Diner Style. Explore creative design ideas, tips and inspirations for this classic architectural design style.

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Caribbean Style

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Genuine Gold or Silver Leaf applications on picture frames, mirrors and objects are delightful ways to add enhancements to the rustic interior. I’ve chosen to use Genuine Silver Leaf for this demonstration, as I love the softness and slightly aged patina that results with a Silver gilt object. This application method holds true for use with Genuine Gold and metal leaf as well.

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Diner Style

Inside a diner are the dazzling colors, comforting curves, and reflective surfaces that invite us to settle down with a chunky white mug of coffee and a slice of apple pie.

The classic oblong steel and glass diner represents one of the most uniquely charming and completely American of styles, much beloved and sought after. Originally inspired by the glamour of railroad dining cars, the train-car shaped metal restaurant structures are a mainstay of 20th-century roadside and "hometown" culture. Although their heyday peaked in the 1950s, diner cars are still manufactured today.

Inside a diner are the dazzling colors, comforting curves, and reflective surfaces that invite us to settle down with a chunky white mug of coffee and a slice of apple pie. Catch a glimpse of a stranger reflected in the polished stainless steel behind the open grill.

Contemplate the donuts in their countertop display. Ask the waitress in her pale blue uniform for a refill on that coffee. Watch the streetlights shining in the hoods of cars outside. And of course, don’t forget to put a quarter in the jukebox, whether it’s the miniature version at each table, or the big one at one end of the oblong room.

Miami Modern - MiMo

Miami Modern Style

Miami Modern, or 'MiMo' interiors are modern -- but with as many, twists, turns, and flourishes as can be crammed into them. They should feature curving, sweeping lines, theatrical lighting effects, lots of color and drama, and, if possible, multiple floor levels.

Antiquing Video Tutorial

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Elements of Diner Style

Down home comfort

Diner style evokes a special kind of comfort—more public and industrial than we expect from home, but offering more privacy and solace than a formal restaurant. It’s a place to be a regular and talk about the good old days. Perhaps your kitchen has the soul of a diner, waiting to be released.

Friendly and familiar Diners evoke a down-home comfort, a place where the regular folk meet, travelers stop in and have a regular cup of joe. Hash browns, buscuits and gravy, eggs any way.

And if you have a spare quarter, you can listen to vintage rock and roll on the table side juke box.

Go ahead and have the pie too! You might just find the best apple pie this side of the Mississippi!

Diner Style Inspirations

Walls:

Stainless steel abounds, from kitchen back-splashes, and polished refrigerator doors, to napkin holders and creamers.

Glass blocks, tile, and Formica paneling become mainstays of this style. They are some of the newest and best examples of innovative materials developed during that day, helping define the 1950's style.

Details:

It's all in the details; glass bricks, a nickel jukebox on each table, restaurant accessories like napkin holder, sugar dispenser, and ketchup squeeze bottles.

Furnishings:

Share a soda pop at the counter, lazily swaying on the polished spinning stools. Bright-colored wood booths with red and white checker patterns tracing the rounded and curved back rests. Formica table and counter tops, with spider-web patterns of gold and fleckels of green and blue.

Floors:

Linoleum is a staple in vintage Diner style. A new comer to interior design in the 1950's, it is durable, colorful and available in a multitude of patterns. Most common floors are faux granite in appearance, or the classic white-black, or red-black checker board pattern.

Lighting:

Chrome and glass. Neon signs and lighting.

Food:

Hamburger, shakes and fires. Can't be it with some pop musinc playing on the table top juke box.

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Floral patterns used as accents in fabrics and furniture are common place details in the English Country home. These graceful and organic patterns complement the cozy interior of this style and work particularly well with lace window treatments, an heirloom tea service set and the natural and rustic charm of wooden ceiling beams and slightly irregularly textured walls.