Dining table placement

9 years ago

My husband and I are thinking about buying his brother's home next year. One of the problems I'm seeing with the house is the tight dining area. They currently have their dining table in the small breakfast nook area in the kitchen. It is a very tight squeeze between the backs of chairs and the peninsula. We were thinking about moving the dining area into the large long rectangle great room, basically splitting that room in half. I'm not positive there is room for this. If there is, will it look odd? The ceilings are tall, and there is a ceiling fan in the very center of the room. There are also many recessed lights in the room, but there will be no light over the dining table. What are your opinions of this? We would use the breakfast nook space for a mudroom type area, adding a storage bench under the window.

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Comments (7)

Olychick
9 years ago
I think it looks like a lovely place for a table - by the fireplace and the doors to the outside. Would there be any way to move the fan to over the seating area in f.r. and add a light over the table? That would be my only concern
erinsean
9 years ago
I guess I would ask myself if I wanted to eat in the end of the great room every day. Personally, I would rather eat at the end of the kitchen and/or have stools on the peninsula...
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Fun2BHere
9 years ago
The centered fan and lights don't really bother me. You could always add another can light centered over the table and move the fan later if necessary.

I have a friend with a huge extended family who turned her whole family room into a dining room. She put in a table that can seat twenty and it works out well as members of her extended family live nearby and get together often.
kesh0910
Original Author
9 years ago
We don't want to do any remodeling, such as moving the fan because we would be selling in 10 or so years, as we plan to build our forever home. I don't know that other people would think the same way I do, and I don't want to make permanent decisions for the layout. I guess just trying to decide if the centered fan would bother me for 10 years. haha!

The peninsula isn't made for bar stools. I would have to add overhang, and there isn't really enough room. There is a pass through to the living room from the kitchen that we plan on using as a breakfast bar, adding overhang. Thanks for your opinions!
Annie Deighnaugh
9 years ago
10 years is a lifetime so I definitely think moving a light fixture or fan would be well worth it. It certainly doesn't fall into the category of "remodeling". Life is too short to spend it being unhappy with your home. My grandparents used to drive me crazy as they'd live with all kinds of inconveniences and then fix up the place before they sold it, so they never got to enjoy any of their improvements.

I would consider doing both. I would move the dr table to the FR for more formal dining, and I would get a narrow rectangular table for the nook. I'd build in a bench against the window wall and add a bench to sit on on the opposite side. I'd also move the ceiling fan and add a light over the dr table.
Gracie
9 years ago
10 years?! That's a good portion of your life!

Another option would be to remove the peninsula since it's not serving a purpose. There's no seating, sink or appliance, and you don't need the counter space since there's plenty in the main prep areas (sink and stove). All it does is close off the entryway. Then you could place the peninsula cabinets flat against the wall. The expense would be counter top. What type of counter top is it? It might just be a question of reseaming it. I would also switch the fridge and stove though as going from sink to stove will get old. Imagine carrying a pot of boiling pasta to the sink to drain.
kesh0910
Original Author
9 years ago
Since this is my brother-in-law's house, I cook in this kitchen often. I don't necessary like the way the kitchen is set up, but we aren't looking to remodel it for the most part. Yes it is 10 years, but we just don't want to spend more money than we have to since we are saving to build by time we're 40. We just don't think these changes would add very much value for resell. As far as the peninsula goes, I would need that extra counter and cabinet space. The other counter space in the kitchen isn't as useful IMO. They just replaced the counter with granite tiles, so we probably won't do anything with that. Thanks for the ideas!