The days of the formal dining room are over. And, to be fair, it’s typically a room that only gets used once or twice a year. But what’s taking its place? Read on to learn why the dining room is disappearing and some ways that new home design is dealing with it.
THE DEATH OF THE DINING ROOM
Life has become more casual, and a formal dining room can be just that, formal. Sure you might have holiday meals there, but even then people tend to gravitate towards watching the big game in the great room or mingling in the kitchen. The fact is that for most families, the formal dining room is unused space for the majority of the year.
MORE SPACE ELSEWHERE
One way we see floor plans evolving to not include a dining room is by taking that square footage and spreading it out around the home to areas that need it.
- Bigger mudrooms with full benches and plenty of storage.
- Walk-in pantries in the kitchen or a larger island for meal preparation or to use as a snack bar.
- Home offices that can be closed off from the rest of the home for remote work.
All of these areas in the home are used almost daily, and many homeowners are opting to forego the dining room to improve these functional spaces.
FLEXIBLE FLOOR PLANS
But maybe your home already has a dining room that you never use. Or maybe you’re buying a used home and not building. Well, luckily for you, just because it’s called a dining room on the floor plan doesn’t mean you have to use it as one. Turn it into a home office, or a library. Or you could make it a lounge area, a craft room, a playroom for the kids. You can do whatever you want with that space, and it might be nice to have some flexible square footage to accommodate new hobbies, changing tastes, or a growing family. You can even leave it as a dining room if you want. It’s your home.
If you’re looking to build a new home perfect for our modern lives, contact a Bielinski New Home Consultant today.
