My dining room, which is just off of my kitchen, has gone through many transformations. Originally, it was a dining room, of course, with a rectangular square table. Sometimes it got used for dinner parties but most of the time it was hidden by drifts of mail. And then it morphed.
It became my home office. I moved in furniture from my living room -- a console table became a desk, two end tables held books and papers, a side chair became my office chair, two storage ottomans pushed together became a small settee where visitors sat.
But, as eager as I was to have a real office, I've come to realize that I don't work at a desk. I like to lie down, usually on the couch or in bed, with the computer propped against my knees and, therefore, the room didn't get as much use as I'd planned. What was getting use was that small settee. I don't know if this is true in your home, but in my house, everyone ends up in the kitchen. I needed to incorporate those two facts -- I like to work lying down and everyone always end up in the kitchen -- into the room's next incarnation. So now the "dining room" has become a new kind of office, where I can lie down to work and where people can sit for cocktails and appetizers while I mess about in the kitchen.
Two white Lack shelves, found on Craigslist, were turned on their side to perform bench duty. A side table was brought in from the living room along with an ottoman and a dining chair, a rug was pulled over from the kitchen. While this is probably not the room's final incarnation (I'm debating more changes -- whether to keep the chandelier or replace it with a fixture that doesn't hang quite so low; whether to pick up a small drop leaf table "just in case" I feel like working at a desk -- but I'm going to live with the room "as is" for a few weeks before I buy anything), it's a study in how a room can (and should) evolve as your needs grow, as your taste changes, as you learn how your particular home naturally gets used for the life you are living today.
Take a look at your home. If a room has outgrown its usefulness, consider morphing it into a room that will work for your needs. Don't be afraid to move the furniture around, steal pieces from other rooms or look at an old item in a new way.
(Images: Abigail Stone)
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I love the way it is now! So open and bright and roomy. I can see why it gets more use now.
oh, but i love it as a dining room, it was so nice and cozy looking!
I'm about to change the layout of my livingroom. But doing so requires subtraction of furniture, which I have put off for too long.
If you don't sell/give away the furniture that was there, where do you put it?
hahaha just this morning i started purging the clutter that's on my dining chairs that's on the dining table. we use it as an 'out of reach' area for things our toddler must be kept from BUT still need to use. sad, but true. looking forward to using it for it's true purpose very soon.
i enjoy all three of your layouts, but i would prefer different lighting for the dining set (which is gorgeous).
I like the space in all three pics, but your current design is marvelous. You really are inventive -- most people would just use it one way . Good post.
Definitely like the cocktail set up the best.
I think some cushions on top of the bookcase/bench combo would make the small more comfortable and being a bit more visually appealing.
Oh, how I envy your "extra" space. Amazing how that black outline window looked so good in each variation. You have a constructive and creative mind!
LOVE the black chandelier. Somehow, it works for all three designs.
We don't use our dining room as a dining room either (most of the time). We call it the library--which sounds much grander than it is. A table for games/homework, a big bookcase, and a reading chair. The table can double as an eating table if need be. We get way more use out of it this way than we would as a dining room. Surprised more people don't repurpose this kind of space.
I liked it as a dining room - where do you eat now? The space looks large enough to accommodate a dining table and some form of seating for lounging.
My favorite was the room as your dining room. I felt it worked best with the style of the room.
Great post! My first art studio was the large eat in kitchen of my apartment in Venice. Making use of dead rooms gives your home new energy and positive feng shui. Don't be surprised if activating all that chi moves you right out of that home into a new even better place!
I love the dining room the best as well, but that last picture got me thinking.
What about converting it into a nook dining room? Throw a corner booth or couch in there, a nice table, and 2 chairs and I think it'd look marvelous! It would really compliment the size of the room while still staying comfy, inviting, and not too formal.
My rooms change so often it is difficult to track it with photos.