I think it is because separate dining rooms are out of fashion so only a small amount of real estate is set aside for it. With a 36" wide, rectangular table, the remaining 36" on each side is considered adequate for "slide by" passage behind a seated person, and that takes up the 9 feet.

Often one side is almost fully open to the entry, or adjacent room, or has a large opening-- so that openness is exploited as a part of the narrow actual footprint.

Hi! The farmhouse dining room is 12' and I think it will be too small (I want a hutch) so I may swap it with the living room. That's 14' wide, which gives more room to walk around, when people are seated.

I guess it also depends on whether there is a walkway past the table (which I will need) or a dead end space. Big dining rooms can be so inviting...and leave extra space for bookcases, window seat, hutch, etc. so it can be used for more than just eating. Just my two cents :)

Personally, I wouldn't do less that 12.

I had 9' in a previous house and it was TIGHT! No room for anything but a table - and a narrow table at that.

I have 13' now and it works ok. I still have the same narrow table so now also have room for a china cab....but even at 13', unless the table was narrow the hutch still wouldn't fit.

I think like everything in life, it's all about compromises. You can't always get everything you want. Back when I was in the previous house, it was my first home and I was just thrilled to have a place that was mine! The fact that the dining room was tiny was a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. :)

If I was building I would still put in a full dining room. I would probably design it so you could break through to a full bathroom or something like that, so it could be converted to a downstairs bedroom. I would not build one of those rooms that was separated from the entry only by a column or two because that makes the space really inflexible.

I grew up in a house with a separate dining room, and although the room was used for meals maybe a dozen times a year, the room was used for lots of other things. The piano was in there, projects could be staged in there, sometimes I did homework in there. Things would get sorted on the table in there.It worked better as an actual room that could be closed off. The dining/entry has to be kept presentable since is up front and visible, and doesn't work that way.

I think 11' is enough but some times it so happens that while making home plan we are not able to save enough space for dinning. For me 10' to 11' is enough.

our plan has no formal dining room, just a "all-in-one" style of dining room. it's about 11x13 and it's also open to the kitchen and great room. we think it will work just fine for our needs...which it all depends on.

my parents have a formal dining room and it's 13x16 and it seems BIG!

also, it depends on the decorating like many here have said. if just dining table and chairs and not much more, then a plan around 10 feet wide should work okay.

I think that many people today just don't bother with the accessory pieces in dining rooms. No buffets, servers, sideboards, china cabinets . . . just table and chairs. Of course it may be the case of the tail wagging the dog -- they're accustomed to the narrow dining rooms, so don't bother to buy the extra furniture.

I think a lot of people don't want to maintain the crystal, silver, china and display pieces found in those buffets, sideboards, and china cabinets. They often have to be hand washed and people often prefer dishwasher-safe pieces.

That being said...I love them all! :)

If people do enjoy the more traditional pieces, they're easy to find in second hand shops (at least in our area) for a very reasonable price. So are the furniture pieces. I think they'll become fashionable again, since so many kids have grown up with more casual styles. I think 'grandma's house' often influences our design choices :)

Our breakfast room off the kitchen is 9' x 19'. It has a 42'' round table and 4 chairs in there, and feels quite tight.

We are skinny enough so that we can squeeze through. But I really wish the previous owner (who built it) had made it wider. I think 14' would be ideal.

We opted for 1 separate eating area off of the kitchen. It has a 8 or 9 foot arched opening adjacent to kitchen. We wanted 1 large eating area that could be used for daily dinners and also be dressed up for holidays and dinner parties. The room still is separate enough to serve all purposes. I have seen rooms like this with beautiful drapes hung to the sides of the arched opening. So, we could completely close the room off tii for a very different, formal feel (though I doubt we ever will). The room is 12+ feet by 18+ feet and awesome foe entertaining. We alone are a family of 8, so,we wanted room to sit a lot of people around the table.