Death of the dining room? Say it ain’t so! I’m realizing that more and more homeowners are eliminating the need for a separate dining room. They prefer it as an extension of their kitchen and would rather utilize the additional space for a home office or a larger living room. Our first house was laid out this way. It was one large room that served as the kitchen and dining space. Sure, I liked it. It was very functional and used daily but…I knew when we decided to build our home that I wanted the traditional dining room.
I like them, and I like the way they (can) look. It’s the first room in our home that is seen and because it isn’t used daily, it is always clean! Both my husband and I have large extended families, so if we are entertaining, we need all the seating we can get. My side of the family is out of state so when they come to visit, we like to eat in the dining room or play some games and chat over wine. Most of my husband’s side of the family lives in the same neighborhood as us. His little brother’s family comes by for dinner on occasion. Ok, so we ate lasagna in there with them ONCE but it’s a new house so there will be more opportunities to come. 🙂
Honestly, without a dining room, where does everyone gather for Christmas dinner? Are they all scattered around the breakfast table and hovering around the island? Eating with their plates on their lap in the living room? I call that a Saturday BBQ around here haha. We aren’t a formal family, but I still like to “do it up” for holidays because it feels special and I may even wear something other than pajamas.
Our home already has a home office, but since we plan on being in this house a looooong time, it can become whatever we want it to be. We could easily add some built-ins on the back wall and some french doors to make it another home office, but I just don’t see that happening in our case. I like dining rooms! It’s the candles, ambiance, mood and where I can appreciate the special occasion. However, why don’t people use them more often?! I blog in here, in fact, I am right now. Maybe we should just randomly eat dinner in here on Wednesdays because, why not?
Our home is an open floor plan but I can appreciate a little separation. If my husband is watching a game with my Dad and us ladies want to chat, we can go to the dining room. Trust me, this option is better than my Dad (not-so-subtlety) turning the TV volume up until we leave the room! I guess I just don’t want chairs to dominate an open living space (breakfast nook, island counter, dining table). Plus, I feel fancy and grown up when we do use it. What is your dining room experience? It is passé or do you still prefer a dining room?
6 Responses
I too love formal dining rooms, even though we mainly use them for Holidays with family. When our boys were younger we all got dressed up once a month and ate dinner in the dining room using the china and crystal so that the boys would be comfortable later in life when they began dating. It worked well and they still know how to use “all” the silverware!!
We had same ideas building our house and wanting a dining room. It is only used a few times a year to eat a meal but we are happy to have that formal eating area. It makes a good homework area and puzzle assembly room as well.
I agree!! And your house is gorgeous!
That’s actually a great idea! We might have to try that 🙂
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