# 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:** 2
**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, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/21 "2015-02-19T15:09:58Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Have you thought about wall murals? Some of them are great. Good call. Whoa – this is cool: [http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Silver-Orbs-Trompe-L-oeil-wall-mural-wallpaper-4-part-413-pr-2499.html](http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Silver-Orbs-Trompe-L-oeil-wall-mural-wallpaper-4-part-413-pr-2499.html) And you can pick up on it with a chrome chandelier. Also wall decals: [http://www.allposters.com/-st/Abstract-Wall-Decals-Posters\_c139269\_.htm](http://www.allposters.com/-st/Abstract-Wall-Decals-Posters_c139269_.htm) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/22 "2015-02-19T16:29:18Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > You can’t go wrong with [Bierstadt](http://www.art.com/asp/search_do.asp/_/posters.htm?searchstring=bierstadt&SSK=bierstadt&WT.oss=bierstadt). Or a nice [Rembrandt](http://homepage.smc.edu/wissmann_paul/Ana1OnLineTextbook/MuscleChart/MusclesChart.html). ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/23 "2015-02-19T16:48:07Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Also wall decals: > > [http://www.allposters.com/-st/Abstract-Wall-Decals-Posters\_c139269\_.htm](http://www.allposters.com/-st/Abstract-Wall-Decals-Posters_c139269_.htm) Oooh. Liking the Mondrian. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/24 "2015-02-19T16:58:39Z")
How about an American Diner theme? I’ve seen photographs, sketches, paintings, of some cool stuff all Diner related that could be pretty engaging all put together. ---
**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, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/25 "2015-02-19T17:21:47Z")
Damn, so many great ideas. Now I don’t know which one to choose! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/26 "2015-02-19T18:15:41Z")
Pictures of other people eating food ---
**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, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/27 "2015-02-19T18:18:19Z")
Also, are there any windows in the space? I am guessing no but just checking! Even without windows, you could do a fabric wall to soften up the room and add some texture. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/28 "2015-02-19T18:40:27Z")
You could always go in a completely different direction. [Here’s](http://static.dyp.im/FFEoI7JV8P/45e2d3e243fd96a727d09900cfd163d1.PNG) an oil I was considering the other day (before the little missus turned up her nose), the contents of an old, dilapadated shed, although very well done. You could find one of… I know, a bunch of dirty dishes piled up in the sink. It sure wouldn’t be “cliche.” 'Course with something like this it really helps if you’re a bachelor. Women! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/29 "2015-02-19T21:48:59Z")
A friend of mine altered a couple of prints, a little subtly. A street scene of Paris has a tiny UFO flying overhead, and a scene of the canals of Venice has a Loch Ness Monster floating along in the background. Customizing is fun! ---
**Author:** ![InsomniaMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ad7895/32.png) [@InsomniaMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InsomniaMama)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/30 "2015-02-19T21:59:32Z")
Yeah! I once saw someone’s work. They took uninteresting landscape paintings from Goodwill and added Godzilla or similar monsters. Man, I wish I could paint. I’d be all over that. ---
**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, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/31 "2015-02-19T23:31:49Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Or a nice [Rembrandt](http://homepage.smc.edu/wissmann_paul/Ana1OnLineTextbook/MuscleChart/MusclesChart.html). You are talking to a mostly-Dutch girl with a degree in animal physiology, so yes, I would totally put that on my dining room wall. I am the artful voyeur Of your brain’s exposed and darkened combs Your muscle’s webbing And all your numbered bones –Seamus Heaney ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/32 "2015-02-20T00:46:30Z")
I’ve always wanted to hang a wall-size copy of _Guernica_ in a dining room, facing the guests’ seats. 😃 But, if you’ve got a classic gaming bent, you might try [some Georges Seurat](http://wiki.selectbutton.net/_media/fig:pattern:pixelgonal_paintings:mm_sunday.gif) instead. For a more offbeat yet still pleasant look, there’s the [works of illustrator N.C. Wyeth](https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&biw=1196&bih=637&tbm=isch&oq=nc+wyeth+&gs_l=img.3..0l10.14964.14964.0.15134.1.1.0.0.0.0.69.69.1.1.0.msedr...0...1c.1.62.img..0.1.68.c5W1MCu2URY&q=nc+wyeth), although those might be better suited for a room with a fireplace. Perhaps a study, parlour room, or drawing room (the Conservatory and Spicery are, it almost goes without saying, probably unsuitable). ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/33 "2015-02-20T01:09:25Z")
Dogs playing poker or Elvis on velvet… OK I have some famous Australian prints on the wall from Norman Lindsay, very beautiful and a little bit risque! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/34 "2015-02-20T01:17:15Z")
Get some shadowboxes, and fill them with collections. Stamps, antique toys, old perfume bottles sans labels, etc. Odd shaped bottles, filled with colored fluids Or, [THIS GUY’S STUFF!](http://www.shag.com/gallery.html) ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/35 "2015-02-20T01:46:13Z")
Japanese prints always look classy. ---
**Author:** ![InsomniaMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ad7895/32.png) [@InsomniaMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InsomniaMama)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/36 "2015-02-20T15:02:36Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Or, [THIS GUY’S STUFF!](http://www.shag.com/gallery.html) This one is [perfect](http://www.shag.com/BirdsAndBeasts/FruitLoops.html). ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/37 "2015-02-20T18:39:13Z")
[This](http://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/francisco-goya/saturn-devouring-one-of-his-children-1823.jpg) one! ---
**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 22, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/38 "2015-02-22T05:05:20Z")
How about kitchen tools on the wall? Like pots and pans, bowls, wooden spoons, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/39 "2015-02-22T05:09:22Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > [This](http://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/francisco-goya/saturn-devouring-one-of-his-children-1823.jpg) one! Combine with [this](https://psychotronicwitch.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/viejos_comiendo_sopa.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-picture-ideas-for-my-dining-area-and-im-trying-not-to-be-cliche/713018/40 "2015-02-22T09:48:38Z")
I’ve pinned lots of pictures of the [sea](http://topo-designs.tumblr.com/post/83929458164/highenoughtoseethesea-crowded-my-photo) for when we do our renovation, plus [some](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243757398555175287/) [abstracts](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243757398556009091/) [too](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243757398551796432/). I prefer these as it gets away from the ‘so you like dogs then’ kind of effect of a more featured painting. [Previous 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=1)