It's your apartment - Do what you want with it.

air mattress for guests is a great idea. unless you have people over so much that it will constantly be on the floor. but really they make decent ones now and it would be better to make your everyday life more comfy than a weekend here or there.

I would use the smaller bedroom as my bedroom and the larger bedroom as dining/office. I made the larger bedroom my office/guest bedroom in my recent 750 sqft 2 bed apartment. However, I did have an dining/laundry room just off the kitchen. Let me say that having guests over and having to scoot around the dryer to get to the table wasn't much fun.

I really like this idea. I don't think it's stupid at all. You will use the full space in the condo more if it was a dining room. Guests won't mind if you have an air mattress. :) Great thinking 99!

It's not weird. If it works for you, then it's right for you. And I doubt if guests would find it weird. When you're served in a restaurant, someone has to walk a distance with the meal. They'll get into the spirit of it.

I have lived in small places without a dining area, and I would have leapt at the chance to take this step.

I turn my desk (Very large old fashioned work table) into a dining table every chance I get. My husband and I joke that we live in a Transformers household. We keep nice folding chairs on hand (that I ordered from Ballard Design) and if pushed can easily accommodate up to ten people in our tiny apartment. And we too host the nerd parties and the nerds love it!

The last reason you should follow this plan is to "silence the critics". You and your BF should figure out how YOU want to use the space -- what configuration makes the most sense to you -- and do what you like.

Yea! It's nice to hear we're not crazy. I think this would work better for us. I'm not sure why we didn't consider this before!

mdorothy- I think our problem was just that we had too many ideas and not enough space. The critics have a point--a table would be nice, I just couldn't see a way of having one space-wise until today.

Go for it! Truthfully, unless you have aging guests staying with you all the time, an air mattress is fine. We recently converted our second bedroom into an office for two, and there is no room for a convertible sofa, so we have an air mattress, a convertible sofa in our four-season room addition... and a twin mattress stored in the basement that we can fit on the floor of the office in a pinch (plus two sofas in the living room for the extremely brave and back-problem free)!

Use your home any way you will truly use it.

Just stage it as its original intention if the apartment ever goes back on the market.

Air mattress for guest is fine I have slept on one a few times and they can be quit comfortable just don't cheap out get a good one.

How about a table that has leaves or folding side that can be used a work table and expand into a larger table when needed. It won't take up that much space day to day. If you have one long wall maximize with a wardrobe cabinet with doors to store all of your things and office items so when you do entertain everything can go into it and it won't look like an office, they even have pull out shelves to use a computer table if you have a desk top.

I've always had a dining room which I miss but I've made do with not having one in the past 8 yrs. My dining table is now my desk in my office and I use my coffee table for dinner parties. I have a couple of small cubed ottomans, and thick pillows plus sofa it works out fine and cozy. I do have a counter in my kitchen where I can serve dinner as well. My living room is very comfortable and most of my friends are architects and designers that have not judged nor made comments about my lack of not having a dining room. Its about the great food, wine and company. It works for me right now for the space I have. Just saying it can work.

Are the food smells going to be trapped in the dining room? Will you always clear the table after dinner?

I'd rather have a separate TV or music room, eat in the living room with a small desk in there.

"Will you always clear the table after dinner?"

Good lord - I hope so!
(Visions of Miss Haversham's Wedding Cake...)

Having not read Great Expectations (Cliffnotes were just too easy in h.s.) I had to look up that reference.

If we go through with this, rest assured we will clear the table. Besides, I wouldn't waste good wedding cake like that.

I'm with the "live the way you want to crowd" - after I renovate my small loft, I'll have plenty of room for a dining table - but when I have guests, I prefer to eat around a large, square coffee table, with everyone nibbling.

Now, the office question is one I've been thinking about - because technology will be changing significantly over the coming years. That means less time at your desk unless you're doing a secure transaction or working on a project. And your printer and all sorts of other things can be stowed, because they can connect wirelessly.

I told my brother to live in his smaller bedroom years ago - the master bedroom is the nicest room in his condo, so I suggested that he turn it into a den, which has worked out great. Considering that sleep doctors tell you to restrict what you do in the bedroom, this is an idea with multiple benefits.

I bought a 750 sf house - one bedroom. The selling point for me was the defined dining room. I loved having a room with a table, chairs, and hutch and nothing more. It was the place of hospitality in my home. I miss that room.

Sold it a few years ago for a little more space, but a combo living/dining room. We have a second bedroom now - it has been used maybe 6 times in 3 years. But it does function as a dressing room, so not a total waste.

Since you own it, why not replace the enrance door with a glass French Door...this way you can open both doors to make it feel less like a "bedroom" while your dining room. And it still works as a guest room/office/bedroom or whatever when you no longer need it as a dining room. You'd be amazed at how using a French Door also opens up the hallway. I've used this trick alot in my clients city apartments.

If you have a closet in that room, put your office in the closet, and then you can close up all your office-y stuff when you're having a dinner party! If you need the storage space, then you could add a sideboard that coordinates with your table, and it would look more like a dining room.

Like this:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/before-after-junk-closet-to-mini-officeentertainment-center-092309

Whatever you do, send after photos!

I think that if you never had a dining table why would you feel the use for one now. Obviously you have gotten by just fine without one.

I also agree, I would use the smaller room as the bedroom and the larger one for your office. I often wish the designer of my apartment had made a smaller bedroom and used that space elsewhere. I find it to be too big. You don't need that much room.

I generally think it is best to design your home to suit your taste and needs - not those of an occasional guest. I would not hesitate to use the smaller room as a dining room based on your post but why not get a dining room table that can double as a large desk? I have an eat in kitchen with a glass dining table (from CB2) which, as it turns out, I prefer to the desk in my office. It makes a great dual purpose table.

How big is the room? Another thought is to have some kind of banquette, table and chairs, and perhaps have the banquette fold out into a bed.

As you've noted, your desk makes a great dining table, so that takes care of work space when you aren't entertaining. I think it's a great idea!

Change your home as you change to make it your haven, and consider not inviting "critics." I made a bedroom an office for two. My husband's digital art-photography things fill it. My husband's wool and silk clothes fill its closet since I'm allergic. The rest of his wardrobe's in our bedroom. My clothes fill the guestroom, which also is my dressing room. The small dining table, also used for sewing, and the office larger desk happen to be identical. We also eat at the coffee table in front of the TV--the galley kitchen is too small. Open doors light the hall well; French doors wouldn't control light as well.

I was thinking what FantasticMrFaux suggested: if your living room is larger and perhaps closer to your kitchen, I'd think about putting the dining table there.

You don't have to think of each room separately - living room, dining room, office. You can put individual pieces in those rooms where they fit nicely, depending on space, and where you'd like to use them. Think pieces and fuction, not specific room names, and you'll get what you want where you want it.

For example, you could have a couch or chairs to have a sitting area in the original "living room" space along with the dining table, or one chair, or a desk as suggested above. And the other bedroom could be a combination sitting room, guest room, TV room, maybe with small desk, etc.

I hate eating in cramped dining rooms - I would much rather have a dining table in larger room with other furniture than have it alone in a smaller room. For a living room/guest room/and maybe TV room, a smaller room could work for me - especially if you could have a couch in there that doubled as a pull-out guest bed (and skip the air mattress).

See this recent AT post on using a sofa paired with a table as seating along one side http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/dining-room/small-space-solution-sofa-seating-at-the-dining-table-069858

That way, you could have a couch and dining table in a not-so-large "living" room, and if the table had leaves to make it different sizes - and you had a bit of wall space so you could move it out the the way - you'd actually have the flexibility to fold up/move away the table so you could use the couch just as a couch, without it being bench seating for the table when you weren't eating or having a dinner party. And, as YL2008 suggests, that could also double as your guest bed (if used with a console table) if you wanted your guests to be in the living room, and you found the right sort of sofa bed for that - likely one where the back flips down - if you do that, be sure you can find one where the seat is not too low for table dining.

For the table, consider a console table with leaves that can make it a full-size dinner table when needed. Here are some: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/11003?source=FROOGLE; and this page has them in two in different styles: http://www.homedecorators.com/search.php?search=folding chairs#p=1 Search for expanding dining tables on diningroomsdirect for many more styles. Or perhaps you'd like a smaller table that completely folds (a fancier version of the old card table), that you could stash (behind a couch?) when not in use: http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Scalloped_All_Wood_Folding_Table/120/ These all come with matching folding chairs, which, if you had room to store them, would free up space when you weren't having dining guests.

I first found an older version of one of the consoles-with-leaves in an antique shop for a NY living room that did not have room for a dining table - and loved it - especially that it could expand to card-table size to seat four, or larger to seat 8-10. I used it with a tablecloth (to cover the fact that the leaves aren't skirted) and the chairs from the table in my kitchen nook when I had dinner parties. I still use it - for variable-size extra serving space for buffets when needed, even though I have space for a dining table where I live now.

Tables that are narrower than a typical dining table could also work well with this idea - see if you see one that can change in height - from dining height to cocktail height - that might work.

Also consider a harvest-style sofa table - one where the top folds in half lengthwise. This type of table can also work well as a dining and/or work table when placed BEHIND a couch, if you have room for that configuration. A long harvest table with two leaves that flip down on either side would also work, as they tend to be narrow when the sides are down.

The first question to be asked is how much are you going to use this dining room....nightly, weekly, monthly? If it's going to be very rare times to use it, then it is a waste of space - plan to use it every night and it could be worth it. I wouldn't create a dining room just to please a few guests - they will learn to deal.

I must agree with textiles and the rest for the most part...a small dining table in the living room would just as good. If the spare bedroom is large enough to accomodate a futon, your desk, and possibly a place for a TV then you could use it as your TV room/office/guest room and free up the living room to just be a sitting room and dining area. This is probably how I'd use the space.

I think you should focus on making the room comfortable for its first purpose and make small accomodations to make it functional for the second purpose. While you may want to focus on guests, I think a 633 sq ft space means that you should make yourselves the first priority! The odds are pretty good that the room will be used most often by the two of you (as an office, extra room, or just for storage) and will occasionally be used to host parties. Guests are used to being slightly inconvenienced when they visit - smaller-than-usual beds, shared bathrooms, air mattresses or sofabeds - but you don't want to be inconvenienced on a daily basis in your own home.

I'd look into furniture pieces that can "hide" when not being used for their primary purpose. A drop-leaf table can be hidden until needed and a compact desk will let you hide your office materials (and offering a top for buffet use). Extra stackable or folding chairs can be brought out when needed. You could also use the two office chairs for seating and add a bench for the rest.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=891&f=33057
(gate-leg table and stackable chairs)

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1070&f=33251
(compact office)

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=898&f=34606
(bench with storage - could also be used as a coffee table)

My hubby and I just bought a 787 sf condo that is a one bedroom / home office. But to us, it's a one bedroom / home bar! We filled the spare room (10.10 x 8.5) with a wine rack, vintage cocktail glasses, shakers and of course, a well-stocked liquor cabinet. Guests can sleep on our futon in the living room ;-) Do whatever works best for you!

I have a three bedroom house and don't have a guest room! Why should I? I have an air mattress and really, I don't want guests to stay longer than one night. That is what hotels are for.

I say, go for the dining room- if that's what YOU want and will work for YOU.

Do you have frequent house guests? If not, I wouldn't worry so much about having a guest room. Think about what's best for you in your day to day life, not what's best for the occasional overnight visitor. So if you'd like a dining room, by all means create a dining room. And don't worry about how far away it is from the kitchen. My only advice would be to *use* the room as a dining room if that's your intention. Once you start using it, it'll become habit and you'll have a new room! If you don't use it, on the other hand, you'll never break out of the mindset that your "dining room" is just a guest room with a table and chairs. In other words, use it or lose it.

By the way, it's weirder to devote one room in a two bedroom condo to overnight guests. Devote it to yourself!

Get creative and pick furniture that easily converts to suit your needs and then the room can fill each of those roles:

-A table with a leaf that can be condensed when not used for dining, or two small tables pulled together that can be used as separate desks for you and your boyfriend.

-Choose seating that is either foldable or stackable so that you can remove it if you're using the room to do work or to house a guest.

-The seating on one side of the table could be a small couch or futon. I know you said a futon was tight, but was it a full sized futon? I have this twin-sized futon in my closet-sized guest room that fits just perfectly.