Hmm... Do you eat at the dining table? I don't like dining tables shoved against the wall like that. It looks so uninviting. If you entertain or eat at the dining table daily, I'd be tempted to let the play/reading room double up as a dining room.

Would you have enough space for a bench along the wall and quite a narrow, or even a small round table? No chairs on the kitchen side, only on the sides of the rooms.

I absolutely never thought to put the seating on the door sides. The reading/playroom is used more than any other room so putting dining in there is out.

I totally agree with the table being against the wall. It's just bad.

The family room is a medium room where the front door enters into so I don't think I could put dining in there.

We're going to put hardwood through all three rooms to unify. I'm just perplexed with dining options.

Just trying to offer you different possibilities to sort of open up your mind a bit. If you're looking at something for a while you tend to go around in circles. Hope this helps to give you other ideas :-)

You're a genius. Would have never thought of any of that!

HA! Thank you, hehe. Finally recognition :-D

But could you post some pictures of your family room? It would be interesting to see if we could fit a nice dining space in there?

It looks like you only have 6' of clearance which is not really a dining area. This space is meant for circulation. I would have to see more of your kitchen and the surrounding areas to make a professional recommendation. Keep in mind, you need a min of 24 from wall to the edge of your table and then a min of 36" from the table to the start of the circulation path. That alone is 5' which leaves you space for 1 foot table depth. I am sure there is a much better solution for your home.

It is unclear to me where the kitchen is? Before you put hardwood down have you given any thought to opening up the rooms to each other more??? Carolins round table & bench idea is good; however I am a visual person & without seeing the rooms, not sure if this is a temporary fix and your family needs to give consideration to a permanent fix?? Food for thought.

Forgive the mess we are bringing the house up to code (electrical and plumbing).

The kitchen open up a bit to the right of the table in initial picture. If I take away the table there, I'd like either a buffet or bar area there.

We were going to open it up a bit more but would lose essential storage. :(

We are totally open to all suggestions!

From the dining table looking into family room.

From front door.

InsideoutDesign say,"If this is just about function".... and have to work with what you have, add a mirror to the wall and lighten up the table and chairs maybe gray or white, maybe use a bench on the one side instead of chair. maybe get a new table that is longer and fits against wall, use a bench that will tuck in to allow more room to walk through, that being said, I might take the counter out in the kitchen and create a bar seating, still setting the table area for special occasions. Is there any way to get another entrance into the family room? If you could you would be able to use that whole corner for creating a nook dining area with built in booth style seating. With looking at the dimensions its hard to see what room you have to work with. 3 feet is the min. you need to pass through. I hope this helps.

Wondering........Could you block off the doorway in the corner where the step stool is in the photo and put the fridge over there?. Then remove all of the pantry cabinets on the wall where the fridge currently is. And make the doorways to the two adjacent rooms a smaller size to allow Putting a row of pantry cabinets along the wall where your table currently is. Would you then have room for a table on that "new area" area where the fridge currently is? How many feet would you have between that wall (the one that you share with your living room and the countertop.?