Five Beautiful Things

 

Dining Rooms

A close cousin to the living room is, of course, the dining room. In most modern floor plans it is often adjacent to (or across the hall from) the living room and almost always connected to the kitchen via a doorway or pantry. Like the living room, the dining room (or dining hall) was born out of the aristocracy’s need to entertain large groups of important guests. Dining rooms date back centuries to Egyptian and Roman times but it is the modern European dining room that is most closely replicated in today’s home plans: a well-lit room large enough for a big table with chairs that can seat numerous guests with, perhaps, the addition of a serving hutch or cabinet to house fine china. In many ways it is the most basic room in the house.

This stark simplicity, however, eventually led to what amounted to dead space and the subsequent reevaluation of the dining room’s use and purpose. With square footage at a premium, and entertaining happening only on special occasions or weekends, many homeowners now use the dining room for purposes other than dining: sorting and paying the bills, household paperwork, homework, sewing projects and arts & crafts. It has become a multipurpose work room that can be easily cleared to accommodate family meals or guests for the occasional sit-down dinner.

How do you use your dining room?

Below are five dining rooms that dazzle and delight – including one dining room with a built-in office! You may recognize the second image as the Beekman dining room. The fourth is also in a Sharon Springs residence: the Gardner House.

 

Throughout the months of August and September stay tuned to this column as we go room by room through the house looking for design inspiration. You can pre-order the new book, Beekman 1802 Style by Brent + Josh out Sept 15! Order autographed copies here!