The hub of the home, the kitchen! I know our home life centers around the kitchen. I’m often cooking or cleaning while everyone else is seated around the island. I have no idea why we even have a dining room, it’s never used.
I can actually count on one hand how many times our dining room has been used since we built the cabin. And as the kids grow up and move on I see no reason for even having a dining room. We’re an eat in kitchen type of family. I’m by myself often, hubby is out of town on business and my son that’s still at home works full time and is in school full time.
So when It’s just me I either sit at the island and eat or I eat in my office at the computer while I work. If I could come up with an idea for turning our dining room into something other than what it is I’d be doing just that.
Because the cabin has such an open floor plan I just can’t seem to come up with another purpose for that room. We never use our living room either. Well I take that back we use it one month out of the year when family stays with us.
The views from our dining room are beautiful overlooking the pond and farmland as far as you can see. The fields are always littered with deer, turkeys, and an occasional coyote. I’d love to make use of the space if I could.
So tell me, do you have any brilliant ideas for transforming the dining room into usable space? I’m up for any ideas, just remember the open floor plan where the dining room, kitchen, and living room are all one big space.
Hit me with you best ideas, and even if you think there quirky I want to hear them.
I’ve often thought that your dining room table would be lovely as a library table. Is a library a space that you and your family could enjoy? Since you don’t use the living room that often, either, perhaps you could combine the two into a cozy den-type or library space. Is it possible to move the table in another spot and use that area for seating in some way? A lot would depend on your front door entryway, but bookshelves could be a nice addition. If you end up staying in the log cabin for many years to come, you may one day find the dining area to be more important – I’m thinking daughter-in-laws and grandchildren. I don’t know if you like putting together jigsaw puzzles, but your dining room table would be a great surface for that if you had more of a den-type space.
Jen, that’s funny because our dining table and chairs are from an old library. I love doing puzzles so I may use that suggestion.
I don’t know how your dining room is situated, but I would turning it into a type of keeping room with a loveseat and comfy chair where you could sit and look at the scenery with a good book while you are cooking. Family and friends could sit there and visit with you while you cook too. I liked the preceding comment about bookcases which could be incorporated too. A braided rug in colors you have in your kitchen could pull it all together.
Joan it’s an open floor concept so that’s basically what we have the living room in attached to the kitchen and dining room. There’s no place for book shelves the room is all french doors so it’s hard with furniture placement too. It may just have to stay a dining room, lol
Depending on how formal your living room is, what about a media room, area for TV, area for books, comfy chairs, pillows, throws. A comfortable place to be with each other, like the kitchen is comfortable and where people want to be.
Pam, it attached to the living room with no walls…open floor plan so it’s basically the same room and we don’t use the room with a tv in it now, lol.
Reading the comments, it is a challenge and I do love how you pretty up the table with your seasonal decor:).
Have a wonderful day,
Kathleen in Az
Hi,
My kitchen is long and narrow but has a small round table for 4 where everyone gathers no matter how many. I have a large dining room with a large farmers table. But I have my queen bed in here now with table against wall as a desk. The room has a large closet (only decent size one in 1920 Cape) but two doorways, one to kitchen other to living room. Necessity is mother of invention or New England ingenuity whatever it works.