Published June 30, 2023
The Comeback Kid: The Return of the Family Dining Room
For decades, separate dining rooms were considered old-fashioned and were cast aside in favor of more open floor plans that combined the kitchen, the dining room and the living room. The signature kitchen features of this plan include large kitchen islands, breakfast nooks and occasionally a sitting/menu-planning area. However, the open-plan kitchen impacts every other part of the home. Without doors and with fewer walls, sounds from kitchen appliances reverberate throughout other areas of the space, making it hard to concentrate while watching TV or doing homework. Kitchen clutter from meal prep is also in plain view, making it important to keep things washed and dried, and to put them away as soon as possible.
Dining in style
If nothing else, the isolation during the pandemic lockdown reminded us of how important it was to be with family. It made us yearn for a time when we could all once again sit around the dining room table to enjoy special meals together. The idea of a dining room as a place for "Norman Rockwellesque" special occasions and formal dining and everyday eating began to gather popularity. With personal space at a premium, families reclaimed the seldom-used formal dining room. In fact, dining rooms became de facto homework centers and workspaces, calling our attention to a little-used room in our homes. It was time to reclaim the dining room table, and rather than being a closed-off room, dining rooms are now decorated as inviting, airy open spaces.
A hybrid version is the "broken-living" plan in which an open floor plan is divided into separate and distinct areas. With its own decorative style and choice of flooring, each area has its own distinct function. Bookcases, split-level flooring or free-standing decorative screens offer other ways to separate one area from another.
Designers of dining rooms are reimagining the space. Dining rooms create a special place in our lives that takes us out of the mundane and elevates the everyday dining experience. They can also multitask as a game room, home office or hobby area. As a separate room, dining rooms can be dramatic in color, include wall moldings, and feature statement ceiling lighting, such as chandeliers.
Ideas for updating your dining room
- Refresh the room by updating the dining room table, chairs and/or lighting. Consider wood as a table material choice for its durability and antibacterial properties.
- Choose a table that can expand to accommodate more guests when needed.
- Select upholstered chairs for a luxurious look and greater comfort for your guests.
- Upcycle a vintage wooden table by painting it in basic colors such as white or brown.
- Use large mirrors on the walls to create the illusion of space and light.
- Curate artwork that gives the room personality and adds interest for your guests while dining.
- Hang statement lighting over the table and make it dimmable to set the desired mood for the occasion.
- Bring the outdoors indoors with plants and other biophilic elements such as bamboo, cork and stone.
- Choose a round table for a small dining room. Even though this shape takes up less space than a square or rectangular table, you can seat more guests around a table without corners.
Families are sitting down to enjoy the time-honored tradition of eating meals together after a busy day. No longer reserved for just occasional use, eating in the dining room is a daily event. Contact us to help you find a home to start your own traditions.
