Is it ok to build a new house without a formal dining area?

[Anonymous]

We entertain a lot and most of the time we serve food buffet style. Our kitchen island is the place where we stage the appetizers, the formal dining area is where we set the buffet on chafing dishes and the breakfast area is where we put all the desserts. We have another table where we set the drinks. It keeps people flowing...

We have a formal sitting room, a family room and a study converted to a sitting area...so between these 5 areas - there is enough place for people to sit, socialize and eat. - indoors and on the main floor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mistake. Doing rooms are making a comeback

No they're not. They've been cashed in for offices or guest rooms for quite some time now. Most people do not want a formal dining room anymore.

People who buy $3.6 million homes are not like your friends.

[Anonymous]

It could easily be added on/remodeled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mistake. Doing rooms are making a comeback

ITA. For a house this size IMHO it's negative to not have a formal dining room. It's totally ok for a smaller home where you have spaces have double function or switch the function of spaces. But when someone goes all the way out to build over 8K sq.ft. which is a huge home by any standards, with all sorts of luxury features and one-purpose rooms, it's stupid to not have a formal dining room. I am fine dealing with using our regular table for a formal dinner (we have a few family gatherings each year) since I have a small house. But if I spent millions to build I would want a formal dining room for hosting. I would hate to deal with cleaning up the usual family daily stuff like laptops, books, mail, etc (a small house problem ) after having dished out millions for a house when I have people over for dinner. I would absolutely use a formal dining room a lot more in that case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It could easily be added on/remodeled.

Cool, but it costs money on top of already hefty price of a build. Why would you build a custom home without this? Why would you need a library more than a formal dining room? I get the usability of ground floor main bedroom suites, but I don't get why you would have a library and not a dining room in an 8K sq.ft. house. Much smaller homes have formal dining rooms. And they are useful if you have guests over even for a casual gathering, because your main "breakfast table" doesn't need to be cleared and you don't even need to tidy up your kitchen, as you won't see your counters and casual family table from your dining room.

It's great to not have to prepare for guests, but always have a nice tidy dining place without daily clutter. I think maybe this is a reason formal spaces like sitting rooms and dining rooms are making a come back. If you are loaded to afford huge new builds and you are busy, you can separate family utility places from formal guest places. Even having a friend over for a takeout is easier in a formal dining room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We built new and didn't include a formal dining room. Wasted space for me and my family and we knew we'd be in the house 15+ years.

We do have a room someone could use as a dining room if they wanted but it's not a completely perfect set up. Would work though.

No regrets. If it hurts resale down the line, oh well.

I would never in million years spend money on a new house or any expensive home without a formal dining room and a formal sitting room (even if they are small). It makes spontaneous gatherings so much easier

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn’t buy a $3.5M house without a dining room.

+1

We built new. Formal dining room with large lovely table and custom chairs. We use it sparingly, but we are the family holiday "hosts" and it's wonderful to have special meals in there with the good furniture, etc. out of view of the kitchen and family room space. It's been 10+ years now and do not regret it. It's open to the large living room and visible from entry to the house. We nixed having an office or study in the layout and instead use one of the empty upstairs rooms. That said, if you are going to live in the house over 10 years, build it as you like, OP. It's your live-in asset.

This. Even if your friends come for casual take-out and cocktails it's way nicer to have a separate nice dining area always ready to go without the view of the kitchen and family mess. I guess if you are super tidy people, especially empty nesters you may not need a formal dining/sitting areas? But then you'd have a much smaller home too likely.

Honestly, if I built a new home, I'd want a dining room easily accessible from the kitchen, but not with a view of the kitchen (separated from it), with comfy chairs and a wet bar in the dining room or in between the kitchen and the dining room. I'd call it a "hangout room" . The bar would serve as a counter for catered meals or takeout, drinks prep, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to build in the 22101. Our proposed first floor layout includes an enclosed library, a formal dining room open to the family room, a breakfast area open to a chef’s kitchen with a 9-foot island seating four, a prep kitchen, and a bedroom with a full bath and closet.

Given this layout, do we still need a separate living room on the first floor?

Yes... unless you want to tidy up your family room each time you have anyone over. I'd make the library double as a former sitting room. Having books on the shelves instead of the TV (common for family rooms) and nice cozy furniture and art would create a great place to hang out. Have it connected with your formal dining room, and do not have your dining room face the family room and casual dining area. Even if you do not drink still have a wet bar in between your library/sitting room and your dining room, so that you could serve beverages and meal containers without going to the kitchen.

Dining and sitting areas that are aesthetically pleasing and flow into each other and don't provide a view of family clutter is what I call luxury, that's expected when you spend money on home. Hosting your guests in your informal family room spaces is what I associate with apartment living (where I spent most of my life) and small urban homes, or empty nester homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to build in the 22101. Our proposed first floor layout includes an enclosed library, a formal dining room open to the family room, a breakfast area open to a chef’s kitchen with a 9-foot island seating four, a prep kitchen, and a bedroom with a full bath and closet.

Given this layout, do we still need a separate living room on the first floor?

Yes... unless you want to tidy up your family room each time you have anyone over. I'd make the library double as a former sitting room. Having books on the shelves instead of the TV (common for family rooms) and nice cozy furniture and art would create a great place to hang out. Have it connected with your formal dining room, and do not have your dining room face the family room and casual dining area. Even if you do not drink still have a wet bar in between your library/sitting room and your dining room, so that you could serve beverages and meal containers without going to the kitchen.

Dining and sitting areas that are aesthetically pleasing and flow into each other and don't provide a view of family clutter is what I call luxury, that's expected when you spend money on home. Hosting your guests in your informal family room spaces is what I associate with apartment living (where I spent most of my life) and small urban homes, or empty nester homes.

The wealthy don't have tiny cluttered little homes with chopped up rooms. Why is your family room a mess? Too small or can't afford someone to tidy it up? You're not the people who can afford the $3M home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently custom built - no formal
Dining room. Imstewd, we have a large “dining area” located between the kitchen and family room - holding a large 8-seat casual dining table and comfy chairs. That’s all we need. No regrets.

Same. This a flex space that we used for another sitting area. Our kitchen has a table that seats 8. Dining rooms are no longer a given.

We are talking about homes over 8K sq ft. For that size and price I expect separate formal living/dining areas. It will be a turn off to have a massive open kitchen and a family table I have to clean up each time anyone comes over. Open floor plans are for small homes and apartments, not for luxury homes. In the past wealthy people didn't even allow access to their kitchens to the guests, nobody wanted to see the kitchen or smell it. It's bizarre that we made kitchens into guest hangouts. Who actually likes to hang out in people's kitchens while they cook and clean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to build in the 22101. Our proposed first floor layout includes an enclosed library, a formal dining room open to the family room, a breakfast area open to a chef’s kitchen with a 9-foot island seating four, a prep kitchen, and a bedroom with a full bath and closet.

Given this layout, do we still need a separate living room on the first floor?

Yes... unless you want to tidy up your family room each time you have anyone over. I'd make the library double as a former sitting room. Having books on the shelves instead of the TV (common for family rooms) and nice cozy furniture and art would create a great place to hang out. Have it connected with your formal dining room, and do not have your dining room face the family room and casual dining area. Even if you do not drink still have a wet bar in between your library/sitting room and your dining room, so that you could serve beverages and meal containers without going to the kitchen.

Dining and sitting areas that are aesthetically pleasing and flow into each other and don't provide a view of family clutter is what I call luxury, that's expected when you spend money on home. Hosting your guests in your informal family room spaces is what I associate with apartment living (where I spent most of my life) and small urban homes, or empty nester homes.

The wealthy don't have tiny cluttered little homes with chopped up rooms. Why is your family room a mess? Too small or can't afford someone to tidy it up? You're not the people who can afford the $3M home.

Ugh. I already said this, if I had millions to spend on a home I would expect that I don't have to deal with small house problems in a big luxury home. If you build a luxury home and care about resale, you are not being very smart not taking this into consideration.

As far as mess is concerned, you'd be surprised how messy many large homes are with family stuff I have personally seen as a guest. Kitchen counters and casual tables cluttered with kid's stuff, active meal prep, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently custom built - no formal
Dining room. Imstewd, we have a large “dining area” located between the kitchen and family room - holding a large 8-seat casual dining table and comfy chairs. That’s all we need. No regrets.

Same. This a flex space that we used for another sitting area. Our kitchen has a table that seats 8. Dining rooms are no longer a given.

We are talking about homes over 8K sq ft. For that size and price I expect separate formal living/dining areas. It will be a turn off to have a massive open kitchen and a family table I have to clean up each time anyone comes over. Open floor plans are for small homes and apartments, not for luxury homes. In the past wealthy people didn't even allow access to their kitchens to the guests, nobody wanted to see the kitchen or smell it. It's bizarre that we made kitchens into guest hangouts. Who actually likes to hang out in people's kitchens while they cook and clean?

The "past" was during Jeffferson or Washington's times. The kitchens were outside the homes...completely removed. You that old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We built new and didn't include a formal dining room. Wasted space for me and my family and we knew we'd be in the house 15+ years.

We do have a room someone could use as a dining room if they wanted but it's not a completely perfect set up. Would work though.

No regrets. If it hurts resale down the line, oh well.

I would never in million years spend money on a new house or any expensive home without a formal dining room and a formal sitting room (even if they are small). It makes spontaneous gatherings so much easier

We have a new construction house built in 2020. There's a space for a formal dining room, but I use it as my office. The rest of the main floor is open concept and our kitchen has a table that can seat 8-10 people when expanded, plus there's seating for 4 at the island.

We have no use or need for formal dining/living spaces and I despise them - to me, you're reserving significant space in your house to be rarely used. We have plenty of informal dens too - couches and kids gaming setup in the basement; husband's office/den also in the basement that has a TV and his fancy oldschool stereo with his vinyl collection; and a kids den/playroom on the upper floor. This much more reflects how we use the house. If we wanted to, we could stage my office like a dining room for resale, but I honestly think the large, bright office with a cozy couch and bookshelves would attract more buyers than a dining table.

[Anonymous]

That “dinette” area is huge and can fit a table for 20 people if needed. It’s not in a separate room, but that is the dining room. The question should be why is there no smaller, intimate family breakfast area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently custom built - no formal
Dining room. Imstewd, we have a large “dining area” located between the kitchen and family room - holding a large 8-seat casual dining table and comfy chairs. That’s all we need. No regrets.

Same. This a flex space that we used for another sitting area. Our kitchen has a table that seats 8. Dining rooms are no longer a given.

We are talking about homes over 8K sq ft. For that size and price I expect separate formal living/dining areas. It will be a turn off to have a massive open kitchen and a family table I have to clean up each time anyone comes over. Open floor plans are for small homes and apartments, not for luxury homes. In the past wealthy people didn't even allow access to their kitchens to the guests, nobody wanted to see the kitchen or smell it. It's bizarre that we made kitchens into guest hangouts. Who actually likes to hang out in people's kitchens while they cook and clean?

It really depends on how you like to live in your space. We live in a prewar apartment, and I like having a separate kitchen . . . most of our entertaining at home consists of cocktail parties and hosting for drinks before or after dinner at a restaurant. For our second home, we like having everything open . . . we have houseguests often, which usually requires a lot of meal prep and cooking, and it's nice to be able to have everyone hanging out together so we can be social while we're doing our thing.