Unfashionable choices

[temporarygate]

We have extended and have added a new kitchen/living space with island/barstools plus a table and sofa.
A few people have asked what we are doing with the old dining room and we’ve said we are keeping it and got some very raised eyebrows. I like having the option of separate dining space, it’s right off the kitchen so works with the layout.
Same with the new downstairs toilet we’ve put a big shower in there and lots of storage - upstairs has a bathroom with handheld shower and one ensuite with shower. People keep asking why we want a shower downstairs, it seemed logical to add another shower plus it’s handy for kids and dogs to not have to walk upstairs when they are wet/ dirty.
We are planning on staying here for the next 5-10 years so happy the choices are right for us however people’s reactions suggest these are very unfashionable?

[Awrite]

How rude.

We have a separate dining room as well as table in the kitchen. We also put a shower in the downstairs toilet.

Nobody has been rude about it though.

[Oly4]

I’d love another shower downstairs!! If you have room for separate dining rooms and family rooms then crack on, sounds great

[intheningnangnong]

You’ve only got to look on Rightmove to see that people have some strange ideas. Ignore! You like it, so what.

[MsPickle]

I love having a dining room. I'd like ours to be bigger but wouldn't open up the whole ground floor. Not least because I like to listen to the radio when cooking. I'd love to have room to have both a kitchen table and a dining room. The shower thing made sense when you said about having dogs, I guess it also means if you've a total house full it'll help. Anyway-other people's raised eyebrows be damned. You live there, you choose there!

[Elieza]

In many years time if you choose to sell, the dining room can be used as whatever the new folks wish - its only a dining room as it has a dining table and chairs. Move em out and out other stuff in and it’s a snug, a music room, a library, a playroom depending on what you out in there It’s versatile. What’s wrong with that.

As for the shower, great idea. What’s not to like.

People are weird sometimes. I think your friend/visitors/whomever they are are just jealous.

[temporarygate]

Interesting responses - I was fully expecting that everyone wants open plan living now.

We have a separate living room too but nobody asks about that. Not sure if anyone has been rude, more surprised when we said we will keep the dining room table.

I’m most excited by the shower not because of kids/dogs but because I workout early in the morning and as soon as I walk up the stairs to shower kids start popping up out of their rooms. Hopefully this way I’ll get to shower in peace

[IAintentDead]

It suits you, no one else matters.

[BaronessBomburst]

A shower downstairs would be fabulous! DH and DS both do lots of sport. They could get straight into the shower without dripping sweat and mud through the house.

[Nanalisa60]

No just think of the amount of people you can have for Christmas, you could have a adult table and a kids table sounds amazing to me.

I think maybe people may be a bit jealous of your house sounds great to me.

[DramaAlpaca]

I hate open plan houses, they don't suit how we live as a family. We have a separate dining room, though it's not actually used as that at the moment, and the only thing I regret not putting in when we built our house is a downstairs shower (mainly for muddy dogs).

[Bananasplitlady]

Some people will always have an eye on what is 'fashionable' but most adults will want what suits their lifestyle and family. I would never choose a house with a living/kitchen area, it would not work for me. However, it doesn't have to, isn't compulsory and you like it, so you do whatever works for you and ignore anyone else.

[nevergoingoutagain]

I miss my downstairs shower and I have 3 others now!

We moved house last year and deliberately looked for separate reception rooms as I want it to be flexible. We had a lounge diner to open plan kitchen previously and kids shared a bedroom so we were tripping over each other. It wasn't a small space just only one space! Separate receptions are so much better as your kids get older!

As it happened we ended up with a kitchen leading into a dining/family room but we have a whole other lounge on the 1st floor so I got my flexible space and much bigger rooms! It works great with my teen and preteen as they use the lounge after school while we do stuff downstairs and then we move upstairs after dinner and my 6 year old flits between.

If I'd bought a house with room for a kitchen table as well as a dining room the dining room would probably have been a family room/snug.

I think it makes far more sense with growing families.

[BackforGood]

I'm going to be far more unfashionable than you, and share that I don't like islands and I can't stand the idea of perching on a bar stool to have breakfast or a quick lunch in the kitchen.
I 100% think you should make you home into whatever you like, or what suits your needs as a family, without reference to what is considered 'fashionable'.

[Barbararara]

I’m still planning our extension and also refusing to incorporate the dining room into a massive open plan area. For the last few months it’s been a school room and I have been so grateful for that space, separate from our kitchen area, that we can close the door on.

I’ve had to relinquish plans for a downstairs shower as we can’t afford everything we want but it’s one of the most sensible things a house can have. Aside from dogs and dc, I’ve cared for two elderly relatives who died at home, and spent time on crutches.

I think a lot of people just don’t actually think for themselves and can’t see past fashion, which is designed to create problems for you to throw more money at in 5 years time.

[TomBradysLeftKneecap]

We have a big open plan kitchen/family room but kept the original dining room and living room (with no tv) separate. Sometimes it’s nice to feel fancy!

[TomBradysLeftKneecap]

We also have a downstairs shower and a completely separate downstairs dog shower, which is the single best investment we ever made in my head!

[TomBradysLeftKneecap]

At risk of just spamming the thread, open plan doesn’t work so well as the kids get older and teens want a bit of space. If the only space is theIt bedroom, you never see them. If they’re in the living room/dining room, you do.

[TomBradysLeftKneecap]

I think I just verbally vomited on this thread...😂

[WinterAndRoughWeather]

I hate open plan, especially if it includes a kitchen. My partner and I cook a lot and the kitchen looks like a bomb’s hit it when we have guests - I’d hate all that chaos to be happening in front of people.

[temporarygate]

@TomBradysLeftKneecap

I’m in awe of your dedicated dog shower.

We’ve installed an outdoor Belfast sink with hot and cold taps for a similar purpose but also handy for welly/football boot washing and anything else I don’t want in the kitchen sink.

We have a tiny utility which houses the washer/drier but no room for a mucky job sink.

[TomBradysLeftKneecap]

@temporarygate I should have preempted my thread vomit with adding I don’t live in the UK so have a lot more space than the average Brit.

The Belfast sink near the back yard was going to be the next thing we did on our UK house before we sold it. Nothing worse than a house filled with muddy boots!

[Pythonesque]

Yes if we ever moved I'd be looking for a minimum of 3 separable downstairs spaces not including the kitchen, and wouldn't say no to more! And yes the laundry sink is one of the things I miss most about my childhood home (which was also not in the UK).

[EmperorCovidula]

I don’t think that’s unusual if you have the space.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

Whatever’s fashionable now will v likely be unfashionable in a few years’ time so best to pay no attention to that aspect.
Do what suits you and your own family and sod what anyone else thinks.

Our dining room is only used as such when we have guests (just me and dh now) but for weeks now it’s been my work table - covered with my craft stuff - and will be ditto with paperwork when I eventually get around to doing any, notably the dreaded tax return. I’d be lost without it.

[DaphneduM]

We moved recently and I'm thrilled with my house - we have a kitchen large enough for a small table, we have turned our dining room which is a big room overlooking the garden into a second reception room housing our books and a comfortable L shaped sofa. And shock, horror - we have our large six seater dining table in the window of our lounge diner. Still plenty of room for two sofas, coffee table, tv, etc. etc. When I see all those samey dining kitchens/family rooms with bi-folds I just think - why? Fine for those few years the kids are young and then a nightmare with very little privacy. Also the idea of having to keep the kitchen part immaculate at all times would be a deal breaker for me. As regards the downstairs shower, it sounds an excellent idea to me. Your house, your space - configure your house for what works for you and your family.