Dining Room?

[pb4uski]

......Our dining room has nothing else in it but a mahogany table, chairs and sideboard, some oil paintings on the walls and a fireplace. We set the table, dim the chandelier and, if it is winter and I think of it in time, sometimes lay a fire. The light glinting off of the wineglasses and the silver makes a nice, relaxing atmosphere, as does some nice dinner music drifting in from the stereo in the adjoining living room. .....

For a second or two there I thought that this story was going to transition to other rooms in the house .... but alas, disappointed again as it just transitioned to dirty dishes....

 

[utrecht]

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!

 

[Midpack]

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!

Open concept with no formal dining room is still the top requirement mainstream buyers report to realtors. 1%-ers and McMansion buyers notwithstanding...

Yet, as far as building trends go, the dining room has become more of a fixture in modern day homes. According to a U.S. Census survey that focused on the evolution of new American homes by decade, 46.9 percent of homes constructed before 1960 had dining rooms, compared to 50.6 percent of homes constructed between 2005 and 2009. Keuber chalks up these numbers to the fantasy that often is involved with decorating and designing a new home.

Why Dining Rooms Are Becoming Extinct

 

[utrecht]

I'm confused. Is the cycle of madness ending or not? It sounds like its not. If I read that correctly, people report they don't want a dining room but dining rooms are still a fixture in modern homes? Thats what I said, right?

 

[RunningBum]

What usually happens is that the young wife calls to me from the kitchen "You better get the table set. This will be done in three minutes".

I do think a meal is enhanced by the surroundings in which it is served. Our dining room has nothing else in it but a mahogany table, chairs and sideboard, some oil paintings on the walls and a fireplace. We set the table, dim the chandelier and, if it is winter and I think of it in time, sometimes lay a fire. The light glinting off of the wineglasses and the silver makes a nice, relaxing atmosphere, as does some nice dinner music drifting in from the stereo in the adjoining living room. We don't have to look at the dirty dishes and associated cooking clutter in the kitchen, and we can clear our minds, enjoy the food and talk to each other. Yes, it is more work to set the table and clean up afterwards, but I enjoy it.

That sounds really nice. I'd like that, but I usually dine alone, so I almost always eat at my counter, which has a clear view of the big screen TV to watch the news or whatever else. I never eat my dinner in the living room unless maybe it's pizza or a sandwich, but rarely even then. I've thought about getting one of those coffee tables with the top that raises up and toward you, but more for my laptop than for an eating surface.

 

[Hermit]

The house I am building has an open living room/kitchen with a counter separating them. It also has a "dining nook" off the kitchen. (My architect thought I should have somewhere to eat, so she stole 8 feet from my wood shop.) The dining area is 8' by 10' with an 8' closet/pantry. It will be just big enough to move the table to the middle and have it extend a bit into the kitchen area when a large group is there. When it is just me the table will be moved to the side in front of the window which gives me a panoramic view of the mountain range as I drink my morning coffee. Resale was not a consideration. When I die or have to come down out of the mountains, the house will go to my DD as a summer cabin and likely passed down to the next generation as most places up here are.

 

[Rustic23]

We have one. Absolutely wasted space!

For us I think it was generational. DW's family used formal dinning room exclusively. My parents use both. We acquired dinning room furniture, and DW was now going to let it go. So when retirement home was built, it has a dinning room.

 

[samclem]

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.

I think many like the >idea< of a dining room, the idea that they'll be sitting down with all their close friends every week around a big dinner, that their extended family will join them during the holidays, that they'll finally have a place for the china Mom gave them. They buy houses based on the idea of the fantastic life they'll have once they get that house. Kinda like they buy a boat imagining all the great times they'll have on the lake (while in reality it ends up collecting water and mosquitoes under a rotting tarp in the back yard. Next to the big 4X4 that has never been off the pavement.)
People seldom make the choices about major purchases based on their present needs, they buy things for aspirational reasons. And if folks deliberately decide this won't be true when the time comes to sell their home ("nobody actually needs a dining room, I won't put one in this house"), they may pay the price. It's generally not a good idea to bet against the power of human dreams/desires.

 

[karen1972]

My next house isn't going to have a dining room. Of course it's not going to have a formal living room or a foyer either. I think there's going to be a big market for 1 or 2 bedroom houses with a big den, big kitchen with eating area, and a big utility area and garage, all on one floor. Who needs all those rooms we never use. I'd love to build it and live in it for most of the rest of my life. I'm sure there'd be someone out there that would like the same concept and would buy it when I'm finished with it.

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'm like but we have an aging gernation and lots of millennials that don't have the "stuff" of the older generations (especially with everthing digitized. I mean a home office these days is way more important than a dining room... and one not stuck in the basement or crammed into some corner.

Its one of the other reasons we rent, huge kitchen, dining eat in space, 2nd bedroom makes perfect office, large living area, larger master bed/bath. now if some builders just got a clue.

 

[anethum]

To answer the OP's question, if I were buying a place I would want somewhere to put a dining room table, but it doesn't have to be in a completely separate room.

When I bought my small (<1200 sq. ft.) pre-WWII house, it surprisingly had a separate dining room. However the kitchen was tiny; more than 2 people could not stand in it at the same time. I had the wall between the kitchen and dining room taken down and the kitchen area expanded into what had been part of the dining room. So now it's one open room with a peninsula/counter top and cabinets separating the kitchen and dining area. I like to cook and have friends over fairly often, but I can't seat more than 8 people at my table.

I visited someone in a large old house. The entire rear of the ground floor was made into one huge room. There was a substantial kitchen area which included a big counter with stools, a large table for dining, a fireplace, and a sofa. It was a superb space for a party.

 

[hakuna matata]

I use ours as my Home Office but I think it is needed for resale value. I can't think of any of the houses I have designed that didn't have one or a room that could be used as one. But by the same token, it wouldn't be a consideration for us when we buy a house.

Now--the large soaking tubs...blech. We tore ours out and put in a nice shower, and I know at least 3 neighbors who have done the same thing BUT ask any realtor and they all say you need one. We figured if you decide to not buy our house because of that, well then it wasn't meant to be!

Sometimes you have to make the decision of what you want and go with it. It might be more difficult down the road in resell but it also might not be. 30 years down the road, who knows what the trends will be.

 

[6miths]

I don't expect to have one in next house but of course we will be downsizing. Current house has one and it gets used for family gatherings at holiday and birthday time. I love the 'Great Room' concept too. This is where our family lives!

 

[utrecht]

I use ours as my Home Office but I think it is needed for resale value. I can't think of any of the houses I have designed that didn't have one or a room that could be used as one. But by the same token, it wouldn't be a consideration for us when we buy a house.

Now--the large soaking tubs...blech. We tore ours out and put in a nice shower, and I know at least 3 neighbors who have done the same thing BUT ask any realtor and they all say you need one. We figured if you decide to not buy our house because of that, well then it wasn't meant to be!

Sometimes you have to make the decision of what you want and go with it. It might be more difficult down the road in resell but it also might not be. 30 years down the road, who knows what the trends will be.

We have a large soaking tub in the house we are renting. It would be nice except that its unusable because its too big for the water heater. By the time the tub is 3/4 full, the water us coming out cold.

 

[hakuna matata]

We have a large soaking tub in the house we are renting. It would be nice except that its unusable because its too big for the water heater. By the time the tub is 3/4 full, the water us coming out cold.

Same issue with ours and also why the neighbors got rid of theirs. We used our exactly never in our entire time here. Our daughter used it the one time and the water was cold. Just not a big fan of them as they take up a huge amount of room and no one uses them. We tore it out along with the old shower and toilet, rearranged it all, put the toilet in a small private room and put a nice big shower with a bench where it used to be, and a nice linen closet where the old shower was. LOVE it now!

 

[Calgary_Girl]

We had a dining room in our old house and used it a total of 5 times in 11 years. We built our current home in 2012 without a dining room because the floor plan specs didn't have one. I asked the builder why there was no dining room and they said they do not include dining rooms anymore because there is no demand for them due to the open concept living these days and most people entertain in the great room/kitchen area. Made sense to me!

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!

 

[samclem]

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.

 

[jjquantz]

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.

 

[W2R]

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.

 

[Teacher Terry]

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.

 

[rodi]

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.

 

[harley]

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.

 

[Marita40]

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!

 

[Jack_Pine]

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.............

 

[Midpack]

No formal living or dining room is a very common theme these days, with countless variations. A modest (or expansive to some) example below.

 

[utrecht]

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.