Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As an architectural designer I am challenged by this often. I agree that in a smaller house it can consume precious square footage and, like a formal living room, if furnished in such a way that doesn't convey a sense of welcoming comfort it makes it all the worse (I'm with the picture poster on the "look but don't touch!" of the rigidly formal arrangements of the portrayed rooms-the portrait of the girls is over the top, like the new wife putting up the oversized wedding photo above the fireplace in the family room as a decorative choice- but that is admittedly a personal taste thing). There is nothing worse to me than a room that is not used and enjoyed often in a house, and all rooms should at least be set up and furnished realistically for the family that inhabits the house to encourage and welcome its use. Sometimes the floor plan unfortunately places these rooms such that they are often just walked by and never a place to spend time in.
The flexible arrangements described such as combo dining/library or study or even the climbing wall-I love that! sounds like creative solutions of someone taking charge of their surroundings. Bravo!
I am also of the camp though that there is something very symbolic, comforting and connective with breaking bread and sharing conversation in a place designed to celebrate and encourage just that. A family that eats together frequently in such a way is almost always a closer and fun family in my opinion.
In my small historic house -1800 sf. and equally small formal dining room, 10' x 11', adjacent the foyer and kitchen, we designed a built-in banquette and custom table with a very large bold modernist painting above with art lighting that evokes a feeling of a gallery when walking through but also is a room we use often just for the two of us or one of our many dinner parties-at least one a month-the banquette allows eight of us to squeeze in at Thanksgiving. And if the definition of a home is not just shelter but a place for sharing life with friends and family what room better accomplishes that than a dining room. Just make it comfortable and use it if you have one.
I do not need a formal dining room and if I had the choice between two homes, one with one without I would pick without. I think it is more about the lay out of the house and how it works. I think it is more of a personal prefrence than anything. I also don't really need a formal living room and a great room works fine with me. I do think people are living in their homes differently than in the past but it is mostly what works for your lifestyle
We are newly retired and have relocated to a new state. Our home has a huge dining room that so far we have used about 2 times in 9 months (2 holiday parties). If we still had children at home and lots of relatives around, we would probably use it a little more often but not much.
We prefer to have buffets when we entertain and have a huge island in the kitchen that we serve from. We have a very large screened in porch and that is where we plan to entertain this summer. Although I have china, crystal and silver - I really prefer to entertain in a much more casual manner, pottery-barn style manner - not fancy. The dining room ends up being used mainly for a few holiday dinners, and yes, there is something very special about eating in a beautiful formal dining room. It is a lovely room but very rarely used.
We have a good sized entry that is open to the large second floor landing - the dining room is on the right when you enter the house - very spacious opening from the entry to the dining room, thick dentil moldings, etc. - seeing that large dining room as you enter the home does add that "wow" factor that we enjoy. So, I like having that room there but it is almost never used.
Here in our area of Kentucky, formal dining rooms are the norm - most homes have them.
We sold our home in So. California in a very bad market - it took us 3 weeks to sell and we did not have a formal dining room.
I prefer a formal dining room too. I entertain frequently and it just makes it feel special for my family to eat in there. The table is larger and the room is cozy.
I love separate dining rooms. My first home (as a first-time homeowner) had a "dining area". My second home (I am looking now) will be a historic home with a separate dining room. I love the feeling of a large table and everyone gathered around eating, talking, etc. Or just enjoying it by oneself with a newspaper and cup of coffee!
As others have mentioned, alot of people use dining rooms for many purposes, much of this a reaction of how we live today. I wouldn't hesitate to use the dining room as a library and/or a place to display art (instead of china and glass).
I like formal dining rooms, but they need to be of a larger size that can accommodate a 10-12 person table (120"+). IMO, a small formal dining room is useless (nothing worse than feeling cramped at a sit down dinner.) We use ours quite often...a minimum of 10 times a year. And if we're not in the dining room for a sit down dinner, it's because we're outdoors for sit down dinner (our outdoor table can seat 12 comfortably.)
We actually made the family room (15'x18') into a dining room and combined the living room and dining room to make one large family room. Our home has basically been renovated with entertaining in mind.
I haven't read all the previous posts... but personally I would rather have an extra bedroom than I would a formal dining room. I mean, we are the kind of people who eat in our living room on the coffee table while watching tv (bad habit, I know!). In the last 9 months of living in our house, we have only eaten at the dining room table twice (although it isn't a formal dining room, it is more of a dining area in our kitchen). However, we do not have kids, so people with kids may think that a formal dining area is important.
We have always had dining rooms, but we mostly live in older homes. In an older home, the kitchenis usually at the back of the house, withthe dining room between the kitchen and the rest of the house (and t eback door). Thus, the dining room gets used every day because you have to walk through it.
We eat in our dining room regularly for dinner, but rarely for lunch or breakfast. It is nice to have a room where you can sit 10-12 people for a holliday meal.
Our dining room has windows on both sides, so it is very bright and airy. It is one of the most popular rooms in the house. IN fact, we have trouble getting the kids to NOT use the diningroom for homework, reading, etc. I just cannot get them to use th elibrary or the kitchen for those things. Right now there is a laptop computer and a printer sitting on our dining room table as well as some notebooks, text books and papers. Iguess breakfast will defeinitely be int ehkitchen.
By the way we have front and back parlors too (liging room and family room in modern terminology). We keep one parlor neat, clean and formal for entertaining. It is kid of off to the side so that it does nto get traffic. We use it occaisioanlly. We have two teenage daughters who like to use it for small gatherings of friends in a nicer setting than the basement gameroom and where they can be out of the way. Otherwise, that would be the room that we never use (except that our cockatiel lives in there and we go to see,get, play with or care for him).
Probably our least used room is the sunroom off the kitchen. We always forget that it is there and no one is really sure just what that room is for. Soemones people sit in it to get away from the hubub of our household and read a book. It has really become pretty much a room for the dog. The next least used room is the kids bathroom (they always use ours becuase ours is nicer) and the library (becuase the dining room is often used for homework and computering). The laundry room is also on the list of least used rooms, but it is not supposed to be.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
