YOUR DESIGN GUIDE | ROOM CHALLENGE
If you’ve ever looked at your dining room, or the corner where a dining room is supposed to be, and thought:
We only use this table for mail.
It doesn’t feel finished, but I don’t know what it needs.
The light is wrong, the rug is wrong, and I can’t tell which to fix first.
I have people coming for Thanksgiving and I’m not ready.
This month is for you.
The monthly 30-Day Room Redesign Challenge is back, and November is Dining Nooks + Dining Rooms, just in time for Thanksgiving and holiday hosting.
Instead of trying to redo the whole room the week before guests arrive, or buying a new table and hoping it fixes everything, we’ll take it one manageable step at a time.
I’ll walk you through the same process I use as an interior designer: understanding what isn’t working, figuring out the layout, making design decisions in the right order, and then choosing what actually makes sense for the room.
November: Dining Nooks + Dining Rooms
We begin November 1.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a formal dining room, an open-plan dining area, a breakfast nook or one awkward corner off the kitchen. If it holds a table, it counts.
You don’t need to start from scratch.
You don’t need a new dining set.
In fact, we’ll start with what you already have.
We’ll look at what works, what doesn’t, what can be moved or reused, and what (if anything) is worth replacing.
Your 30-day roadmap
One short lesson a day, in the order I’d work through the room for a client:
Week 1: Figure Out What You’re Working With (Days 1–7)
Week 2: Build the Dining Plan (Days 8–14)
Week 3: Color, Walls + Storage (Days 15–21)
Week 4: Get Ready to Host (Days 22–25)
Final days: Finish It Like a Designer (Days 26–30)
Day 0, the kickoff, is free for everyone on November 1. Days 1–30 are for paid subscribers, one lesson a day through December 1.
Week 4 lands right before Thanksgiving on purpose. By the time you set the table, the room around it will be ready too.
Get the free Dining Nook + Dining Room Checklist
Before Day 1, print this. It’s the two-page checklist I’d hand you if I walked into your dining room: what to measure, the clearances that make a table comfortable, the rug and lighting rules, and a hosting-ready list for the week before Thanksgiving.
It’s free. Join the challenge (or just follow along) and use it all month.
What paid subscribers receive
As a paid member of Your Design Guide, you’ll get:
The November Room Redesign Challenge: one actionable written lesson each day
Designer instructions instead of generic inspiration
Dining layout + table sizing guidance
Seating, banquette + chair help
Rug, lighting + scale rules
Color, paint + wall finish guidance
Art, storage + window treatment help
Table setting, centerpiece + buffet styling for the holidays
Guidance on what to keep, move, remove or replace
Shopping + sourcing guidance
Printable, checklist-style guides
Paid subscriber Chat for questions + community
The Design Toolkit, with my guides free while you’re subscribed
The full archive of challenges while subscribed, including September’s Entry + Living Room
How the challenge works
The format is simple.
Each day, I’ll publish one focused written lesson with a clear next step.
You can follow along daily or move through the lessons at your own pace. There’s a catch-up day at the end of each week.
Some days will be about planning.
Some will be about layout.
Some will be about the table, the chairs, the rug and the light.
And some will be about deciding what not to buy.
The idea is to take the overwhelm out of the room by breaking it into smaller decisions.
The order matters
One of the biggest reasons dining rooms go wrong is that people buy the table first and plan the room around it afterwards.
We’ll work through the room in a logical order:
Inspiration + direction
Inventory
Measurements
Layout: table, seating, rug, light
Color + walls
Selections + storage
Styling for hosting
By the time you start making purchases, you’ll have a much clearer idea of what the room actually needs.
Who this is for
The challenge is for you if:
your dining room has turned into a drop zone
you have a corner that could be a dining nook but isn’t
your table, rug and light don’t feel like they belong together
you’re hosting this season and want the room ready
you want professional design guidance without hiring a designer for a full-service project
you want to work with what you already own before buying more
you want a clear plan instead of more inspiration
You do not need a perfect home, a huge budget or a separate dining room.
You just need a table you want to gather around.
Free vs. paid
Free subscribers will continue to receive design ideas, inspiration, practical tips and selected posts, plus the free Day 0 kickoff and the checklist.
Paid subscribers get the deeper guidance:
Free gives you the ideas. Paid gives you the plan.
That includes the monthly challenge, step-by-step lessons, subscriber-only resources, sourcing help, guides, Q&A and the full challenge archive while subscribed.
We start November 1
November’s challenge focuses on:
Dining Nooks + Dining Rooms
If that’s the space you’ve been meaning to work on, and you have people coming for the holidays, this is a good month to join.
Become a paid subscriber before November 1 and you’ll be ready when Day 1 arrives.
Join paid and redesign your home one room at a time.
Know someone who’s hosting Thanksgiving this year? Send them this. The challenge is better with a friend working on their table the same week.
If your dining area is really a layout problem (the table blocks the walkway, nothing fits, you’re not sure where it should go), The Room Layout Fix is my step-by-step guide to planning the room before you buy anything.
Want help with your own room?
If you’d rather hand your dining room to me, my Complete Room Design is the full plan done for you: two layout options, a concept board, paint colors and a shopping list with links, all designed online from your photos and measurements.
Dining nook FAQ
When does the November Room Redesign Challenge start?
November 1. Day 0, the kickoff, is free for everyone; Days 1–30 are for paid subscribers, one lesson a day through December 1, with Week 4 landing right before Thanksgiving.
Do I need a separate dining room?
No. A formal dining room, an open-plan dining area, a breakfast nook or one awkward corner off the kitchen all count. If it holds a table, it counts.
What should I buy first for a dining nook?
Usually nothing yet. Most dining rooms go wrong when the table is bought first and the room is planned around it afterwards. Take inventory, measure, then plan the layout (table, seating, rug, light) before you shop.
Is there anything free?
Yes: the Day 0 kickoff and the Dining Nook + Dining Room Checklist, a two-page list of what to measure, table clearances, rug and lighting rules and a hosting-ready list for the week before Thanksgiving.
More from Your Design Guide:
- Join the 30-Day Room Redesign Challenge (September: Entry + Living Room)
- October’s Room Challenge Is a 5-Day Sprint. Here’s the Plan.
Follow along on Substack: subscribe free for the Day 0 kickoff, or upgrade for all the perks and the full November challenge.
Originally published on Your Design Guide. Read the full post and the comments on Substack: Join the November Room Redesign Challenge
