To live without a dining table??

I think the contrast between the £3K enormous sofa and the claiming not to have room for a table was the issue with the OP. She clearly has options otherwise she wouldn't have bought such an expensive sofa. That's 9 months rent round here, for a 1 bed flat with room for a table, or 3 months mortgage for our 4 bed house with 3 reception rooms.

A huge corner sofa that’s really took big for the room is not a good look
I’d consider selling the sofa and trading in for something more appropriately sized for the space and also a table

Yes, let's have a look at the £3k sofa. It must be a marvel.

I find culturel differences quite interesting. In France even the tiniest of student bedsits have a table to eat at. A fold up table doesn't take up much space. But if you never use it then it is useless. It is your home, no-one else's.

Could we see the 3k sofa please?

I’d be lost without my 8 person dining table and dedicated dining room OP.
Gosh I mean...if I didn’t have that where the hell would I pile 2 weeks worth of clean drying until I can get around to folding it/putting away. (Spoiler alert that never happens)

Yeah we eat 90% of meals on our knees. I think you’ll be fine but I get that you’re worried about not having one.

I have a dining table, I have a breakfast bar too but I never eat at either, always the sofa! If people come round (not often to be fair and obvs not at all since March) we use it but I live on my own, it would be odd to sit at a table on my own, downright depressing in fact.
When/if I have children I would use it though, I’d have people to talk to then which is in my mind the point of sitting round to eat together.

Oh and oddly I have never spilt food all over the sofa, who are all these adults that can’t eat without tipping food everywhere?!

We never had a table when I was growing up , so I never learned how to use a fork ? I still use my hands to eat with and slurp soup outta the bowl 👍

My friends can’t fit a table and they use floor cushions around a coffee table similar to many cultures who eat in the floor

Oh god don't suggest that! The pearl clutchers on here will be calling social services for making kids sit on the floor, unless said floor has been steam cleaned, disinfected, blessed by a Bishop and hoovered for hours beforehand. It can't be anything but a table, there is no other possibility and anything else is grim and disgusting!

As a student I lived in a HMO with no table and not enough seating. I got an adjustable height small folding table that fit over the bed or against a sofa. I mostly used it in my bedroom as the living room was too busy to study in or was full up. It fit under the sofa or bed when not in use.

I wanted a joint purchase of a fixed, folding table that would lie flat against the kitchen wall when not in use and some stackable stools or folding chairs. No one else was bothered and I moved elsewhere because of smoking indoors by the other residents. I felt much better in the new house as it had a breakfast bar.

Some of the comments here are hilarious- people are so uptight about such strange things.
OP don’t worry- lots of kids grow up in beds sits and refuges and never eat at a table. My friends can’t fit a table and they use floor cushions around a coffee table similar to many cultures who eat in the floor

Personally I couldn’t be without one especially with children, in our house before this one we didn’t have room so used a folding table and chairs from ikea

I think if you have a choice, then clearly a table is important for many people. It reads like you chose a massive sofa over a dining table. Which is not a choice many would make.

Personally I like the option, I’m happy to eat on the sofa. But we always wanted a table, becayse sitting at a table for family meals is important to us. Also we socialise a lot and have friends round for dinner, and that’s not ideal when folks need to eat on their laps.

But I have fed folks on the sofa, we have a massive square coffee table snd sometimes I’ve done a sort of buffet thing and laid the food out there but it doesn’t sound like you’ve this option either becayse you’ve bought a sofa that’s too big for the house.

If you can't fit one in it's a bit of a moot point, but if really miss a table if we didn't have one. We never eat on the sofa as I find it really uncomfortable. Do you have s kitchen Island or breakfast bar you could eat at?

This year we’ve eaten evening meals on the sofa in front of the tv more than at the kitchen table, but I’d hate not having the choice. Breakfast and lunch on the sofa feels too festery to me.

Why would you buy a house with no room for a dining table? My mind is blown 🤯 This would be non-negotiable for me

My mind is blown at how narrow minded you are.

Do you think everyone can afford a big house with separate dining room? What would you do if you lost your job, list your house and had to rent a smaller council house with no dining room? Die from the shock or refuse and be homeless because a dining room is non negotiable?

Open your mind just a tad and realise that not everyone can afford such things.

Of course you can teach table manners if you don’t have a table..! We eat out at least once a week (or we did pre Covid!), our children have perfect table manners. We just don’t find it comfortable to sit round a table at home. I find it odd people seem to think the only time people talk to each other is round the dinner table - we talk to each other all the time! I have dd aged 17 and ds aged 8 and dh and we all sit in the living room together all the time, we’re very close and chat constantly. Sometimes when we are eating is the only time I get any peace!

To the past poster yes I get up, make coffee etc, and take anything I’m eating back to bed (usually just a cereal bar or similar). Maybe it’s because I live in a flat, so I’m not traipsing up and downstairs? Plus various health problems, chronic pain, it’s just way more comfortable than a hard chair.

OP, I think you will miss having a table. As much as DH and I love to have a Saturday night take away on trays on our laps, I would hate to not have the option to sit down at a table. We love having family and friends over for dinner and you can’t really do that ‘nicely’ with lap trays. What about Christmas lunch? Definitely a ‘table’ occasion.

I do a lot of work with families struggling. Not necessarily financially (although very often) but my involvement is a child issue. Whether that be persistent truanting, expulsions etc.

During our sessions I do ask whether they do sit down together ever as a family without the TV on over dinner (anything else would be utterly contrived).

I have never ever ever had a “yes”.

I would say about 8/10 don’t have a dining table. But many have absolutely vast sofas

One of my early suggestions is to try and get a couple of meals in a week. At a dining table. If doesn’t work without a dining table but just sitting on sofas because the key is eye contact.

What often work is the parent (s) sitting at the table themselves first and eating there. Gradually over time, you often get a child joining.

It’s a positive and should not be dismissed as snobby or ridiculous to have a strong view on this issue

I'm all for the odd Saturday night bowl of pasta in front of a film but not on a regular basis and definitely not breakfast or Sunday roast. I'd sell the sofa and get something more practical and a fold down table - we had one that folded lengthways so more like a sideboard or bench arrangements for just us but could be opened up if we had people over or wanted to face each other.

There's a housing estate where I've been into a lot of the houses for my job. A couple of people mentioned that they couldn't fit in a kitchen table. I started to notice that the kitchens were really badly designed. No space for a kitchen table and the door opened straight onto the reception room. I don't know why designers would assume council tenants don't want a table.