Demise of the dining room

I'm in my 6th house - in half of them I've had a loved and now much missed dining kitchen. There's nothing better than to sit at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a meal with the radio playing, and not far to walk to the sink. Only one of my past houses was big enough for a decent separate dining room.

Nowadays I've a table in the corner of the sitting room where I eat which has its advantages.

We generally only use the dining room for 'special' meals (birthdays, Christmas or other celebration) or when someone else is here. When we use it the table is set with glasses, linen, candles or sometimes flowers - just for the fun of it. Other times we use the table in the kitchen where we can clear up quickly.

My bungalow originally had a separate dining room, a smallish room off the lounge and not near the kitchen. A previous owner built a garden room extension across the back of the lounge, it’s rather narrow but I managed to buy a suitable dining table from John Lewis so I use it as my dining room now. The original dining room is now my wonderful craft room.

I have room in the kitchen for a table and two chairs so I eat in there for all my meals, no tv but I read a book while eating - I live on my own! I use the dining room whenever I have visitors and often sit in there in a reclining leather armchair to look at the garden.

I cannot eat from a tray on my lap, I’d make an awful mess!

We had a massive dining room in the house we’ve just sold. It’s been used as an office/sewing room/library/junk room as well over the years. A number of people who viewed the house had plans to turn it into a music room, a cinema room or a model railway room!

We only used it for high days and holidays as we had a roomy kitchen & family room. Our new house will have a kitchen/dining/family room with French doors to the garden and we’re really looking forward to using that.

My DC with families all eat at the table, none of them is allowed to eat in front of the TV.

I haven't had a dining room for years, and my back hates hard or upright chairs, so it's a tray on the lap for me every time.

When the children were at home we nearly always ate at the table. I still have a separate dining room but nowadays I tend to eat off a tray in front of the TV. While we have had this lovely weather I have eaten out in the garden most evenings.

I have a habit of dumping stuff on my table, it needs clearing as I’ve had GC for a couple of days, there’s all kinds of clutter on there, another job to sort when it cools down, the list is growing!!

All three of my children & their families tend to eat at the table.

We have an open plan kitchen/ diner/ sitting area. We always sit at the table for our evening meal and I give stern looks if anyone has their phone anywhere near. We generally have our breakfast and lunch on our knees watching tele.

We always sat at the table with our children when they were growing up, and they in turn always use their dining tables. Now we eat in the dining room when the family come around for a meal, or if it’s a casual meal, we eat at the kitchen table. When it’s just the two of us we use trays and sit in the living room.

We have a dining table that seats 6 in the conservatory, only used at Xmas or when grandsons come as its lovely to talk to them (no mobiles) and hear about their adventures. Otherwise it is two TV tables, bought from Ikea many years ago, in front of the tv in the kitchen with a nice meal and a glass of wine. Sorted. !

My grandchildren come to us fairly frequently, they're with us now. On Sundays they demand a Sunday roast so it gets used then, or if we have friends stay over we'll have had a few before the summer ends, it's too hot for outside eating at the moment Other than that definitely at Christmas.

As a child we ate in the dining room, Saturdays I think my father would be listening to the football results on the wireless so no one could speak

I find it uncomfortable to eat on my lap. I always eat at the dining table even if on my own.
I've never lived in a house with a kitchen big enough to be a kitchen diner.

Thank you all for your interesting posts. Yes our dining table and chairs would be described as brown furniture. We have had it for years and it is solid oak and we love it. Do you remember the formal dinner parties in the 1970's/80's? when each hostess/host tried to outdo what you had cooked for them. These days our meals with family and friends are much more laid back, we usually go for two courses. Sometimes a simple chicken dish followed by a fruit crumble or maybe a spaghetti Bolognese then cheese and biscuits. All washed down with a lovely bottle of wine (or two)! For me it is all about good company and chat and not about how important the food is.

Every meal is always eaten in the dining room unless we decide to eat outside in the garden. We never ever eat from a tray in front of the TV and during a recent stay in hospital when I was bed-bound it was totally alien to me to eat meals in bed.

My side of the family follow the same habits too although OH's family just eat anywhere in the house, even a plated meal is often eaten sitting on the bedroom floor by his GC.

We have a good sized dining room - the table doubles as my study/office/sewing up knitting table.

We generally eat at it when we have guests, not often otherwise. No proper kitchen table, alas, though dh and I both eat there - on a stool close to worktop. When it’s just me and dh for dinner we usually have trays on laps in the sitting room.
Or in summer, in the garden.

I generally eat at the dining table but no longer possess a dining room.
Recently, bonus of hot weather, have eaten most meals outside on the garden table, even breakfast. Sheer delight.

Farzanah

Our housekeeper eats in the kitchen. We eat breakfast in the morning room, the dining room for lunch, and the dining hall for dinner with visitors.?

I was so tempted to say something similar . These threads always end up with a touch of competition about them, don't they?

We are a family of six including three children. Every meal is eaten in the dining room, though I admit that if the kitchen was big enough for a large table we would probably eat in there.

I've lived with a separate dining room, living/diner, kitchen/diner and open plan room.

The one I enjoyed the least was the house with the separate dining room. My favourite, by a mile, is the open plan (which we currently have). It's socially great for when family and friends are visiting or even just the two of us. We've never had any bad comments about the smell from food being cooked - quite the opposite really.

Our new home, currently being finished has an open plan room. This one has doors that open up to a large veranda area. We love to eat outside whenever possible and whether inside or out, we always eat at the table.

If I ever have a meal by myself, it's always at the table. There I can read a book or watch the TV.

We both read at the table (unless guests), wh was banned in our childhoods, and large dining table at one end of the kitchen. The proper dining table and chairs from the proper dining room have long gone, and room now used as a study. Don't like trays on laps.

Kitchen if it's just the two of us or perhaps just us and the DGC.

The dining room if the family comes over.

Farzanah

Our housekeeper eats in the kitchen. We eat breakfast in the morning room, the dining room for lunch, and the dining hall for dinner with visitors.?

Farzanah ?

As we did until we downsized from the mansion

We have a long living/kitchen/diner. The kitchen is at one end and the dining area at the other with the sitting area in the middle with a wood burner. We have two covered terraces, one with a largish table for meals and the other a sitting area with a coffee table. These are at either end of the house so where we sit/eat outdoors depends upon the time of day. At the moment it's too hot to sit outdoors.

We have a separate dining room it's rather quaint and intimate. Our children did their homework with me every night after school and had their tea there. We use the room for special meals and special occasions but it's not fully utilised in my opinion.
Our son designed and fitted our modern kitchen. He wanted to combine the two rooms I regret not letting him.
Both our son and daughter have large kitchen come dining rooms. Lovely communal spaces which make our house look stuffy and old fashioned.

I think that the combined rooms on the house renovation programmes look great, but they are all very similar, with large spaces opening onto a landscaped garden through bifold doors, a kitchen island with three pendant lamps above it and wooden or LVT flooring throughout.

I wonder whether when fuel bills rise the fashion will change back to having separate spaces that are cheaper to heat. My house will be back in fashion if that happens . I much prefer separate rooms so that families are not on top of one another. Communal spaces are a good idea for entertaining and for supervising little ones, but for family life with older children and teenagers I think separate spaces work much better.

I tend to snack in the kitchen rather than have main meals these days. Only do formal round the table stuff when family or friends are visiting.