Most families casually enjoy dining at the kitchen table or breakfast bar. With our busy lives, breaking out the fine china to sit in a formal dining room just isn’t high on our list of priorities. What matters most is time spent together in homes that function to suit our needs. To make use of an unused dining room, consider what kind of space you often feel your home is missing, then see if you can make it work in what once was labeled “dining room.”
Office Space
With so many people now working remotely, home office space is a hot topic. All you need is an area or small room to make it happen.
If there’s already a table in your dining room, you may be able to make use of it. If not, sell the table and opt for a more streamlined desk.
Make your office space grown-up and suited to your style. You may be spending 40 or more hours a week in there, after all.
Doors are a must in the family home for an office space. You love your family but need some quiet for calls and video meetings.
For a modern yet rustic feel, consider some cool barn doors to give you the option to close the door completely or just part way during your workday. They’re easy to install on your own with the proper sliding track hardware.
Playroom
If you’ve got little ones, you’ve got toys. At this point in your life, a playroom will be much more useful than a dining room.
Empty out the room and put down a colorful rug for playing on the floor. Then choose your toy storage preferences. Lining the walls with cube storage (cubbies) and shelving will give plenty of options.
If there’s enough space, add a small child-sized table and fill a cubby or two with art supplies.
At-Home Bar
All work and no play isn’t any fun. If you enjoy entertaining yourselves and others, a fun at-home bar is one of the best ways to make use of an unused dining room.
The sky is the limit when creating a bar area. It’s something you can really get creative with.
Old hutches and even pianos can be turned into a fun way to showcase a liquor collection. Bookshelves, wine racks, and open shelving also work great.
A small high-top table with a couple of bar stools will work for a small seating area, or you could forego seating altogether to encourage mingling and use the bar for mixing drinks only.
Add a mini fridge and all needed supplies so the room really feels like a bar.
Remember, all rooms are just that—rooms. A dining room is labeled a dining room, but emptied out it’s a square space, ready to be made into whatever you need it to be.