Separate dining room or kitchen diner: which is better?

[SooPanda]

Hope this is ok to post here. It’s not a room decoration issue but a purpose one.

I’d like to hear from people who have a dining room that is separate from their kitchen, vs a kitchen diner with dining table and chairs in.

If you have a separate dining room is it what you wanted and is it used often?

I am torn between buying two lovely houses, both similar in price, bedrooms etc, but one has a small kitchen and a dining room across the hall, the other has a larger kitchen with a dining table in it. I’m not sure what I prefer and would love some love/hate stories about each option please!!

For context if it matters - family of 5, kids ages 5-12, 2 dogs.

I have a separate dining room and would not be without it. I've lived here for 30 years, my children grew up here and I've never wanted a kitchen diner. I do have a small table in the kitchen that could seat 4 at a push though.

My dining room is used for meals when I have family and friends around which is at least once a week. The piano is in there, a godsend when children were learning as I could shut the door. They also practised other instruments in there. I use it when I'm sewing, which is frequent, I also do various crafts in there. One child did their homework there all the way through secondary school as their bedroom only had room for a tiny desk. When they were teens and had friends round in the living room and kitchen I would go in the dining room.

I love my separate dining room - but I also am fortunate to have a kitchen diner.

Daily meals are taken in the kitchen and the dining room (seats 10 -12) is used when hosting family/friends.

Having the dining room when hosting is lovely - I don’t like “performance cooking” but the reality is it’s a bonus and spends 90% of the time unused.

If I had to make a choice I’d choose a kitchen diner assuming the kitchen could accommodate 6 seats (or possibly more).

If there was only space for example for 4 seats in the kitchen I’d probably opt to keep a separate dining room to allow for more space to host friends and family.

V happy to read this- have just done the same and having slight dread that I should have kept a table in the kitchen but honestly the only people who will care are my parents and they come twice a year.

Yes both have utility rooms

What do you have now and how is it working for you?
We have a breakfast bar / island that we use for breakfast and the kids dinner, we usually have dinner on our laps which I hate!! Desperate for a proper table.

What do your DDogs do at mealtimes? Where do they 'hang out'?
They have a bed in the corner of the kitchen and an area in the living room, they don’t hang around the table or search for dropped food

If we chose the house with the dining room there is an island we could use for meals in the kitchen. I don’t love that as I want a proper table, but now I’m wondering what else I could use the dining room for if not for a table. We don’t need a playroom as there is a spare bedroom the kids would use for toys. Would it be silly to have two lounge type rooms when we could have a proper dining room? Or would sofas etc get more usage than a table as the kids grow.

I.love my dining room, but I'm old and hate open plan.
I have always had a small family kitchen table too so.i guess that makes a difference.
The best thing about a separate room is, after you have had people for dinner you can clear the plates and shut the door on the mess until the next morning.

Agreed.

You said it's a small kitchen, but if it's big enough for an island you can eat it I don't think I'd call it small. How big is it?

I DO like a table in the kitchen, but with a family, having a 2nd living room is so much better IMO than just having one.

We had 3 dc and having separate kitchen, dining room and lounge meant that one person could be cooking / washing up in the kitchen listening to the radio or their own music, whilst 2 different people could also be doing things that involve noise - be that watching TV, or practising a musical instrument, or hanging out with friends, or playing on the computer - or, indeed, some peace and quiet for homework, reading, or whatever.

Hate kitchen islands, love a big table in the kitchen, it saves a lot of fuss. Only one floor to sweep for crumbs, and a short distance from table to sink/dishwasher.

It depends on how you use your kitchen. A small kitchen which is separate from the rest of the social rooms of the house could be quite isolating. There needs to be some connection.

However, having sacrificed a separate dining room for a large kitchen diner in a new build, I very much miss it. I don’t like eating in the kitchen, and I certainly wouldn’t entertain in it. Christmas felt very special in our dining room, less so in our kitchen. We downsized and accepted the sacrifice but if I was looking for a dream home it would have a dining room.

I agree with all of this ^

We've previously been fortunate enough to own houses with separate dining rooms and kitchens sufficiently big for a table/island (I love a kitchen island!) and sofa. Our last one started out with large island and table but we soon swapped the table for a sofa as there was also a fireplace with wood burner so it seemed more logical to have comfy seating in front of that.

Christmas dinner isn't the same in a kitchen, imo - however lovely and well-appointed it might be.

We also recently downsized and knew we'd have to compromise on the number of downstairs rooms we'd been used to. The cottage we bought had a long galley kitchen and a living room that was semi open plan to the dining room. By that I mean there was a chimney breast plus alcove dividing the two spaces with a six foot walk through on the other side of the chimney breast.

The kitchen was way too small so we moved it into the old living room and now have a kitchen that feels connected to the dining room without being fully open plan. The former kitchen, utility and lobby have been knocked through to create a cosy 'snug' for reading etc, retaining a lootility where the washing machine lives.

And as there's only me and DH living here we use the largest bedroom as our TV room.

I agree with the comments re Christmas being nicer with a proper dining room, however, it is one day a year, so I'd caution against planning the layout around that if you don't do a lot of formal entertaining the rest of the time. We tend to have "kitchen suppers" with friends (about the limits of my cooking skill) and even with a dining room available we quite often end up sitting around in the kitchen.

I currently have separate kitchen and dining room (because that was what I had to compromise on). All the other homes I've lived in as an adult had kitchen/diners which I preferred. Much more sociable, easier when dc were younger, easy to serve meals and keeps food in one room. Just all round a better option. My next house will be a downsize/last home and I would opt for a kitchen diner if possible but wouldn't be a deal breaker.