The dining room, a concept historically in flux
The dining room is completely dispensable. There really is no need for a speci c room in which to dine since we can just as easily eat in the kitchen or in the living room on trays perched on our laps. In fact, prior to the 18th century, there were no rooms with assigned functions, including no room for dining.
There was the “hall,” dominated by the replace, where meals were cooked and eaten. The 17th-century hall in early America was typically lit by a couple of candles and was cramped, smokey, and lled with the noise and odors of daily living. In addition to the fact that speci c dining rooms were not yet a thing, many 17th-century American farms were sparsely furnished, so it was di cult for families to dine together regularly, in part because there were no dining tables. During the late 1700s, families consumed most of their food from either a shared trencher – an oblong wooden dish carved out like a trench, or they ate from a long board, or pair of boards nailed together (to sit “at the board” was to eat). Many times, there were not enough chairs for all members of the family, in which cases the men would sit, and the women and children might stand. (Let’s save the fact that there were few utensils and no napkins for another column.)
As families prospered in the American colonies and gathered more possessions, the “the keeping room,” or kitchen where cooking and the heat and mess that went with it moved to a separate building, the hall became “the best room,” where guests could be entertained. Increasingly important in evolving middle-class culture, the modern dining room became a place for show and display, as well as for communal dining.
In 1772, Thomas Je erson's Monticello, was one of the rst American homes to have a room speci cally meant for dining, with the dining table at its center. It became the example of the “dining room” that began to be incorporated into wealthy homes across the country. As increased commerce brought more comforts, the middle class appropriated this changed notion of home and “dining chambers” began appearing in architecture plans.
Between 1800 and 1829, house plans began locating dining rooms at the rear of the house either as a separate room or in conjunction with the front parlor. Only in 1821, did the dining room move to the front of the house in a prominent position equal to the main parlor. By the 1830s, American builders relied less on English designs for inspiration and developed their own simpler house designs, as Americans did not want grand houses until later in the century.
By the Victorian era, the desire to display one’s wealth was re ected in the complex rituals of dining. Giving dinner parties became an art form where the most minute details of serving and dining were observed. The social interactions in this one room could mean all the di erence in one’s social position, so the dining room was appointed accordingly with all the accouterments of wealth — a massive dining table, ne art, a fancy sideboard, walls covered in elaborate wallpaper and every surface held porcelain, silver and glass.
Finally, due to changing world dynamics, the Victorians found that work got in the way of proper dining, and they adapted their lives and meal-taking to the ringing of the factory bell, Concurrently, many of the huge and elaborate Italianate, Queen Anne Revival, Rococo Revival and Second Empire housing styles of the Victorians were seen as too contrived and less practical to manage and were followed by somewhat smaller “cottages.” And, although it was certainly a time of revivals, the three styles which are unique and original to the early twentieth century — Arts and Cra s, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco each had its own interpretation of dining room design. Although each of these styles had di erent aesthetics and backgrounds and arose out of di erent beliefs, they shared many of the same elements — good, clean lines, modern, and sleekly functional and devoid of the over-ornamentation of the prior period.
A er the ravages of the last war in the mid-20th century, the dining room emphasized the importance of a happy nuclear family. Laid upon the dining table was the idealistic expectation that all family members would be agreeable, pious and united. That romanticized notion of the dining room continued to be pressed upon Americans a la Thanksgiving by Norman Rockwell through the rest of that century.
During the 1990s, the “great room” became popular, and the open-plan concept purported to make cooking, entertaining and even parenting easier. Formal dining rooms became obsolete repositories of unread mail — the least used room in the house. But the pandemic changed that idea and the dining room — having morphed into a home o ce, or classroom during lockdown, got another look. We reappraised how our homes function. The pandemic gave families the experience and the freedom to use the dining room as a multi-purpose space — be it a game room, library or a traditional dining room.
The dining room has always been an evolving concept, endlessly in ux, a source of socialization. The beauty of the current dining room is whether it is used as a traditional, formal dining room or a multi-use dining room, people actually live in it. It is not a stodgy museum.
Michelle Galler is a realtor with Chatel Real Estate, and represents buyers and sellers in both Rappahannock County and Washington, D.C. She is also an antiques dealer and columnist.