Also we are getting hardwood floors installed in here.

no hutch, just a table and chairs. Your dining room is too small. I had a beautiful cherry hutch that no longer worked in my dining room after a remodel. I put it in a guest bedroom. The glass display now holds books, and other decorative items relative to the room. The bottom drawers hold bed linens.

You know in your heart that hutch needs to go. Your MIL may have paid a lot for it - perhaps saved to buy it - so she wanted it to find a good home. Unfortunately your home is not that place.

In fact, many charity shops are so overrun with "brown wood" sideboards they no longer accept them. Put it on NextDoor and create the dining room that works for you.

IMO dishes should be used what are you saving them for? As for the rest this is in no way farmhouse so why did you take it? Now you get to be the bad guy and sell it or give it away. You could probably keep the table and chairs paint them and it could pass the farmhouse test but the other piece does not work there at all. I sometimes use this type of piece in a walkin closet for accessories , if that is possible then maybe you could try that.

Patricia Colwell, your right about the dishes. I worry about breaking them. Silly. I only took the table and hutch because we couldn’t afford a new one when we moved in, against my better judgement. I think I’m going to possibly get a farmhouse table made after our floors are done. Thanks for your advice.

Does the top come off of your china hutch? Making it into a buffet? That would be better but would not help your guests hitting it when they pull out their chair, but would make the room look better. Too bad your table does not have leaves in it. You could use a smaller one. I think typeandrun had a good idea, to put the hutch in another room with books and nick knacks in it.

Same question as Erin Sean. If the top comes off, you could keep the buffet part and put a mirror and hang some of your beautiful plates on the wall. Even paint it. Buying a new buffet is pricey. Even the cheap ones. The furniture looks sturdy and well made, but dated. Don't feel you have to keep things just because a loved one donated it to you. The hutch could also be repurposed somewhere else; maybe painted? Or even take the doors off so it turns into a bookcase. I'd keep the table and change out the chairs to something more your style. Put long drapes on that window. The below photo if you look closely, we painted a very 80's hutch green and it works in our dining room.

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gduplessis - love your green painted hutch.
Lori if you get a new farm table it may be narrower?
Then maybe you could paint the hutch, take the doors off, and cut that curve off of the top of the hutch.

Oh and replace the glass shelves with wood ones maybe with live edge? Getting rid of the carpet will make a big difference

Then I would consider buffalo plaid black and white for long curtains and reupholstering the chairs. Get rid of the brownish wood by painting it: black, white or green.

"People hit the hutch when they get in or out of chairs.' If you can't scoot the table over any more, then the hutch will have to go elsewhere.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful suggestions! You gave me a lot to think about. My mind is starting to churn!

Sell it and use the money toward what you really want. Life is short!

the hutch and table were once nice. 50 years ago. It's time to let it go.

you said you wanted a farmhouse table? Look at all of the great things you could do w/that dining room if you started over w/new items!

I've always liked this one. if you didn't have that huge hutch, you could do your farmhouse table, some new chairs, bring in a tall plant, a new light fixture and a nice rug

You may be able to do a thinner hutch or some type of buffet. paint it black.

love the ceiling too

this one is very open like yours. across the room do you have a wall where you could do a console like shown here?:

Oh Beth H those tables and the rooms are exactly what I envision. I think I’m going to go without a hutch and just do a beautiful farmhouse table and chairs like the ones you posted. Gorgeous! Thank you so much! I’m waiting until our hardwood is installed until I make the final decision.

Arcy_gw We actually use this room a lot. My house is the go to house for Holidays, game nights etc. although we end up using both the dining room table and kitchen table because I have such a large family. When we moved here I was so excited to just have a dining room because I never had one before. I just wish it was bigger now.

This is a neat idea if you had room on the left side of your window or somewhere else. I think it’s such a lovely way to display pretty dishes, without taking up much space.

to add on to the idea of repurposing the buffet and if the top part comes off, could the bottom be used as a console in family room for a TV?

Theresa Jansen, I Have a beautiful tv console, another piece that was given to me lol but it works with more of my farmhouse feel. This is more my style. I’m so excited to get rid of all my carpet. and get hardwood.

Jinx I love that plate rack idea.

Lori, with your large family, be careful in choosing new dining chairs. A lot of the upholstered ones are quite large - although appear smaller in a big furniture store - and limit the number of people you can sit. And benches, while attractive, are less comfortable for long stretches.

Both the plate rack and console table could work in your space. I like the look of a pile of nice plates, and, if the console is long enough, it could serve as a buffet.

nice tv console. sounds like you are getting closer to decisions.