With the holidays approaching, you might be thinking when was the last time you used your formal dining room? Think about it for a minute, was that hard to remember? Yeah, we know. We’re guessing you probably haven’t had a meal in there since the holidays last year. It makes you start to think what the point of it all is. Is it worth it to have a formal dining room if you barely use it? In a blog post from Ashley Furniture, reasons are given for this transformation in dining culture: “changing times and evolving tastes have made it more and more a thing of the past.”
Now that we have planted this seed in your head, there are plenty of options for your formal dining room that we can’t wait to share with you!
A formal dining room that serves more than one purpose might be better suited for your needs. Your existing dining table can act as a desk with one of the side chairs as your office chair if the comfort will match your productivity. This way, your formal dining room is still available for holiday meals and isn’t a total waste of space. You now may have a home office you’ve always wanted. You can store your computer and office pieces away when it’s this time again, maybe even in one of your dining storage pieces so these items are easily accessible when you need them. In the two images below, you will see how we used the Heritage Side Chair as an office chair and the Wyatt Rectangular Dining Table as a desk!
In the case that you don’t use your formal dining room at all and eat quick meals in your living room or with family in your kitchen nook, you can transform the formality of your dining room into a new room entirely. If you’re able to, you can even donate your formal dining pieces to another family member who typically hosts the few holiday meals. Let’s say you have never had a dedicated space for your children to play or a place for all your pieces of literature. You can now create a playroom or library or both! A large bookcase can start off your library while the play part of the room where your dining table and chairs used to be leaves plenty of space for your children to use their favorite toys and electronics. These items can be organized and stored in a cabinet or even in that sideboard that you don’t want to part with just yet!
Another transition for your dining room can be from formal to casual. Consider getting a brand new set of casual pieces, typically something more rustic or modern, and make it known to spend most meals in this setting. That way, it doesn’t feel formal and forced anymore and it can still be used for the holidays too. We have an example below with the Linden White Corner Nook Set. It’s stylish and comfortable without taking up too much room or creating a formal type of setting. Obviously, if you need more seating than a nook set offers, we have plenty of options on our website for you to choose from https://www.eldoradofurniture.com/dining-rooms/dining-sets/
Our last idea for your formal dining room is a man cave. This can work if you already have a living room that your children tend to spend more time in and you want the freedom to dedicate a separate room as the foundation for watching your favorite shows and sporting events. This suggestion to completely revamp your living space will be to remove all the formal dining related pieces of furniture and instead focus on your comfort needs. This room will be your escape after a long day at work or a busy weekend so you want to make sure you have everything you really want and need. You can imagine an example of how this cave comes to life with a cozy sofa, accent chair or recliner, and TV stand that are relaxed in design so you can sit back and relax as well.
We would like to close this blog post with questions mentioned in an article from the Huffington Post that hit home with us: “Could you live without your dining room? Or do you think that eating in a dining room is a tradition worth keeping?” Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.