The dining room. Once a standard in home design, is now a topic of debate. With the growing shift in having an open-concept kitchen, tying together both cooking and eating, there has been less of a need and want of the formal dining room in one's home. But which is better? While there are pros and cons to both styles, only the homeowner can make the right choice for their family's lifestyle.
The Impact of a Busy Lifestyle
As times change and people get busier with their lives, more and more people are either eating at their kitchen island, on the coffee table, or worse, standing up. Being on the go constantly results in people or families not having a strong need for a formal dining room, so for these individuals, a kitchen island that can double as a kitchen table is perfectly ideal.
Open-Concept vs. Formal Dining Room
An open-concept kitchen is casual and modern, perfect for those that either don't have a need to host dinner parties, or that simply enjoy talking to others while cooking.
(Photo Credit: IDG Featured Designer Lucy Penfield)
For those families that find quality in sitting down to dinner together, or hosting dinner parties for family and friends, the traditional route of a formal dining room is ideal. Not only does it allow for conversation and a peacful meal, but it keeps with the specific roles of each room. The kitchen stays the kitchen, and the dining room stays the dining room.
(Photo Credit: IDG Featured Designer Lucy Penfield)
Which do you prefer... the open-concept kitchen or the formal dining room?