These kitchen banquettes show how we can — and will — do without formal dining rooms.
As kitchens continue in the direction of multi-purpose spaces it’s not surprising to see them absorb the dining room. And following the popularity of small family breakfast tables, full-size tables seating six to eight are being combined with big kitchen banquettes to great effect. An L-shape banquette [top] is cleverly constructed in the wainscot area below glass partitions that help create a “room within a room” effect. In essence, this kitchen (by Deulonder in Barcelona) wraps around the dining space the way it would an island – which, conceptually, the table replaces. The large modern pendant fixture functions as a chandelier and keeps the table well lit. Chairs upholstered in the same way as the banquette pull up to the outside perimeter of the table – by my count this can easily, and convivially, seat eight.
In a Connecticut home, designer Leeann Thornton, pushed the dining room table across the room from the working kitchen but didn’t wall it off in any way. This requires a good deal of space (and perhaps taking down a wall) yet it delivers the informality of a family-size kitchen – where guests gravitate – mixed with trad dining room scale.
Thornton kept the style and upholstery treatment consistent for the dining chairs and stools at the eating bar. That ramps up the formality but as this kitchen comes off more as a showpiece than warm and fuzzy, it makes some sense.
One additional benefit is freeing the old dining room for repurposing as a den, library, media room, guest room, Mom-office or one of many other specialty spaces we increasingly find in houses today.
(Source: deulonder, leeannthornton)
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We too traded in a dining room, in our new house, for a study. We use the “eating area” off the kitchen for all our dining and love it. Very informal, but it’s a distinct and separate area. I just looked for a post (surely there was one!) to link for you, but I can’t believe I haven’t done one… so I will work on that in the next few weeks. In fact, after two years I just put up the curtains in the dining area and it looks great! To be continued.
Will look forward to seeing your eating area Libby.