Dinner is not served
Formal dining rooms get smart makeovers for year-round use
The heirloompolished,good china tablecloth.the crystalsits atop The glistens grandma’ssterling and is the table. Soon extra the chairs candles are will arrangedbe lit. around We’re about to enter the holiday season when, for many of us, the formal dining room takes center stage, providing the setting for gatherings that make lifelong memories. It’s a sight to behold. But what about the other 360-plus days a year? Is the square footage of your dining room wasted space, or are you putting it to good use year-round? Many homeowners are rethinking that formal space and finding ways for it to perform double duty.
“We live a bit differently now than people did when their houses were built,” says Mequon interior designer Megan Brakefield. “More casually, really, except for a few times a year for many of us. If you have a good eatin option in the kitchen, then the dining room space probably isn’t being used to its full advantage.”
Interior designer Amy Carman says, “We’ve had a number of clients reconsider their need for a formal dining room. We’ve transformed dining rooms into home offices, libraries or cozy sitting rooms — spaces that our clients know they will use on an everyday basis.”
Carman recently worked with an Elm Grove family that undertook an extensive home renovation.
“Although they had a room that could have easily served as a formal dining room, they decided instead to make that space into an office,” she says. “They created a generous dining area just off the kitchen that they use every day, but it’s elegant and spacious enough to entertain guests and to use for special occasions as well.
“They like the idea that they are inhabiting every room in their home rather than setting aside a formal space that is only used a handful of times a year.”
In another project of Carman’s — a loft — the dining table is tucked between tall bookcases and serves as a desk in a home office arrangement for the majority of the time. The table can be pulled out when dining space is required.
In a lake home project, Carman says her clients opted for a built-in nook instead of formal dining space. The nook doubles as a place for homework, craft projects or working on a laptop while enjoying views of the lake.
Brakefield assisted clients in Bay View who eliminated their formal dining room entirely.
“They are empty nesters living in a bungalow and the kitchen was very small,” she says. “We took the wall down between the dining room and kitchen, added a big island and a banquette off the end of the island. The dining space in the kitchen is all they need.
“The whole area has been adapted to how they really live, and they use all the square footage they have.”
Brakefield also has a project on the boards involving an older house in Whitefish Bay.
“It’s a very active family with three kids,” she says. “They have room for eat-in seating in the kitchen, so the plan is to turn the dining room into a game room and homework area when it’s not needed as a dining room. The big round table will seat as many as eight for dinner, but can flex for games, cards and more.”
Homes with formal dining rooms often were built in the past century when compartmentalized floor plans were the norm and the space was divided into formal and informal areas. But times have changed.
Architect J.C. Schmeil designs homes for today’s lifestyle. He says that the current trend toward open concept homes focuses on a less rigid layout.
“Open living plans by nature don’t really embrace the idea of a formal dining room,” he says. “Instead the idea is that living, dining and kitchen spaces are all visually connected.”
The National Association of Home Builders’ most recent Home Buyers Preference Survey confirms that. It found that 51% of new homes today are built with the kitchen and dining areas completely open to each other. Another 24% are partially open to each other.
In the 2016 Remodeling Market Index, professional remodelers reported that 40% of their projects involved making the floor plan more open by removing interior walls, pillars and arches.
But older, smaller homes tend to be more boxy and space often is at a premium. Having a separate dining room do double duty may be a solution to get more use out of the room.
“I have always liked the idea of a dining-library area,” says Schmeil, who is part of the Merzbau Design Collective. “It provides something interesting to look at and can be a nice space to sit and work or for kids to do homework when the area is not being used for dining.”
That’s the case with the dining-library room in his own home in Austin, Texas. Featured on HOUZZ, the popular home and design website, the picture of his dining space gets a significant number of views and saves.
What are some other dual purposes for dining rooms?
A music room with doors to close it off when young people practice their instruments. If it includes a piano, its top can be used as a server or buffet. A wine room, with a small wine fridge tucked away and an array of wine glasses decoratively displayed. A card room, with a round table and comfortable chairs for poker nights with friends.
A meditation or yoga room, with furniture arranged to create an open
space for a mat and quality portable speakers for playing soothing music. A part of the living room. If your formal living room is large enough (and perhaps not used often, either), designate one end as a dining room.
If your dining room will be taking on additional duties, you may want to eliminate the typical trappings. Instead of a chandelier that hangs down and dominated the room’s center, consider a semi-flush light fixture or recessed lighting instead. Don’t forget the dimmers. Adapt the flooring to the room’s new purpose. That might mean eliminating the area rug that fits perfectly under the dining room table when it was centered in the room. Or buying a bigger one that covers the whole floor.
Choose flex furniture that can serve dual purposes: a printer cabinet that provides a serving surface if your dining room doubles as a home office or a poker table that, with the additional of a top, serves as a dining table.
“We think of our homes as a place to gather and enjoy company, and the holidays are the perfect time to do that,” says Brakefield. “You may still want to have a dining room for those special occasions, but there are ways to make the room adapt to how you really live the rest of the time.”