Redefine Your Space to Suit Your Lifestyle

The Multiple Dining Syndrome

Have you been in your home for a while and want to change things up a bit? Or are you in the process of building and aren’t sure what to do with the space? These sorts of questions often come up when designing your home for your lifestyle, and it typically has to do with how a space is defined.

Floor plans typically “define” areas in order to help clarify the space, and the tendency is to go with those parameters as you are designing your home. However, you don’t necessarily need to follow these definitions (a simple example would be using your “den” as an “office”). What we’re alluding to in this case is something that we’re sure many of you have experienced: the “multiple dining syndrome.” This “syndrome” is defined by having your “dining room” next to your island, which is right next to your “breakfast area” and adjacent to your “bar.”

You end up with four spaces touching each that all serve the same purpose of being the landing point to eat. Why do you need so many so close together? What tends to happen when they’re all in such close proximity to one another is that at least one of the spaces typically becomes a drop zone for a vast array of things (those of you with piles of mail, laundry, etc. in your dining room because you don’t use it), so it becomes a wasted piece of square footage. We’re here to tell you, there is a solution!

READ MORE: Creating the Ideal Kitchen

Re-Purpose & Redefine

You’ve heard the term “re-purpose” as it is associated with design, but what we’re proposing is to “redefine.” You have a formal dining space you want to keep… check! Now, you eat your breakfast mostly at the kitchen island, so what should you do with the “breakfast nook?” Why don’t you make this a sitting area? These areas are typically right next to a bay window or a view to the outdoors, so why not remove the table and chairs and use the area to enjoy your coffee in the morning or read a book?

Just because the space “says” it should be one way, it doesn’t mean it has to be only that. Redefine and “re-purpose” to suit your lifestyle!

READ MORE: Why You’ll Love an Open Floor Plan