I’d say, yes, a table and chairs would complete the room.

It definitely seems empty. How about a multi-functional table like a pool table that converts to a dining table? (Personally, I’d prefer air hockey.) But you get the idea.

https://weburbanist.com/2014/07/08/flip-for-fun-4-clever-pool-tables-that-convert-transform/

Personally, I would move that Tommy Bahama cabinet to the right side wall next to the French doors , and place a small round table in that corner . You’d have great views on both sides.

Is the blue thing on the wall above the leather furniture the local waterways? I’d like to know more about it.

Yes.

Agree with bubbysmom10 above to move that Tommy Bahama cabinet, and then pull that wooden step-like etagere over to that corner. Also agree to have a small (48") round table. Where else will you eat when outside is really bad weather?

Love that waterway artwork. So clever to fill in that big wall.

I just want to know if your cat is a Sphynx!

A table is nice for playing games.

And puzzles

I would put a drop leaf table or a table with a leaf or two leaves close to the window with a couple chairs, and move the cabinet. I think the space looks empty without a table. I never understood eating on the couch, unless you have so much company you can’t all fit around the table. But maybe I’m just too messy of an eater to feel comfortable with balancing a plate of food on my lap while trying to juggle utensils and a drink and a napkin.

@User That's a great idea to create a little lounge area over by the bay window. We aren't really game people. Us girls may like to do a puzzle or something, but having a cat makes that difficult lol!

@ann ann That is hilarious that you suggested a game table. The previous owners had an old bumper pool table there that we gave to a friend. We would all love a air hockey game (Blues fans here!) and we have joked about that. Thanks for the link. Lots of cool options. I could see us doing a table that converted to a regular pool table.

@bubbysmom10 We oringally wanted to do that, but the wall isn't big enough for the TB cabinet. Well it would be if we could get rid of the quad swtiches. We are waiting for electrician to terminate some things and figure out some other stuff before we can eliminate a couple switches.

@hhireno Yes, it is the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Our cousins own a metal fabrication company and did it for us. It turned out great. They also did the handrails you can see in the one picture. Took a lot planning and designing and then their people tweaked the design a bit.

@lerkat That does make the most sense. We just need to figure out the switches on that wall. My hubby dabbles in electric, but we haven't tackled those switches yet. When it is bad weather we usually eat in front of the TV lol. That wall used to have a window with shutters from the bedroom above. As did the other bedroom across...so two windows in bedrooms overlooking the family room...weird!! We infilled them and then ended up with this huge space. We could have probably gone bigger with the lake artwork, but we love the way it turned out.

@wynterwynd YES! He is a sphynx! His name is Bare :) He has his own FB page....@barethesphynx lol!

@ShadyWillowFarm That's a great idea to get a table with a leaf or two. We love the TB cabinet because my cousin hand painted it and it houses all of our boat towels. Hoping we can move it to the right of the patio doors once we figure out the electric. We've had our fair share of meals on the couch while watching a sports game or good movie. Plate, utensils, napkin, drink and dog and cat glares don't phase us lol.

We aren't really game or puzzle people. Well, I'd love to do a puzzle on a cold rainy day, but having a cat makes that a challenge lol! I definintely agree that the space needs something. There's just too much empty space there. Of couse the guys think a table will become a landing zone for miscellaneous junk. But us girls think a table of some sort is needed. We probably need to cut out some cardboard and figure out what size will work best.

I didn't have a dining table in my last home and lived there for 20 years. We ate at the counter or outside on the patio or from trays in front of the TV.

I have a dining table in my current home, but it is used more for games, cards and puzzles than it is for dining.

What's missing? Does someone in the group love to read and would love a nice comfy chair and hassock? Do you need a small desk for your laptop? Would an exercise bike or total gym be used? How about a piano or an easel for painting? How much do you love your cat?

Table? Yes!

Yes

@Jennifer Hogan OMG...Bare would love that!! The four of us don't really have much down time when we are there on the weekends (usually spring to fall). There are usually projects to be done in the house or dock. And if we are relaxing we are doing it down at the dock. The end of the couch has a nice chaise lounge for book reading/relaxing. But maybe a nice comfy chair there would be good.

Oh my goodness, now I want to find a metal worker to do some art like your cousins did to fill an empty wall in my home. What you did was Brilliant! I did some looking around on the internet, but I could find no one that did something like that on a quick google/etsy search. Jealous!

Back to your space and the original question, I guess one is a dining table person, or one is not. For us, other than breakfast at the kitchen island, it's all meals at the dining table (even if we are doing a puzzle over the holidays, we will put placemats or a tablecloth over the puzzle when it is time to eat). But if you are not going to be renting out the place or anything like that (where a table would be expected), I am all for making your own home work for your lifestyle. If another lounging spot is what you want, I definitely can see a pair of comfy chairs with a shared ottoman, and a table between them for a lamp, books, and a cup of tea.

Oh, and I don't think a table will be a landing zone for junk (keys, etc.), as long as you have something beautiful in the center. A vase of fresh flowers when you are in-house, replaced with dried flowers when you are away, or another sort of centerpiece (something artistic). All the junk will automatically go to the island, where I guess it is going now?

Seems many 20 somethings see no reason for a kitchen or dining table and do what you do. Not every space needs furniture, but here are some ideas for lake house bay window

Or a chaise for internet surfing, napping, reading

The far end feels almost squeezed in (especially with so much space) so I’d remove the shelfing piece and exchange the hutch and sign (if they fit) and just pull out hutch a bit to be able to use the switches. Consider placing hutch on the wall in living room below the pictures (could be lowered), even if it means moving couch up a couple of inches.

Now you can create a better balanced space and bonus is taking better advantage of the lovely window; ie: sitting there with a coffee enjoying the birds https://gobillybird.com/2020/07/19/where-to-place-your-bird-feeders/

and also providing an alternative for when people want to hang out in the kitchen vs being lined up on stools. When electrician is there, suggest adding the electrical for a hanging light and add a rug; I can see the area drawing people for all sorts of reasons.

I have 2 cats, puzzles are always a challenge (not my picture):

You have room for a round table and four chairs. I personally would rather dine at a table with my feet on the floor, facing other people…..sitting on a high stool at a counter is fine for lunch, but I like conversation with dinner, at that is better face-to-face. The table could also be used for playing cards or games.

Air hocky table, ping pong table. Sounds like you really dont need more lounge space or a place to eat so try to figure out what you all would love instead. Dont think practical, think fun.

My friends have a huge old house in the country and turned a large bedroom into a ping pong room. We play after dinner and a few drinks before going to bed. I suck at ping pong but it is great fun none the less, particularly when you are tipsy and dont care about keeping score.

Sounds like only used in the summer so if you do not need a table why have one? When I was growing up we had a "summer" cabin but we also went there at Christmas for a big family dinner and in the summer there were a ton of us in and out so always had a table.IMO a summer place can be a lot more casual about how you live . It would be nice to see the whole space and BTW love the blue metal piece

Maybe I’m viewing this incorrectly but if you wanted to utilize the curved area in the kitchen as @marylut and @maureen showed you for eating, then you can move the TB cabinet to the blank wall near the living room. That cabinet is fabulous and needs to be a more visual, special place.

Is there room for the TB cabinet in the living room?

@lerkat Did you search for custom metal artwork? There were a few on Etsy we found when we were trying to decide what size. In the end we decided go big or go home...and we actually could have gone a little bigger. But we are so happy with how it turned out.

We don't rent out the house, so a table is not expected. I'd like to find something at Home Goods that I can easily return to just get an idea of size. Stuff ends up on the island usually. I'm pretty sure a table would be a place for stuff that needs to go down to the dock. We've been debating this for two years now lol!

@marylut We are almost 50 somethings and have been doing it this way for a while lol! Thanks for the ideas. A hanging chair might work great there. Or the small table, but with 4 chairs. That's kind of what we envisioned, but just haven't fully committed. We had a rectangular folding table there last week (elderly parents visited) so we started discussing it again. That table took up way too much room so we know a small round one would be best.

@Maureen I agree. Everything is crammed in that one end. The cat would love a bench at the window. He currently sits on top of the cooler watching the birds and squirrels (bird feeders right outside the window). The cooler is there mostly for him lol. It was a catchall during renovations and it just stayed in the kitchen. We haven't tried the hutch to the right of the door yet. We were worried it would block our view out the bay window from the couch, but I do agree that is a better spot for it. That kitchen light is just a temporary light until we figure out what we are doing with a table.

@Kendrah Yes...something fun would be great. Air hockey table would be amazing! What a great idea to have a room just for ping pong where the balls could be contained. With my husband and cousin's husband I could see ping pong getting out of hand...especially after a few cocktails lol!

Thanks everyone for the ideas and suggestions. The house is still a work in progress. We've been doing renovations since we bought 2 years ago and are finally almost done. We need to rearrange a few things and then see if a table will work out. Or an air hockey table :) I do like the idea of a bench at the window too. Guys will love that I have more projects for them haha!

@Anna (6B/7A in MD) Too funny! Yes, I know Bare would be a lot of help with puzzles lol!!

@Patricia Colwell Consulting Right. That is what we've been debating for two years. One weekend we think we don't need it, the next weekend we think one might be nice. It is definitely more casual and we don't eat inside that often. Obviously in the winter or when bad weather, but we do our best to be outside. Thank you! The blue metal lake is one of our favorites. I knew it would be amazing, but my super talented cousin's painting really makes it awesome!

@RedRyder Yes, we love the TB cabinet. We like it in that area because it houses boat towels and extra plates and stuff we use at the dock. I'm hoping we can move it to the right of the patio doors. I'm liking the idea of a banquette at the window with a couple chairs facing out the window. Will have to get everyone else on board with it!

@motupeg There isn't much room for it in the living room. The couch is huge and takes up a lot of room. We like the cabinet close to the doors since it houses stuff that goes down to the dock.

Fanstone Home focus on nature stone furniture design & manufacture. Maybe will you consider nature stone tables? For more designs, check here https://www.fanstonehome.com/

Maybe the reason you eat on the couch is because you don’t have a table to gather around?

A banquette sounds ideal.

@ShadyWillowFarm Ha! Could be. The only time we eat on the couch is in the winter and there is usually a hockey game on we want to watch. The husbands are fighting us girls on a table because they know it won't get used as a dining table.

@RedRyder Yes, I think so too. Will also give the dog and cat a good spot to watch the birds and squirrels. And if we can also create some storage below, that would be a bonus. The guys will be thrilled that I've come up with another project for them to complete lol!

Love the sculpture of the Lake of the Ozarks, I recognized it immediately and will be down this weekend! I think the reason you don't use the table is because it's not there, if you had one it would get used. :-)

How high is the bottom of the bay window sill from the floor? The banquet seat would need to be about 17” high to be comfy. And bench should have a padded back maybe another 10” for back support. So how much of the window would be blocked by the banquette?

Yes. Looks like all your dining chairs are counter height. There will come a time when someone will need a standard height chair and you never know when that will be. Might as well accommodate everyone now.

@Cynthia Yep...it's easily recognizable if you know LOTO! We've been coming to the lake for years and are down every weekend spring to fall and a few in the winter. Have fun this weekend. I'm sure it will be crazy! If we end up with a table, I will make sure it gets used lol!

@marylut I was wondering about that too. I need to measure this weekend to verify if it would work out. I'm thinking it would get into the window :/ If not a banquette then definitely think a round table near the window with 4 chairs would be next best option. We think that window was added after the house was built (realized that it is sitting on top of the deck outside) so we actually discussed removing the bay window and doing a regular window.

@territheresa Good point. I'm hoping for a standard height table since we have plenty of counter/bar height seating.

My son wants a Sphinx and plans to name him Dave. I like Bare better for a Sphinx. Our brown cat stands on his haunches and looks like a bear, so his name is Sugar Bear. Have you considered moving the TB hutch to the right of the vent where the 4 pieces of art are? Hang them horizontally centered 5' above the floor under the lake sculpture and move the small piece in the middle to the left of the kitchen bay and move the wood shelf unit left of the French doors to the deck. If there isn't much of a view out the bay (looks like a house), Then try a settee, table and chairs there.

Wicker Park Transitional · More Info

Transitional Dining Room · More Info

@decoenthusiaste Oh I love human names for cats and dogs!! Bare's full name is Captain Nudeington Bare lol! Aww Sugar Bear is a cute name.

We are lucky that our uber rich neighbors bought the lot next to us becase they didn't want a house built so close to them. So we just have some woods right out that window. We have bird feeders out there and we get birds, ducks, squirrels and deer hanging out by the window. Moving the TB cabinet there kind of blocks the walkway behind the couch to the kitchen. The couch is moved as far away from that wall as possible because otherwise the far end (chaise lounge below the lake map) gets too close to the TV console. The room is pretty big, but furniture placement has been a challenge. While we would like to add something on the wall with the metal lake map, we kind of want it to stand alone since it is such a focal point. And those 4 pieces of art and driftwood piece kind of go together. We have a home in SW FL and those pieces are from local artists from that area and the driftwood piece my cousin's husband made for us of all of the places we have travelled with them. So those are all "Florida" pieces and the lake map is "lake" so we want to keep them separate. I'd like to move the FL pieces somewhere else, but we couldn't come up with a better location. We first had them to the right of the door, but it was too much for such a small space. I'm not overly excited where they are now, but we just wanted to get them hung somewhere.

I think if we can move the wood shelving piece to the left of the patio doors and the TB cabinet to right of the doors, that will make a huge difference. And then a small round table near the bay window. I'm thinking we won't be able to make a banquette work there.

Here is a pic of the driftwood piece. It is super cool.

This kind of shows the lake map wall. And while there is room for other artwork we really want to have that be the feature.

The wall opposite the lake we may hang a large sailflish, so we could hang the FL pieces to the right of the sail fish since they are all FL related. But they will be up so high you won't be able to see the detail of the driftwood piece :/

I appreicate all of the suggestions! I'm hoping to talk the group into a round standard height table and place it near the bay window. We have been going back and forth about this for two years now, so maybe we will finally get it done this year lol!

Tables are so great for many things. Serving food off of, games, crafts with kids, and meals. Even if you don’t all sit down all the time I would suspect it’s used often

@WestCoast Hopeful I agree, but we have found so far we haven't needed one. We have been debating this since we bought the house two years ago lol. We would definitely have a table if we had kids, but we only have the 4-legged type kids. And this would only be used a handful of times a year really. We eat at the table outside on the porch or at the dock most of the time. The few times we are there in the winter is when it would be used.

@User that railing is STUNNING!

@Cynthia Thank you! We are so happy with how it turned out. Big improvement from what was there. It took a lot of planning and designing on our end and then their people tweaked it a bit.

Sounds like the guys' main objections to the table are that it will become a clutter magnet for items to be taken outside and that it won't be used for dining. Can you re-think storage and habits to maximize the best of both? For example, in addition to moving the huge towel storage cabinet out, can you capture space on the porch as a drop zone for items to be taken to the dock?

If built-ins or another project would be a tough sell now, phase the idea in with easy alternatives. The counter seating is only occasionally used for 1-2 people and it looks like the end is squished at the shelf unit. Consider removing 1-2 stools and the shelf unit, this will allow you to fit an inexpensive, comfortable futon or settee across the window, add one or one or two small, round tables (with less surface area to attract clutter), a comfortable chair and maybe even a small TV on the wall where the TB cabinet is now.

Mount easy plug in sconces with extendable arms for lighting so you don't have to install a ceiling fixture, you can cast programs from a phone, laptop or iPad on the TV so no need to run cable. A nice area rug to anchor and define the space will make it cozy and functional for reading, dining and relaxing and still keep the path to the porch open.

You say the bay juts into the deck, so what do the 4 of you think about a pass-through window/bar like this?

@JT7abcz All great ideas! We have a dedicated bag for smaller items, but need a spot for larger items that go to the dock. We may be able to find a spot on the porch for those. I agree that we could probably lose a stool at the counter...it is too cramped with all four. We have plenty of TVs in the house (including the porch) so probably would not need another one there lol.

@marylut Love the idea of a pass-through window, but right outside the window is the walkway from the porch that leads to the golf cart path, so it wouldn't make sense to have it there. We are planning on replacing the deck soon but we wouldn't be able to extend it in that area because it is right on the edge of the golf cart path.