....I like my dinning room. It was one of the reasons we choose our current house. Yes, it only gets properly used a few times a year, but it's nice to have a space to decorate and have family/friends gather for special occasions. We saw plenty of houses with no formal dinning room, and while I am sure we'd just find another room to gather in, there's something nice about a proper dinning room.
But then again.... I wouldn't describe myself as modern either...
I love dining rooms! That is a must on the next house. There is a lot I would give up, but a separate dining room isn't one of them. Especially closed off. Walls around the kitchen is nice too! I don't want people bugging me when I am cooking.
Well you're clearly not a Maritimer.
When we have people over they often congregate in the kitchen so it's nice that it isn't a completely enclosed space.
I think that open concept has been taken to the extreme. The typical house here seems to have one large rectangular space with an L-shaped kitchen in one corner, with a small crappy diagonal island, a place to eat in one corner, a living room in another corner, and then the front door and perhaps a staircase in the last corner. And of course a vaulted ceiling. It's just a large box with very little definition. In theory it sounds appealing but it has limited aesthetic value and is not as comfortable as traditional rooms are. Granted, for some people it may be more convenient.
We have the best of both worlds. Our house was built before open living areas were in vogue. We have a kitchen/dining area and a separate living area. Our kitchen and dining room were connected but at the same time were very closed off with cabinets. We removed the upper cabinets and created a large peninsula with room for some stools so you can sit at the peninsula. The dining room is fairly formal, with a large table, nice lighting, a wood burning fireplace and a bay window overlooking the backyard. But it's completely open to the kitchen, it's a large space, and it's perfect for entertaining. While we may not use the dining room for its intended purpose often, it also functions as a path to the rest of our house so its aesthetics are enjoyed on a daily basis.
This results in a fairly cozy living room (still quite large) also with a woodburning fireplace. I prefer this layout to 95% of the newer homes I've been in.
