You bought a home with a formal dining room. Nothing wrong
with that. Problem is, you can count on one hand how many times you’ve actually
enjoyed it. So you haven’t turned into the gracious dinner host you thought
you’d be. Why reserve that valuable space for “someday” when it can serve you
so much better today.
5 Alternative Uses For Your Dining Room:
Homey
Home Office. Already have a rectangular dining room table? Take
away all but one seat, or remove them all and replace with a sumptuous accent
chair. Boom, the perfect desk arrangement loaded with surface space. A desk and
underlying rug at an angle might be even more dynamic. And that chandelier?
Looks just as good over your desk as it did over the table. If you do invite
dinner guests, return the chairs for a quick fix.
Homework
Area/Playroom/Craft Room. Dining rooms easily make the grade as
homework areas, playrooms and craft rooms, too. Very on trend, tables with
heavy distressing make it easier to hide the occasional slip of a crayon or
marker. You can bring in couple of stylish bookshelves for cubby space or use
your existing buffet or server for storing supplies. They’re not just for
plates and silverware anymore!
Breakfast
Bistro/Cafe/Sitting Room. Imagine your dining room as your
favorite neighborhood cafe, complete with a bistro table and chairs (in lieu of
a dining room table) and a lounge seating area, maybe with a wall-mounted TV.
What a perfect place to sip your morning coffee, check your email and get
yourself perked up for the day. When it’s time to unwind, your cafe serves as
your wine bar.
Pool
Hall/Bar Lounge/Party Central. Love the thought of having people
over but dread having to cook and serve? Break from the ordinary. Turn your
dining room into a cool hangout space, complete with a bar, pool or ping pong
table and wall-mounted TV. A few swivels chairs will really keep the
conversation flowing.
Music
Room/In-Tune Space. Maybe you play the piano or guitar, or
perhaps your little ones are budding musicians? Turn your dining room into a
music room with instruments on display, fun seating, music-themed artwork and
your music collection. Or, stretch the possibilities by turning the space into
a yoga or dance studio, if that’s what really moves you.
Have better ideas for an underused dining room?
No comments:
Post a Comment