One thing we did shortly after moving in our house was switch our dining room table with our kitchen table.
Our switch was more of an experiment, but I liked it so much we’ve kept it that way ever since. Recently I have spoken to several people who have done the same thing so I no longer think it was that strange of a thing to do!
Here is the same table {above it is in our dining room} shortly after we moved in still in our kitchen {below}.
Not only had our family of five outgrown our round, designed-for- four kitchen table, but anytime we had company we had to eat in the dining room. Sometimes that seemed too formal and just too much trouble for a casual meal. Since we have more casual meals then formal meals these days this seemed like a good solution.
Even New Year’s Eve –the best picture I can find of our dining room table actually in the dining room– with six adults here we had to camp out in the dining room rather then hanging out in the kitchen, which was a little strange because at every good party, don’t you always wind up in the kitchen? 🙂
By the way, yes that’s Christy and our friend Robyn {we covered her stairs HERE} and they are drinking {THESE} if you are interested!
So, this switch meant saying goodbye for now to formal sit-down dinners. I loved the spacious dining room in our old house, it held a ton of people and while we lived there, we definitely put it to good use.
{This is our former dining room, same table, in our old house, set for a dinner party, the post is HERE}
So far this change has been a good solution. In fact, we haven’t missed having a formal dining room at all. If we weren’t planning on moving, I had envisioned this room becoming more of a library anyway. I even started adding books into my former china cabinet after I moved all my china to my Butler’s Pantry.
So, I am curious. Anyone else feel like they could repurpose their dining room? Anyone else already made the move? Tell us your thoughts…
XO,
Great idea! Looks perfect!
Thanks Beth! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Amy
I love your informal dining area!! We bought our house with the intention to renovate our kitchen and dining room into one big open space. So far we have sold our formal dining room set from our last house, and currently use our casual kitchen table in the dining room. Eventually we’ll have a big island with barstools and one enormous table instead of of two separate rooms…..I can’t wait! So much more in line with the way we live and entertain! We can dress up or down our table…… I don’t miss the formal dining room set at ALL!
I am so glad to hear it–Really, I think what matters is that you live in your home the way it works best for your family, so good for you! Good luck with your renovation plans…Amy
Great post!
We turned our formal dining room into a craft room for our girls. Our formal living room is my craft room/studio. Both rooms now get usually constantly–we’re not formal people!
I love the idea of a craft room! I dream of doing that one day. I know my daughter and I would use that way more then we’d ever use our dining room, and sometimes the crafts overtake my office so that’s a great solution. Great inspiration!
Amy