I put two Solatubes in my windowless dining room. We often eat lunch at the table without turning on lights.

I'm no help on the decorating part - sorry!

Instead of going to the expense of a built-in cabinet, why not just put in a window or two?

If that's not possible then the Solatubes are an excellent idea...and all of Olychick's pictures look great.

OMG Olychick, LOVE the one with the link for the fake window (the rest were pretty awesome too!). We had tried to put a large mirror on that wall since it has an awkward reflection of our lake depending on where you are in the room(s) but it just wasn't right. With breaking up the mirror into panes, it looks realistic and we could place the new "windows" in the correct position(s). This would open up the room a lot!

JoaniePoanie, I got a free credenza off of CL a few years ago, and it has proven indispensable - it just isn't very pretty. It would be nice to have something built in to have the additional counter space for displaying. I was thinking of getting something from IKEA, so as to not break the bank.

I brought in a wardrobe mirror that's approx 4' by 15" to see the reflections from the 12.5' wall. Even with 4' mirror the views of the lake opened up. Widening the "window" though would really open up the room. I don't want to go too overkill on the width but the wider I go with the "window" the more the views are seen. I'm thinking that 8' wide would be too much, but the reflected view is really awesome the wider I go. With as much light as it pulls in from the reflections, it's almost like having a window in the room.

JoaniePoanie, I forgot to mention that new windows are not an option; the garage is on one wall, the utility room on the other. The dining room is the "black hole" of our house....hopefully no longer!

I called around some and found one of the dollar store carries framed mirrors. They said they could easily accommodate my need for up to 40. Here's keeping my fingers crossed that they will work.

A friend has a DR with no windows. She did cabinets (instead of a china cabinet or buffet) with glass doors. She used glass on the opposite wall, so it reflects in a very pretty way the pretty dishes in the glass-doored cabinets. She has a pretty chandelier which has dimmer switch and it can go from daytime to exciting candlelight look.

You said you wanted something dramatic, so I think you should go for it. Put up the mirrors, wide as possible, then live with them for a while. I think they will fade into the background as you become used to them and all you will see is the view and the light! If you are unsure, you could get a piece of plywood, turn it so the 8' is horizontal, mount them on that, arrange them until you like the arrangement (some people here really have an eye for composition, if you aren't confident) lean the whole thing against the wall (prop on something to make it taller) and live with it for a while - then remove the plywood and mount them on the wall.

If you don't have windows, then you will have to rely on Edison lights. (I don't think solatubes will work well as they are more utilitarian than decorative for a more formal room like a DR.)

In addition to the chandy over the dining room table, you can add wall sconces over a buffet or put buffet lamps on it. Then on the other wall, I'd suggest you add a lit cove as a way of lighting the room. It can be one large or several small, and they can be shallower than a built in cabinet so as to take up less space in the room.

[Eclectic Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2104) by Birmingham Interior Designers & Decorators Tracery Interiors

[Beach Style Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/beach-style-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2110) by Miami General Contractors Ba Design Group

[Contemporary Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2103) by Scottsdale Interior Designers & Decorators Ownby Design

Or if you want you can just highlight artwork on the wall as a way of lighting it. I did that with wallpaper panels in my DR to fill my long wall.

Or here's an interesting one with lighting built into shelves.

[Modern Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2105) by Other Metro Photographers Elad Gonen

You could also look into adding trim molding or a tray ceiling with cove lighting to add light to the room.

[Traditional Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2107) by Richmond Architects & Building Designers Birdseye Design

Here's another where they lit a textured wall. You could achieve a similar effect with wallpaper or an interesting paint finish.

[Contemporary Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2103) by Los Angeles Interior Designers & Decorators Caisson Studios

Skylight???

Being the dining room is in the middle of the house (hence why there are no windows), solatubes and skylights would be very deep to get to the roof.

It was remarkable how much light during the day, the mirror brought into the area. My DH would have to turn the chandelier on during the day to see his keyboard. With just the small mirror I had, it completely lit the area up.

I would like to put some lighting on the 11' wall, albeit lamps or sconces.

I like cove lighting and would definitely considering adding it down the line. I'm so desperate at this time, to just give the room some much needed bling down more at eye view.

I have a black hole dining room and found this post on a Google search. I see you started incorporating mirrors and thought about more. What did you end up doing aloha2009? Any photos?