Combined Living Room/Dining Room - Chicago SFH

15 years ago

My wife and I are finalizing our plans for a SFH to be built on a 24' by 100' lot in Chicago. Our plans follow the traditional SFH layout in our neighborhood: a combined room for living/dining room, followed by the kitchen, followed by the family room.

Under our final two sets plans, the size of the kitchen and family room will not change (except for counter space, which is noted below) -- the kitchen is 9'10" (wide) by 13'6" (long), and the family room is 17'5" (wide) by 13'8" (long). In one plan we have a powder room and butler's pantry between the combo room and the kitchen, and in the other plan we have a built-in desk and a butler's pantry (with a slightly different layout) in this space. Our architect said that we have two options:

Option A is to have a 15'7 (wide) by 21'0 (long) room.

Option B is to have a 15'7 (wide) by 19'6 (long) room.

To obtain the extra 1'6" in length reflected in Option A, we'll have to give up a small amount of kitchen cabinet/counter space (about 12") and our powder room will move from the center of the house between the combo living/dining room and the kitchen, to the northwest part of the kitchen, which also will cause our planned built-in desk to move from the southern most part of the kitchen to the area between the living/dining room. If we make this move, our built-in desk will be about 6" less wide, as will the butler's pantry.

My question is, do you think that we'll notice this extra 1'6" in living space once the home is built? Despite our architect's reassurances, we're stressed that our combined room is going to be too small to be used (we estimate that we need about 12' (length) for the dining room to be comfortable, leaving less than 10' for the formal living room)! We've looked into furniture for the living room, and, if all goes well, it looks like companies do sell small couches, coffee tables, etc. that we could use to make this space work. However, we are really hung up on the impact this 18 inches will have in real life -- any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (2)

athensmomof3
15 years ago
Can you post a plan? Is there a fireplace? These generally take up several feet of floor space (hearths are usually 20" and although you can put an ottoman or stools within a few inches of the hearth you don't want to put furniture on the hearth :))

To calculate needs for the dining room, you generally need 3 feet on either side to pull out a chair (3 1/2 is better). 10 feet is generally wide enough but not overly generous unless you want to have a sideboard (which I might eliminate in favor of more room in the living room).
hadley
15 years ago
Yes, you will notice the extra space and you will be glad to have it.

Still in our old house, we have a combined dining room/music room w/seating area. It is just over 13 feet wide and 17 feet long. The seating area now is about 8 feet deep (five feet of 5 x 8 rug plus the depth of a love seat). We have a love seat in there instead of a sofa because there is a bump-in on the sidewall right where it needs to be. An upright piano fits in the resulting alcove to the side of the room. When we extend the DR table to a full 8 feet, I swing it diagonal across its area and still have room for a hutch on one side wall and a buffet on the other (offset from each other, not directly lined up), but it is tight. For A LOT of people, we move the love seat to the end of the room. An extra two feet each way, as you propose, plus losing our bump-in, would make it very comfortable for everyday living for a couple or small family, IMO, especially if you shortened up your DR table. Hexagonal tables take up less room and seat more people, if you can still find one.

I'd go for the space, myself, or you will be looking at that wall for years, wanting to push it out "just a smidge."
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