A Different Kind of Dining Room
October 29, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Often thought of as a place mostly for enjoying holiday dinners and birthday celebrations, the dining room is turning into a friendlier, more intimate space as home owners try to maximize existing square footage rather than add on.
One popular trend today is to take down a wall between the dining room and kitchen to make one big, casual cooking and eating space, which can also be used for watching a movie or using a computer.
A trend in custom homes today is a more casual living and eating spaces, an open great room with a corner for dining, or a smaller dining room.
More dining rooms also have become multipurpose with bookshelves, a bar, or paneling that opens to a desk for an at-home office.
Adapt to Familial Needs
1. Younger (under 30) and first-time home owners usually don’t care about a formal dining room. They see it as wasted space that they would rarely use and would repurpose it into a home office, den, or media room. As long as the home has an eat-in kitchen, they’re happy.
2. Families with children want a formal dining room adjacent to the kitchen for family gatherings and holiday meals.
3. Downsizing baby boomers are trying to make their lives less complicated. A breakfast nook or eat-in kitchen works fine for most.
