Stop for a minute and think--what is the most wasted space in your house?
It could be a closet. I have a few friends whose closets are piled so high with junk that there's no room for the coats or extra linens you'd typically find inside.
It could be a spare bedroom. For years, my dad has been forced to locate his home office in a chilly corner of the basement, which not one, not two, but three upstairs bedrooms contain beds in which no one ever sleeps and dressers in which no clothes are ever stored.
In my house, the most wasted space is our dining room. Or rather, where our dining room furniture is currently located.
A few years ago, we added a sunroom on to our home (the construction debacle--and the contractor who left us with a 3-foot deep hole in our backyard 37 weeks into my first pregnancy--is another story for another day). Originally, that sunroom was supposed to be a playroom for G... but it's a little too hot in the summer and a little too cold in the winter, so it's never quite worked out that way.
So a few months ago, one of my girlfriend's suggested swapping rooms. She mentioned moving our sunroom furniture into our dining room, and our dining room furniture into our sunroom. It seemed like a brilliant idea; I mean, I think in the 4.5 years we've lived in this house, we've eaten in our formal dining room all of 6 times (and that's being generous).
Even though I was four months into this pregnancy, I helped DH carry our solid glass table top from our dining room to our sunroom, and the oversized couch from the sunroom to the dining room. It's been a wild success; G is much happier playing in her new "playroom" than she ever was in her old.
But it's got me thinking... now, we never use the sunroom. Our dining room furniture just sits there, begging to be used. It looks like a page out of "Southern Living," which would be great if I had enough room in the rest of the house to have a "show piece" room. I definitely do not.
I'm starting to think the concept of a formal dining room is obsolete in today's America. We already have an eat-in kitchen; do we really need two different rooms in which to dine? I understand back in the day when American families ate dinner together every single night--it was probably nice to have a "special place" to eat on holidays and birthdays. But now, so many American families have odd schedules; in our house, DH's work prevents him from eating dinner at home three or four nights a week. And for many holidays and birthdays, we simply choose to go out to eat.
A realtor will tell you that a house doesn't show as well without a formal dining room... but I'm not so sure. To me, it's just an anecdote on American history, outdated in the modern home. What do you think?
I wish we had enough space to HAVE wasted space! :)
Our house was built in 1974, and does not currently have an eat in kitchen option, so the dining room is a nice touch for us. (Its still rarely used unless we are having people over though).
I'd have to say the most wasted space in our house is a bedroom upstairs. Its cram packed with wedding gifts that have yet to be used, along with pretty much anything else that I've felt the need to remove from any other room in the house. *fingers crossed* most of those items will be gone by summer, we have a roommate moving out and will be able to locate most of the unused gifts to the kitchen where they can be utilized.
Originally the room was supposed to be my husbands "man room" that he could go watch the numerous sporting events I have no interest in, and for about 3 weeks he got to use it....oops? However he realized that wihtout a big nice TV to watch his sporting events on he isnt nearly as interested, so guess whats in our budget for this year?
I love our dinning room. It was an old sun roon type thing, or just an add on because the old space for a table was really too small and right ontop of the livingroom. But whatever. It does not get heat or A/C back there so I understand the temps never being so good. But we eat dinner there whenever we can. I would love to have a true formal dining room, and an eatin kitchen. But would go nuts without a dining room! Try to use it, you might find you really like it too, even if DH is not always there with you guys.
We also have a dining area in the kitchen and a dining room. Just recently we converted the dining room into what is becoming the homeschool room. The kids have their table and shelves with books and art supplies.
I'm with Tricia on this one...we have no wasted space. Our house is 100 years old, so no eat-in kitchen. Just a dining room. Which we eat in pretty much every night. Now, we don't have "fancy" dining room furniture (I still don't have a china cabinet for our wedding china...but that's a whole other story). However, every house I lived in growing up had an eat-in kitchen, family room/den, dining room, and formal living room. The formal living room seemed the biggest waste of space. Stuffy, uncomfy chairs and I only ever remember having Christmas morning in there and taking Easter pictures.
Please tell me that picture isn't actually your dining room, or I think I would die!
When I eventually look for a house of my own to buy, I definitely won't care if there is a formal dining room or not, because I KNOW it will be wasted space. I'd rather have the one table. When I have people over, it's less formal anyways, so couches and chairs are doable.
Like others, i don't have any wasted space!
Speaking in overall terms, I definitely definitely agree with the dining room. For us though, our dining room is our "office"! So we use the dining room a lot, just not to actually eat in (we are bad and eat dinner in front of the tv after our son goes to bed - plan to change that soon though to teach him about family mealtimes). If we ever build our house as we've been planning to, we won't have both a dining room and an eat-in kitchen. Just a dining room, and eat there all the time.
I think a formal dining room is nice for big family gatherings. However, DH & I do not have a formal dining room. We have a mixed eating area. It is off of the kitchen, but not enough to be consider formal. Kind of a mix. We use it for every day, and have bar stools at our counter for DS to eat it when he doesn't want to sit at the table.
As for wasted space... Storage in the basement. I have yet to donate or sell anything of DSs. When we know if we are done, then I will either start selling or donating pregnancy through his age stuff. But right now, we are just storing it b/c it is too expensive to have to rebuy if we decide & are blessed with a #2.