I miss the dining room.

SoCal78_IHB

SoCal78_IHB

New member
One of the things I really don't like about the evolution of newer interiors and the open-concept floor plan is the removal of the formal dining room, or really... any area dedicated to dining. Maybe the idea of a formal dining room was too romantic to some and not practical for today's family. That is probably because many families today are not sitting down to eat together, so who needs a place to make it special? They are too busy with after-school activities, working long hours, and not having enough time to share a meal. I think that is unfortunate and today's floor plans reflect that. Even so, shouldn't a home still have a dining room? You can not host a proper Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family in an eat-in kitchen. Having people over to eat near the kitchen is like sitting in the back of a restaurant, near the noise and mess of food preparation. It is not where you would put your most special guests. It is a pet peeve when I see the dining table placed in an area directly next to the living room, with a good view of the television. What is the point of sitting down together if we are distracted by the boob-tube. Where can you store your table linens if there is no designated area for a hutch or buffet? Or have we become so complacent that we don't use linens because paper napkins and take-out are all we need or deserve. If I had one wish for future homes it would be to bring back the true dining room.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1247627177]One of the things I really don't like about the evolution of newer interiors and the open-concept floor plan is the removal of the formal dining room, or really... any area dedicated to dining. Maybe the idea of a formal dining room was too romantic to some and not practical for today's family. That is probably because many families today are not sitting down to eat together, so who needs a place to make it special? They are too busy with after-school activities, working long hours, and not having enough time to share a meal. I think that is unfortunate and today's floor plans reflect that. Even so, shouldn't a home still have a dining room? You can not host a proper Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family in an eat-in kitchen. Having people over to eat near the kitchen is like sitting in the back of a restaurant, near the noise and mess of food preparation. It is not where you would put your most special guests. It is a pet peeve when I see the dining table placed in an area directly next to the living room, with a good view of the television. What is the point of sitting down together if we are distracted by the boob-tube. Where can you store your table linens if there is no designated area for a hutch or buffet? Or have we become so complacent that we don't use linens because paper napkins and take-out are all we need or deserve. If I had one wish for future homes it would be to bring back the true dining room.</blockquote>


I like the concept of a dining room but it is just not practical for my family. Given limited sq footage and budget, a Great Room suits my lifestyle more than a formal dining room. Don't get me wrong...if I had the $$$$, I would want both. But if I had to pick between an open layout with Great Room versus closed off dining room area...well I would sacrifice a seldom used dining room.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1247627177]One of the things I really don't like about the evolution of newer interiors and the open-concept floor plan is the removal of the formal dining room, or really... any area dedicated to dining. Maybe the idea of a formal dining room was too romantic to some and not practical for today's family. That is probably because many families today are not sitting down to eat together, so who needs a place to make it special? They are too busy with after-school activities, working long hours, and not having enough time to share a meal. I think that is unfortunate and today's floor plans reflect that. Even so, shouldn't a home still have a dining room? You can not host a proper Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family in an eat-in kitchen. Having people over to eat near the kitchen is like sitting in the back of a restaurant, near the noise and mess of food preparation. It is not where you would put your most special guests. It is a pet peeve when I see the dining table placed in an area directly next to the living room, with a good view of the television. What is the point of sitting down together if we are distracted by the boob-tube. Where can you store your table linens if there is no designated area for a hutch or buffet? Or have we become so complacent that we don't use linens because paper napkins and take-out are all we need or deserve. If I had one wish for future homes it would be to bring back the true dining room.</blockquote>


Put a dining table in the downstairs bedroom. Put china, stemware, and linens in bedroom closet. Problem solved.
 
I know I'm suppose to keep this to myself but I hate eating dinner together as a family. I like to eat my dinner in peace reading a book or the paper by myself. I'll actually serve the kids dinner then wait until they are done to go sit by myself. My husband is a health nut so he almost always does his own thing. In fact he eats before I even get home and is on to his workout way before I even start cooking.



It's definitively an energy thing (and a little bit of a pet peeve thing. I can't stand listening to people chew.) My job is stressful and I commute a ways. I'm pretty beat when I get home and use my quite dinner time to re-energize. We don't have a TV so we get plenty of family interface time. I just prefer to do the family talking sitting around in the living room once I feel re-charged. A great room would be just fine for us.
 
Ivy by William Lyon Homes in Woodbury East, Irvine is a reuse of Tamarisk plan built next to Culver and 5 fwy. I remembered 2 plans I walked literally into the dining table upon entering the homes. Forcing a dining area into the path of circulation is by far the worse of all the scenarios. Socal is right a dining room should not only be tranquil but also in a good defensible space. The best spots in a restaurant is always away from noise, distractions and the circulation.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1247638517]Ivy by William Lyon Homes in Woodbury East, Irvine is a reuse of Tamarisk plan built next to Culver and 5 fwy.</blockquote>


Bonus material: Tamarisk is a reuse of the _____________ plans in West Irvine.
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1247639003][quote author="bkshopr" date=1247638517]Ivy by William Lyon Homes in Woodbury East, Irvine is a reuse of Tamarisk plan built next to Culver and 5 fwy.</blockquote>


Bonus material: Tamarisk is a reuse of the _____________ plans in West Irvine.</blockquote>


Andover
 
[quote author="High Gravity" date=1247639036][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1247639003][quote author="bkshopr" date=1247638517]Ivy by William Lyon Homes in Woodbury East, Irvine is a reuse of Tamarisk plan built next to Culver and 5 fwy.</blockquote>


Bonus material: Tamarisk is a reuse of the _____________ plans in West Irvine.</blockquote>


Andover</blockquote>


Correct. <em>Score one for the mad scientist.</em>



Level 2. Andover has how many homes for sale right now? And of those ____ how many are short sales?



Level 3. Including tax rates, financial incentives, and total expenses, which is more expensive to purchase (at list price) currently, when considering total cost of ownership? New home or 8-year-old home?



Please show all calculations.
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1247640896][quote author="High Gravity" date=1247639036][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1247639003][quote author="bkshopr" date=1247638517]Ivy by William Lyon Homes in Woodbury East, Irvine is a reuse of Tamarisk plan built next to Culver and 5 fwy.</blockquote>


Bonus material: Tamarisk is a reuse of the _____________ plans in West Irvine.</blockquote>


Andover</blockquote>


Correct. <em>Score one for the mad scientist.</em>



Level 2. Andover has how many homes for sale right now? And of those ____ how many are short sales?



Level 3. Including tax rates, financial incentives, and total expenses, which is more expensive to purchase (at list price) currently, when considering total cost of ownership? New home or 8-year-old home?



Please show all calculations.</blockquote>


Who do you think I am, Frank Agahi????
 
[quote author="Mcdonna1980" date=1247633880] We don't have a TV so we get plenty of family interface time. </blockquote>


you have no TV at home, at all or just no TV in the family room? Your hubby doesn't watch sports?
 
I totally agree SoCal. One of the things that I hated about my rental is that the dining room was a corner that was part of the living room so only a 4 person dining table would fit and it was crowded with the hutch and wine bar and table that doubles as buffet. We bought an older home where we took what was the original living space and dedicated it all to dining. There is a large add on room that we use as the living room.



Although, I want to take out the portion of wall that separates part of the kitchen from this room so that it more open to it. When we have people over we like to have them be able to gather near us with their wine as cooking. I still don't have the larger table, but my MIL helped us do a make shift add on to it for a gathering of more than 4. At some point we'll get the larger table and some more casual seating for the room. I would just love to have larger dinner parties and be able to have the whole family for one of the big holidays.
 
[quote author="irvine123" date=1247642171][quote author="Mcdonna1980" date=1247633880] We don't have a TV so we get plenty of family interface time. </blockquote>


you have no TV at home, at all or just no TV in the family room? Your hubby doesn't watch sports?</blockquote>


Zip, my husband isn't too into sports and he gets his fill from work. He works on a trading floor decked out with plasmas. If they aren't watching CNBC they are watching the game. We'll occasionally download a series and watch it on the computer but other than that were not fans of TV watching.



I do, however, have bitch-in a fireplace/entertainment center that I built myself. I designed it so that a large flat screen TV can be mounted inside the fireplace and it can drop down with hydraulic arms through a slot under the mantel. My friends love to tease that I made this contraption designed for a TV but never bought one. I just think it's a cool idea.
 
Who needs TV when there's the IHB?!



We have a TV, but no cable except during the college sports season and then I tell hubby it has to come out of his money because the UCLA games are the only time it's on. Well, he does flip to some of the USC games hoping for some schadenfreude :) We did actually watch a few hours every night the last month of the election and do watch DVD's on the TV.



Not being TV watchers was one of the many things we had in common when we met. My best friend used to chastise me when we would be out in our single days because I couldn't converse about the bachelor and other wastes of time with groups of people. Back then I at least had some periphery knowledge of what was going on in the TV world because the popular shows were a big discussion, but now I"m totally clueless.
 
I like eat-in kitchens... the families I know that have formal dinning rooms use it as a computer lab, with desktops and laptops terminal for the entire family... they usually eat at the island standing up or in the family room sitting around the sectional watching tv
 
On the 4th of July, I went to a very good friend's new (but old) house in the South Bay. It's an adorable two-bedroom house that was built in the '20s, and it's at least 1500 sq ft. The garage is in the back, and it has a huge front porch with a gorgeous ocean view. I fell in the love with the house when I drove up, but the huge formal dining room put me over the top. Before I saw my friend's house for the first time, I was 100% positive that I was an open floor plan gal but in the context of this old home, I love the formal dining room. I realized that for older homes, I just might prefer to maintain the original layout instead of knocking down walls to create more openness or converting the dining room to a third bedroom. I really think it would negatively impact the character of the old home.



BK, how'd I do?
 
I love our dining room because it's the only room in the house that actually stays clean :) . Of course, it stays clean from lack of use. The only times we use it is when we have company, but at least for us that is usually about once a week. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations are usually too big for our 8 person dining room table, so it serves as a buffet table while the living room becomes a large dining hall. You may fantasize about having a true dining room, but the reality isn't that great. There are definite cultural reasons why dining rooms have fallen out of favor and I think you can see them here in the responses. I would say that the formal living room has had the same fate. I have friends who insist on keeping their living room as a little monument, all of the furniture with the fireplace central, but no one actually goes in there. I swear that their 1500 square foot home feels like it is about 1000 square feet because that room feels like it is off limits. Whenever you have a room that is rarely used, you really limit the overall sense of how big your house truly is. I have no doubt that SoCal would get full use of a formal dining room, she is of a dying breed, but I am jealous. We have a breakfast nook that is attached to our kitchen and family room so although I would like to use the dining room and have truly tried, it has just evolved to a room we use when there are too many people for the breakfast nook. What came first, builders deciding that a formal dining room was unnecessary or people deciding it was unnecessary? I would guess that it was people.



I grew up in a family where my mother served as a waitress for the family, she never sat down to eat with us. I can see how the toddler years can turn a mother into a waitress, it has happened to me. I understand McDonna's desire to eat alone, however, I would caution against doing this all of the time. My mother to this day has some sort of strange unnamed eating disorder in which she will not allow anyone to see her eat, be careful!
 
oh no if you ever see me in person your going to think I have some eating disorder because I'm pretty thin. Let me elebrorate, I don't always eat alone. Actually at work we make it a point to all sit down and eat lunch together. I enjoy it. Even though I think we all know a little too much of each others personal business because of it. Oh well, it helps with job security when things get personal, I guess.

It's more of a at-dinner-time-mommy-is-hungry-and-ready-for-bed-thing. Tonight, the kids and I actually ate together. Mostly because I was feeling charge thinking about my trip to Costa Rica. Which reminds me... I know you've been. Why haven't you been over to the water cooler to post all your recommendations?
 
[quote author="Mcdonna1980" date=1247660418]oh no if you ever see me in person your going to think I have some eating disorder because I'm pretty thin. Let me elebrorate, I don't always eat alone. Actually at work we make it a point to all sit down and eat lunch together. I enjoy it. Even though I think we all know a little too much of each others personal business because of it. Oh well, it helps with job security when things get personal, I guess.

It's more of a at-dinner-time-mommy-is-hungry-and-ready-for-bed-thing. Tonight, the kids and I actually ate together. Mostly because I was feeling charge thinking about my trip to Costa Rica. Which reminds me... I know you've been. Why haven't you been over to the water cooler to post all your recommendations?</blockquote>


Just did, so check it out. Funny, my only real sit-down meal occurs at lunch at work, it is precious time! We definitely all know way too much about each other.
 
[quote author="High Gravity" date=1247639036][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1247639003][quote author="bkshopr" date=1247638517]Ivy by William Lyon Homes in Woodbury East, Irvine is a reuse of Tamarisk plan built next to Culver and 5 fwy.</blockquote>


Bonus material: Tamarisk is a reuse of the _____________ plans in West Irvine.</blockquote>


Andover</blockquote>


yes, tic the last minute switched pricing strategy due to Andover and Tamarisk short sales. The initial quoted benchmark of $338 was abandoned. This was a smart move to promote absorption and buying frenzy in order to create massive PR campaign. This strategy allows price increments for subsequent phases. 13 buyers bought in the first phase fearful of price increase.
 
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