Old Dining Room, New Use

Laura says:

Do you even know how much my husband would love that 1st photo?

Ivie I says:

Laura, I think every man would love that LOL

Kevin Graves says:

My dining room is also a library. Love books in a dining room.

mandarine says:

In my case, I've repurposed the dining room by closing it off from the large living room, and opening it to the master suite, to become a large dressing room (16x11 ft). With the East-West orientation of the house, I have provided for a morning dining area, and am adding a round dining table to the living room, to take advantage of the early evening sundown glow.

designchallenged says:

My "living room" is used as a music room, complete with a variety of instruments. It is used as a place to enjoy playing music with family members and friends.

smiehlke says:

I have a small dining room (10x11) which we are currently using for a computer room. I would like to put the computer elsewhere because the dining room is also a pass through from the front hall to the kitchen and it isn't the prettiest view from the hall. It almost feels like an extension of the entryway. I've been thinking of making it a small sitting area but not sure how much we will use it. Any suggestions on what you would do with this space?

suedee says:

These repurposed spaces are lovely and I appreciate the concept of repurposing under-utilized space...but I am struck by how "alone" (lonely) most of these spaces appear. Dining Rooms are, by design, the place in our homes where family and friends gather to share the day, holi-day or not, and break bread together. I think the idea of an unused Dining Room is sad. Making it into an home office even sadder. We use our Dining Room everyday whether its two at the table or ten. The day I repurpose my Dining Room is the day I'll need to repurpose my life.

stevie56 says:

Instead of transforming the dining room and making it dissapear, how about moving it into the formal living room and making the dining room a cozy living room?

momrois says:

We did this 20 years ago when we decided the open concept room in our home that was designed as the family/TV room was just too noisy with cooking and dishwashing, etc.

nikkin03 says:

I agree with repurposing the dining room; especially if you have a large breakfast room. I can seat six in my breakfast room and my formal dining room only gets used during holidays. My plan is to repurpose it into a lounge/bar to use it as a place to have a glass of wine with friends or a cup of coffee in the morning.

Jason Ball Interiors, LLC says:

@smiehlke - What if instead of just a sitting room, it became a reading room. You could still have your computer in the room, but maybe in a cabinet that is closable (to hide the clutter from visitors). A comfy chair, bookshelf and side table to put a cup of tea on, and the look is complete. Or, given it's proximity to the entry, maybe a really nice mudroom of sorts. Key here would be having storage that is both functional and pretty - again, everything needs a place.

Jason Ball Interiors, LLC says:

@stevie56 - great idea. I've often wanted to do this in my home. It comes down the how a person/family lives. If the formal dining room is important, then it should be kept. But, switching spaces is a nice solution.

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR says:

I don't know anyone who actually uses their formal dining room for dining more than a few times a year ... and yet we still see builders making these homes with separate formal dining rooms, presumably because people want them?

My own formal dining room will eventually be half of my twice-as-large kitchen. Can hardly wait for the day I get to pull down the wall between them and expand! We still have a dining table, but it's part of the great room.

lswan says:

We are re-doing our dining and turning it into a sitting area that will also work for entertaining and drinks. Just got 2 club chairs and thinking about adding a small bistro table for corner. Will a bistro table make it seem cheesy? And it cannot be too large. Any suggestions?

pattimay says:

We have a living room and a family room. We turned the living room into a pool room 16 years ago. We have never regretted it. Instead of going to the basement you mingle with people in the other rooms, you are close to the kitchen for snacks and it's bright and cheerful.
We are going to be listing our home soon, our realtors have told us to put it back to a living room which we don't want to do. We don't want to put an expensive pool table in storage, plus we think it will give the next owners a great idea for the space.
We will miss our home but need to move on to something smaller. If you like to entertain and have the extra space, try a pool room, you won't regret it! ...it's not just for the guys!

pattimay says:

Iswan, my thought is a room can look cheesy if you add too many small items and nick nacks. Maybe visit a place for drinks, get some ideas for color and furniture.
Already commented, we made our living room into a pool room. We have very large art on the walls and a table with stools. I put stackable leather boxes on a shelf to hold the chalk, extra pool tips, and cleaners. In another smaller leather box I put cards, chess pieces and checkers, the table can hold the board that's tucked away in a bench. The leather boxes are classic, have clean lines and saves from seeing the needed items. The room looks clean, spacious, and fits with the house rather than looking like a "theme" room.
You could try the leather boxes to hold coasters, small drink napkins, openers, and other needed items. Good luck, I'll be anxious to hear how you did!!

Robin Neudorfer says:

I am in this process as I write this. I am an artist having just moved to a condo. Through my 28 yr marriage I always had a dining room that only was used a few times a year. My kitchen was suitable for daily meals. I will be keeping my new butcher block table, however the china cabinet is going into storage, and this will be my new art studio. I can always throw a table cloth on the table with some lovely flowers to serve up a meal when I want to.

Emery & Associates Interior Design says:

Lots of wonderful ideas. Thanks, Jason. I can see the need for the alternative treatments if the homeowners use an alternative space, like kitchen nook. We don't have one, so the dining room is actually used for dining every day--note to fellow Portland interior designer Pangaea.

Libby Wilkie at aneyefordetail says:

We redid the formal dining room into a study for my husband, when we moved here a year ago. It works SO well, and we couldn't be happier with the use of space. We do have a large eating area off the kitchen, with lots of direct sun all day, which we love. Here is the post I had done:
http://www.libbywilkiedesigns.com/2011/01/wall-window-and-some-doors_09.html

blue_dolphin says:

I occasionally set up my laptop on the largely unused dining room table and find it such a sunny, pleasant place to work that I'd like to fit it up as a proper office, but still use it for dining on occasion. Currently searching for a buffet/console/credenza to hold files and other office stuff.

karenfromkansas says:

Our breakfast room became a sun room with expensive deep seating patio furniture and lots of plants. Everyone loves it! I spend a lot more time there than I would otherwise, and it is beautiful. I am there right now.

alkemie says:

Better yet, scrap that living room and make a" true" living room by turning it into the kitchen of your life

nanabryant13 says:

My dining room is an office for me. I use it for meditating or just clsoing the pocket doors and reading, listening to music, looking at houzz pics on my wireless. A charming 100 year old house... I walk around and I can't pick which room I want to sit in. Lovely home! So much character.

A & D Glass says:

I'm going to turn our formal living room / dining room into a lounge for my two kids and their friends. Books, guitars, games, and a TV with the Kinect for active video games. Of course, the adults like the Kinect too!

geo55 says:

I generally like the idea of repurposing rooms but sometimes it just looks 'off' particularly in a colonial style home where the dining room opens to the kitchen and is visible from the hall and living room. And I would not want to see a messy home office or a pool table right after entering the house.