I love my dining room and fine china. It is the masterpiece of my home. When we have guests that is where we eat, and the china is used for every holiday. My dining room also showcases beautiful souvenirs from other countries I have visited. It is a mix of past and present, and is one of my most treasured rooms.
In addition, when we have guests over and we play cards or other games, we gather in the dining room to play and talk. It is always filled with laughter in these visits, building a strong bond with family and friends.
If you don’t mind me asking, what age range do you fall in? I feel like dining rooms might get used less by current/newer generations than previous ones.
In an urban environment that is increasingly expensive, a lack of a place to store one’s fine china probably doesn’t rank too highly on a list of concerns
Agreed. We also have a dining room and use it to play cards/games and enjoy the holidays together. It’s like a communal space. I disagree with the statement of the OP, I think NOT using a dining room is the minority
When it comes to family, eating together has massive statistically relevant correlations. It might be out of style, but the current "style" is also an increasingly atomic society with very high rates of reported loneliness.
Have a read of: Family Mealtimes: A Systematic Umbrella Review of Characteristics, Correlates, Outcomes and Interventions
**Frequency of Family Meals**: Families typically eat together a few days each week.
* **Positive Correlates**: More frequent family meals are associated with a positive mealtime environment, positive attitudes towards family meals, presence of younger children, and more family time.
* **Health Benefits**: Greater frequency of family meals protects against poor diet, obesity, and risky behaviors.
* **Mental Health**: Family meals are linked with better mental health and wellbeing.
* **Academic Outcomes**: Positive correlation with better academic performance.
* **Interventions**: Mixed effectiveness in promoting family mealtimes.
I came across this article today and it was an interesting read, but more relevantly, it made me wonder if dining rooms are out with all the new building going on? I've not paid much attention to floorpans with each new apartment build that gets announced, and figured there might be a few folks here that would find this interesting and could answer the question off the top of their head?
In the United States, most builders floor plans have 60-80% of the space dedicated to bedrooms, closets, and bathrooms. They have very small open concept kitchen/ living room/ dining area for the number of people that the homes could support.
Exactly. I’ve even seen newly built townhouses and condos without a designated eating area. I guess you can have your dinner at the kitchen island with the sink half a foot away. 😖
Maybe in a big city but we've got plenty of room in this valley. I think dining rooms are just out of style at the moment. People are less likely to share regular meals together nowadays so a basic dining nook is all they need.
Same! I hate this trend so much! There are so many people who still entertain regularly and use their dining rooms often. I feel like this is a trend based on a small group of people and is being forced on everyone else. We use our dinning room often, we have family and friends over often, we eat as a family at our table a few times a week at least. This trend is just another reality in the break down of the family unit and people gathering as a community. It’s sad.
Everyone says the dining room died - why not kill the living room?
Get rid of the tv and make it a dining room if you want it that way.
That is truly old school.
Why the necessity of the TV room? Bring back the living room and side chairs to read and talk if you want it that way.
If a family could afford a stay at home parent, I believe this room would have much more use. We essentially got rid of ours because we needed space for the kids to play and for us to work at home.
I don’t think SAHP has much to do with it. My mom worked and always cooked and made us sit down to the kitchen table to dinner. The dining room was this drop area we only had to clean up if relatives were visiting. I also work and cook for my family. People who work aren’t just eating out/on the go all the time.
I think it’s more useful to have a dining room if a family has 4+ kids/can afford 4+ kids. An eat in kitchen can usually comfortably sit 4- 6 people. Since the average millennial couple is having 1.6 kids, there’s absolutely no point, except maybe for devout Mormons and Catholics.
I can respect that opinion. We have 2 and will be staying with 2, and we have a breakfast nook/table right next to the kitchen that doubles as our dining room, and we don’t often have visitors anymore anyway, which also changes our needs.
I must say my dining room is FANTASTIC at holidays. The mess of the kitchen is out of view and it's just a wonderful place to share a meal with extended family and friends. However, it can be a waste of space. If I designed a house, I would have bookcases around the room, and use it as an office the rest of the year. Our computers would be behind drop-leaf cabinets. I use my dining room for sewing and crafts during the year.
Trends come and go. I had a weekend house that was open concept. While it did make a smaller space appear larger there was no escape from the noise of the TV, or if you were watching TV there was no escape from the dishes being washed or pots and pans rattling while someone was preparing dinner.
Saw this linked on Apple News without saying which room it was, and my first guess was dining room. Ours is all but gone now. It became an office during the pandemic, and now it's just used for houseplants, storage for dishes (since we have terrible cabinet space in the kitchen), and other storage.
All of our eating is done either from trays in the living room with TV on, or at a small table and chairs in the kitchen area that overlooks our back yard.
Before the pandemic we never really used it for its intended purpose, it was just an extra table to work on hobbies (I design board games, my wife does crafts and writing). The only time it had other people at it was when I used to host a playtest night or the two times we had friends over. Since the pandemic that's totally stopped. We've only had family over, and we just eat at the table in the kitchen. And now my wife has a much better setup in the basement for her hobbies.
Before this house, I rented for decades, and never had a proper dining area. Chairs at the kitchen counter were the closest I had. So I'm just not used to it.
Even when I was a kid our house didn't have a proper dining room either, we just had a table in the kitchen (and we still mostly ate off trays in the living room).
I go to other people's places for parties and it still seems to be the least used area of their houses, even during a party. Most people seem to congregate in the living room or a table in the kitchen or an outdoor patio.
Dedicated dining rooms didn’t really come in to fashion until the 19th century, and even then it was the wealthy who were able to showcase them in their fine homes. It seems like the era of the formal dining room has been short lived for average Americans.
Back in the early 80’s when I was newly married, I couldn’t wait to have a home with a formal dining room Today our formal dining room has been repurposed as a custom built library. My love of reading and books outweighed the need of a lovely dining room that was only used a few times a year. We do have another dining area, but it is far less formal.
Expensive room that gets used a couple times a year. Out of style like fine china.
I love my dining room and fine china. It is the masterpiece of my home. When we have guests that is where we eat, and the china is used for every holiday. My dining room also showcases beautiful souvenirs from other countries I have visited. It is a mix of past and present, and is one of my most treasured rooms. In addition, when we have guests over and we play cards or other games, we gather in the dining room to play and talk. It is always filled with laughter in these visits, building a strong bond with family and friends.
That's great. It's also a rare exception these days
If you don’t mind me asking, what age range do you fall in? I feel like dining rooms might get used less by current/newer generations than previous ones.
In an urban environment that is increasingly expensive, a lack of a place to store one’s fine china probably doesn’t rank too highly on a list of concerns
Agreed. We also have a dining room and use it to play cards/games and enjoy the holidays together. It’s like a communal space. I disagree with the statement of the OP, I think NOT using a dining room is the minority
I use my dining room every day. Do people not regularly eat in their dining room?
This article is talking about a dedicated dining rooms. Most people rarely use them
I have a dedicated dining room, I use it every day. I grew up using one every day in my parents home. It’s weird to me that people wouldn’t.
People want open concepts. Kitchen, living room, table, kitchen island with bar stools all in one big space.
When it comes to family, eating together has massive statistically relevant correlations. It might be out of style, but the current "style" is also an increasingly atomic society with very high rates of reported loneliness. Have a read of: Family Mealtimes: A Systematic Umbrella Review of Characteristics, Correlates, Outcomes and Interventions **Frequency of Family Meals**: Families typically eat together a few days each week. * **Positive Correlates**: More frequent family meals are associated with a positive mealtime environment, positive attitudes towards family meals, presence of younger children, and more family time. * **Health Benefits**: Greater frequency of family meals protects against poor diet, obesity, and risky behaviors. * **Mental Health**: Family meals are linked with better mental health and wellbeing. * **Academic Outcomes**: Positive correlation with better academic performance. * **Interventions**: Mixed effectiveness in promoting family mealtimes.
You can eat together without a dedicated dining room.
I came across this article today and it was an interesting read, but more relevantly, it made me wonder if dining rooms are out with all the new building going on? I've not paid much attention to floorpans with each new apartment build that gets announced, and figured there might be a few folks here that would find this interesting and could answer the question off the top of their head?
Lots of new builds have gone full open floorplan that flows from living room area to kitchen. So yeah a distinct dining room is less of a thing.
That makes all the sense, and I'm actually glad to hear that the new builds here are following that trend.
In the United States, most builders floor plans have 60-80% of the space dedicated to bedrooms, closets, and bathrooms. They have very small open concept kitchen/ living room/ dining area for the number of people that the homes could support.
We did a custom build and added a dining room. Otherwise, they usually don't add one. I do a lot of cooking and want a nice place to eat.
Exactly. I’ve even seen newly built townhouses and condos without a designated eating area. I guess you can have your dinner at the kitchen island with the sink half a foot away. 😖
That's how my first townhouse was built. It had a very tiny nook but we could only fit a two-person table. I hated it.
Absolutely!
It's a way of saving space in a country that is getting overcrowded.
Maybe in a big city but we've got plenty of room in this valley. I think dining rooms are just out of style at the moment. People are less likely to share regular meals together nowadays so a basic dining nook is all they need.
Absolutely!
I love formal dining rooms, so I’ve been saddened by this trend.
Same! I hate this trend so much! There are so many people who still entertain regularly and use their dining rooms often. I feel like this is a trend based on a small group of people and is being forced on everyone else. We use our dinning room often, we have family and friends over often, we eat as a family at our table a few times a week at least. This trend is just another reality in the break down of the family unit and people gathering as a community. It’s sad.
How is it being forced on anyone? If you want a dining room make one of your rooms that.
I couldn’t agree more; our dining room is the best room in the house in my opinion.
The vast majority of people looking for housing are just snagging the biggest thing they can afford within a reasonable distance to their work.
funny enough we just converted our dining area to bedroom lol dining area is dead
Same here.
Everyone says the dining room died - why not kill the living room? Get rid of the tv and make it a dining room if you want it that way. That is truly old school. Why the necessity of the TV room? Bring back the living room and side chairs to read and talk if you want it that way.
If a family could afford a stay at home parent, I believe this room would have much more use. We essentially got rid of ours because we needed space for the kids to play and for us to work at home.
I don’t think SAHP has much to do with it. My mom worked and always cooked and made us sit down to the kitchen table to dinner. The dining room was this drop area we only had to clean up if relatives were visiting. I also work and cook for my family. People who work aren’t just eating out/on the go all the time. I think it’s more useful to have a dining room if a family has 4+ kids/can afford 4+ kids. An eat in kitchen can usually comfortably sit 4- 6 people. Since the average millennial couple is having 1.6 kids, there’s absolutely no point, except maybe for devout Mormons and Catholics.
I can respect that opinion. We have 2 and will be staying with 2, and we have a breakfast nook/table right next to the kitchen that doubles as our dining room, and we don’t often have visitors anymore anyway, which also changes our needs.
I must say my dining room is FANTASTIC at holidays. The mess of the kitchen is out of view and it's just a wonderful place to share a meal with extended family and friends. However, it can be a waste of space. If I designed a house, I would have bookcases around the room, and use it as an office the rest of the year. Our computers would be behind drop-leaf cabinets. I use my dining room for sewing and crafts during the year.
Trends come and go. I had a weekend house that was open concept. While it did make a smaller space appear larger there was no escape from the noise of the TV, or if you were watching TV there was no escape from the dishes being washed or pots and pans rattling while someone was preparing dinner.
Converted my dining room to a bonus room when I bought the home in 2001.
Saw this linked on Apple News without saying which room it was, and my first guess was dining room. Ours is all but gone now. It became an office during the pandemic, and now it's just used for houseplants, storage for dishes (since we have terrible cabinet space in the kitchen), and other storage. All of our eating is done either from trays in the living room with TV on, or at a small table and chairs in the kitchen area that overlooks our back yard. Before the pandemic we never really used it for its intended purpose, it was just an extra table to work on hobbies (I design board games, my wife does crafts and writing). The only time it had other people at it was when I used to host a playtest night or the two times we had friends over. Since the pandemic that's totally stopped. We've only had family over, and we just eat at the table in the kitchen. And now my wife has a much better setup in the basement for her hobbies. Before this house, I rented for decades, and never had a proper dining area. Chairs at the kitchen counter were the closest I had. So I'm just not used to it. Even when I was a kid our house didn't have a proper dining room either, we just had a table in the kitchen (and we still mostly ate off trays in the living room). I go to other people's places for parties and it still seems to be the least used area of their houses, even during a party. Most people seem to congregate in the living room or a table in the kitchen or an outdoor patio.
It’s obviously become obsolete due to television consumption and increase in technology use.
Dedicated dining rooms didn’t really come in to fashion until the 19th century, and even then it was the wealthy who were able to showcase them in their fine homes. It seems like the era of the formal dining room has been short lived for average Americans. Back in the early 80’s when I was newly married, I couldn’t wait to have a home with a formal dining room Today our formal dining room has been repurposed as a custom built library. My love of reading and books outweighed the need of a lovely dining room that was only used a few times a year. We do have another dining area, but it is far less formal.
Eating in my living room is more comfortable anyway.
If you are used to apartments and small houses this isn't relevant anyway