting inspired to decorate; they’ve got a huge range of styles and periods that you can just browse. They also have a [“kitchen art”](http://www.art.com/gallery/id--r729270/kitchen-art.htm) collection - while a lot of it _is_ food and wine, there are some pretty cool pieces too. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/3 "2015-02-18T17:12:18Z")
You could go Cracker Barrel with a bunch of restored antiques on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/4 "2015-02-18T17:18:24Z")
Sailboats. Dogs. Edward Gorey prints. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/5 "2015-02-18T17:40:25Z")
Do you have any hobbies/interests that could be applied? For example, I really like tea and my kitchen has some tea-related posters (and a tea-set ceiling light). Instead of pictures, what about using items as wall paper? Like old movie posters or Old West “Wanted” posters. (You could have some Wanted posters made up with pictures of you and/or family members.) If you’re into stamp collecting you could make giant stamps and plaster them on the wall. How about painting scenes on the wall? This could be anywhere from a few lines that suggest the Eiffel Tower (yeah, cliche, I know) to a full-blown mural. If you want to stick to pictures/paintings how about some prints from Tier B painting masters like John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, or illustrator Joseph Leyendecker. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/6 "2015-02-18T18:37:36Z")
What style is your house and what colors are in the dining room? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/7 "2015-02-18T18:47:25Z")
I’ve always liked groupings of architectural elements. Many are available and if you’re doing ones that are older like the Flatiron Building in NYC or the Golden Gate Bridge it might be nice to keep them in B&W. There’s old marble Corinthian columns, Roman arches, aquaducts, a stone staircase, a worn and winding balustrade, etc. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/8 "2015-02-18T22:14:52Z")
I’ve always thought a print of Van Gogh’s _[Interior of a Restaurant](http://www.vggallery.com/painting/p_0342.htm)_ would look brilliant in a dining room. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/9 "2015-02-18T22:21:40Z")
How about ‘before’ pictures of food? Cattle, pigs, wheat, fish? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/10 "2015-02-18T23:07:39Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > How about ‘before’ pictures of food? > > Cattle, pigs, wheat, fish? Hey! I actually thought of that. But then I worried that guest might find it a little macabre as they’re munching down their Ribeye while Essie the cow stares back at them. 🙂 Thanks for the input so far guys. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/11 "2015-02-19T01:00:53Z")
Well, I inherited a very nice drawing of Prometheus chained to a rock, his liver being torn out by the eagle sent by Zeus, so that is what is hanging in my dining room. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/12 "2015-02-19T03:21:07Z")
What style is your house and what colors are in the dining room? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/13 "2015-02-19T03:23:42Z")
The dinning room is just four off white walls. Just a blank slate basically. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/14 "2015-02-19T03:27:14Z")
Some old black & white photos of people farming, working in fruit orchards or groves, or on a fishing vessel of some sort. A collection of old fashioned ways food was collected or harvested. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/15 "2015-02-19T03:38:32Z")
I have a 3 by 5 foot tapestry of Pomona, the Roman demigoddess or orchards and fruit trees. And two reproductions of Roman mural art: a bowl of fruit and a small bird (SQUAB!) drinking from a pool. I’d love to get a copy of Caracci’s “The Bean Eater” for my kitchen. > **[The Beaneater](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beaneater)** > > The Bean eater (Italian: Mangiafagioli) is a painting by the Italian Baroque painter Annibale Carracci. Dating from 1580–1590 (probably 1583–1584), it is housed in the gallery of Palazzo Colonna of Rome. > The painting is connected to the contemporary Butcher's Shop (now at Oxford), for it shares the same popular style. Painted in Bologna, it is a broadly and realistically painted still life, which owes much to Flanders and Holland. > Carracci was also influenced in the depiction of everyday life s... ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/16 "2015-02-19T03:41:26Z")
Why go with a theme other than “I like that one”? What I’ve picked up for my dining room so far includes: - a huge steampunk-inspired clock, - two wide-and-short prints by a local artist: one is the silhouette of Barcelona being attacked by Space Invaders and the other involves iconic science fiction characters, again in flat silhouettes - a photograph of chinese masks in a store window, seen through the store’s lowered but not fully closed grille ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/17 "2015-02-19T04:11:25Z")
You can’t go wrong with [Bierstadt](http://www.art.com/asp/search_do.asp/_/posters.htm?searchstring=bierstadt&SSK=bierstadt&WT.oss=bierstadt). ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/18 "2015-02-19T05:59:27Z")
The Last Supper yeah, I _do_ have a reservation in Hell… ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/19 "2015-02-19T08:22:36Z")
Have you thought about wall murals? Some of them are great. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/20 "2015-02-19T13:23:14Z")
A whole bunch of pictures and paintings of old wizards sleeping. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018.md?page=2)