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Old 09-13-2015, 03:51 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by Calgary_Girl View Post
Not sure if I buy the argument that most buyers expect it for a larger home since our community is homes over 2,800 sq. feet. Our builder built all 40 homes on a two block radius in our community, 5 different floor plans to choose from and none of them had dining rooms. Doesn't seem to have effected sales! :-)
Of course, we don't know how much he would have gotten if those houses had dining rooms. Different regions have different trends in what buyers expect, and it also varies quite a bit by price. That's why I think the OP would be well served to have a talk with an experienced residential real estate agent (or three) in his/her area.
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Old 09-13-2015, 04:12 PM   #42
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I would say that very few people use their dining room except for holidays. Everyone I know eats at the kitchen table, a breakfast bar or on TV trays in the living room. Nobody really wants a dining room but everyone is afraid that the next owner of their house will want one so they new houses keep having a dining room included which is dumb since nobody really wants a dining room.

Someone has to stop the cycle of madness!
We have always eaten in our dining room. When the kids were younger their friends used to love to come over and eat with us because they could actually have a conversation over dinner. So many of their families just ate in front of the TV. Of course, after the friends became teenagers, then eating dinner at Mr. Quantz, the teacher's house wasn't going to happen. Our kids still had sit-down dinners with us, though.

DW and I currently eat almost all of our meals at the dining room table from October through April and most of our meals outside on the deck the rest of the year. True, the table may also have newspapers, books, laptops and other things strewn upon it, but it is the place where meals are eaten.

We also entertain maybe 3 times per year with a, more or less, formal dinner.
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Old 09-13-2015, 04:13 PM   #43
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I agree but no one is building them now.. I can't find any newer builds that are not 3+ bedrooms and 1800+ sq ft.
I know! It's amazing to me because I really do not need or want a home that large. I'd need a skateboard just to get around inside some of these homes.

In many parts of the US there are lots of 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 900-1400 square foot single story homes built in the 1950's and 1960's. IMO often these smaller older homes are suitable for an older single person or perhaps a couple, especially after they have been renovated and upgraded.
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Old 09-13-2015, 04:23 PM   #44
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If you have a kitchen with a table that is large enough to entertain then I don't see the need. We bought an 1950's house & most had a cooking kitchen only & no DR. A few had a breakfast bar. I didn't want that because we like to have people over for dinner frequently & up to 10 -counting us. WE finally found one that the people in 1970 had built a MB & DR off the back of the house which was perfect. WE took down as much of the wall separating the kitchen & DR that we could without disturbing the electric panel. I don't think it matters as long as you have somewhere to entertain.
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Old 09-13-2015, 05:34 PM   #45
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I wish our dining room was bigger. We host a "7 fishes" dinner every Christmas eve for family and friends - often with 16 people all sitting at the same table. We've built a special custom extension to our table, and have to move furniture in the living room because the table extends so far into the living.

Here's some pics:


and the table extension


We regularly have a total of 8 at dinner - (we have families we have over often.) But family dinners or one of the kids friends - those are at the kitchen table - which seats 6 comfortably. We eat dinner as a family every night unless there is something exceptional going on. No tv - just discussion of what's going on in our lives.
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Old 09-13-2015, 10:01 PM   #46
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and the table extension


We regularly have a total of 8 at dinner - (we have families we have over often.) But family dinners or one of the kids friends - those are at the kitchen table - which seats 6 comfortably. We eat dinner as a family every night unless there is something exceptional going on. No tv - just discussion of what's going on in our lives.
It would be really easy to laminate that extension with a nice matching wood (looks like oak?). Just in case anybody looks under the tablecloth.

We actually have a formal dining room, with my deceased in-laws table and chairs and hutches and all. We've been in the house for over seven years, and never used it once. It's a nice big room with open walls. I pushed hard for using it for a pool table instead, but was overruled. I can pretty much guarantee if we had a pool table in there we'd have used the room a lot more.
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Old 09-14-2015, 04:40 AM   #47
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I'd say it depends on the area. My urban area consists mostly of homes built between 1890-1930 and dining rooms are, of course, expected. However, a number of friends and acquaintances have turned those rooms into multipurpose rooms where you can do the traditional Christmas and Thanksgiving feast but then use the room fully other days of the year if you don't want to eat there regularly. Libraries or "reading rooms" or dens are possibilities. If you google "dining room turned into library" you get some great images!
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Old 09-14-2015, 06:48 AM   #48
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We are going to build a 2600 sq ft house when we retire and it will have no dining room. Just an open floor plan from kitchen to a huge room with a table and living area. We built our current house and the dining room is just a place to walk through and set stuff. I won't build one based on resale if I don't want it.
One of the designs we are toying with is below.............

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Old 09-14-2015, 08:05 AM   #49
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No formal living or dining room is a very common theme these days, with countless variations. A modest (or expansive to some) example below.
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File Type: jpg portico-floorplan-dimensioned.jpg (445.5 KB, 26 views)
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Old 09-14-2015, 08:16 AM   #50
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I would say that house in the post directly above mine DOES have a dining room.
I would say Jack Pines floor plan doesnt...and I love it.
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Old 09-14-2015, 08:25 AM   #51
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I like Jack_Pine and Midpack's open plans. I found this one a while ago. I like the idea of the dining area open to living area/kitchen.
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File Type: png house plan.png (205.5 KB, 25 views)
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Old 09-14-2015, 08:40 AM   #52
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FWIW We use our dining room (just the two of us) 2 or 3 times a week. Sunday breakfast too.
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Old 09-14-2015, 08:59 AM   #53
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We typically use the dining room for holiday meals and any other time we have more than 4 people for dinner (once a month or so). With 4 people or less, we eat in the "breakfast nook" or at the island counter, which seats 3. However, with the big table, the dining room always has some craft project in progress, or a puzzle, etc. We also play a lot of board games in there. When the kids were at home, it's where homework was done. When we downsize, we'll go with the large open, great-room concept. But we'll still want a large table that will continue to be used in the same way.
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Old 09-14-2015, 09:49 AM   #54
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My friend in Dallas introduced my to his 2 glance rooms. These were from LR and DR behind glass doors. All his meals and entertaining were done in the Great Room. But we could glance at the other rooms when passing.
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Old 09-14-2015, 12:14 PM   #55
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I would say that house in the post directly above mine DOES have a dining room.
I would say Jack Pines floor plan doesnt...and I love it.
I would say that they both have dining areas (that are a subset of the open-floor plan great room) but that neither have a dining room.
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