Being that this question was posted more than 8 years ago, I am very late to the game. Consider my input as a reply from the future. As a member of a large family crammed into a small house, I grew up in the Northeast. We had a kitchen with very little counter space and no island, a large table that seats 8, and a small formal dining room off to the side, which was extremely tight when trying to fit the entire family around the table. It was worse when we had additional guests. Imagine being a small, skinny child having to suck in your stomach in an effort to squeeze between someone's chair and the wall to get to your own chair. That was us. We also had a small deck with a sizable patio table that proved even more challenging to seat everyone. But we managed. We used the dining room for every major holiday that called for something formal (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's day, and Easter) and the deck for meals in warmer weather (4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor day, summer birthdays, etc.). The kitchen table was used for everything else (breakfast, lunch, most dinners, birthdays in colder months/on rainy days, homework, "time outs", baking, tea time with company, etc.). That was the norm in my parents' house. Since leaving home, I have lived all over the US (Midwest, West coast, Southwest, Southeast, East coast, Gulf coast), and several places abroad. In every place I've lived before buying a house, I employed a dining room only once. When eating, I would sit at the kitchen table, at the island, or on the couch. When I bought my first house, I felt it was important to have a dining room as well as an eat-in kitchen because it's what I was accustomed to growing up. I imagined utilizing my house in much of the same way my parents used theirs. The only difference is that my house is huge compared to what they had (and for a lot less people to live), so it is far more comfortable. After living in my house for a few years, however, it occurred to me that, even when I'd have guests over, we didn't all sit around any specific table. Instead we would spread ourselves out around the kitchen, the great room, and the patio outside. In 17 years, the dining room was never used for dining. Not even once. I realized I spent a ridiculous amount of money on dining room furniture I never use, on heating and air conditioning a space I never use, and on purchasing square footage I never use. It was just another room that I'd have to dust, vacuum, and occasionally paint. I've come to understand that times have really changed, our culture has changed, and the way we celebrate has changed. Someone previously said, "it's always better to have something you don't need than to need something you don't have." In most cases I would agree, but not in this case. I've wasted thousands of dollars that I can never get back, and for what? The reality is that it's very easy to get creative when in need of dining space; you don't need a whole dedicated room for something that you might only use a few times a year (if at all). With plans to downsize and move, I recently began designing a house more suitable for a family of four, but that can easily accommodate several guests. The first thing I considered is how a house is actually used; not necessarily how I fantasize using it. Kids spend most of their time in their rooms, outside, at school, or with their friends. Visiting guests sit at the island or dinner table, or on the couch in the great room. Dinnertime at the kitchen table is really the only time the entire family is together. So it became apparent to me that I need to design my new house around making these areas more comfortable and inviting, and cut out the places that are simply wasteful and uselessly excessive. As I drew up the plans, I kept asking: why do we all feel the need to have a dining room, a breakfast nook, a kitchen island, a kitchen table, and a patio table? Seriously, how many places to eat a meal does a house need to come with?! Let's face it: with the exception of those families with young children, most of you probably eat your dinner on the couch in front of the t.v.! I can see it now: your little foldable nesting tables, sectional couches and reclining chairs with built-in cup holders, coasters all over the place, and rogue dirty dishes or mugs you forgot to take back to the kitchen. Yeah, yeah, I get it; I've been there, too. With all the places designated for food, it seems to me like we all put way too much time and attention on eating rather than living. I have decided the dining room is out. In fact, so is the breakfast nook! The patio stays because who doesn't enjoy taking advantage of being outdoors on a beautiful day? That leaves me with one final decision: how do I want to design my kitchen? What's most important to me is that I enjoy every piece of square footage in my house. Every room will be fully utilized, and as such they will be liveable, breatheable areas that are a pleasure to be seated in and look around. Symmetrical lines that create balance, clean angles that soothe the mind, elements that inspire the imagination, and lots of warm lighting to keep me from feeling like I'm living in a cold, dank cave. As the design took shape, I kept facing one major dilemma: do I need both an island and a kitchen table? No, I don't. Would both be nice to have? Not if I'm trying to downsize. So I have to choose one. But which one? As I've said previously, the house in which I grew up did not have an island. We used the table for everything. But I love the versatility of an island with a quartz top! After looking at countless styles (thanks pinterest and houzz!), I have discovered I can have an island (with legs) that looks like a kitchen table, except better: I don't have to worry about scratches, water marks, or anything else my parents would freak out about when I was a kid using their kitchen table. A table cloth, a centerpiece, place mats, and a properly set "table" looks no different whether it's on a quartz surface or a wood surface. What is the deal with a need for more? Why are people so gluttonous? And especially in a day and time where income has not kept up with the cost of living? Don't even get me started on the carbon footprint we all leave behind. I want to thoroughly use and appreciate the things I have without paying for things I almost never use. All of this to say, no; a dining room is not necessary. It's excessive to the point of being ridiculous. I would prefer efficiency over gluttony. Appreciate what you have by using it. If you find you need a formal dining space for that rare (or not so rare) occasion, create one out of what you already have. It's not difficult!

@Debbie Downer; I'm designing a 1650 sqft 3 bed 2 bath open concept house on stilts with no DR, and have given a lot of consideration to what I should do with my art. My design has a front door that opens into a large foyer with high ceilings and recessed lighting, flanked by two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an interior staircase (leading down to the garage below). While designing, it occurred to me that the walls of this foyer will be an excellent opportunity to create a small home art gallery and hang some beautiful pieces. To complement the concept, I also designed a small alcove in the foyer with a single shelf (meant for visitors to temporarily place their purse and car keys) that will add an artistic vibe. The wall of the alcove will be adorned with mother of pearl tile behind a framed oil painting lit up by a single puck or pendant light hanging above the shelf. The space below the shelf is intended for a tall floor vase or sculpture. The foyer/gallery will lead directly into the open great room (to the right, south) and kitchen (to the left, north). The open concept will be covered by a vaulted ceiling and recessed lighting, with the south wall essentially being all glass to let in the light. To make up for no dining room, I have designed a covered lanai off of the great room's south wall (opposite the kitchen), which can be used for outdoor dining. This lanai will be accessed through double sliding glass doors intended to open up the space even more. The kitchen will have a huge island (8'×4') with artistically designed wood legs giving it the appearance of a table. A table cloth, a centerpiece, and a properly set "table" will dress this space up enough to pass as a formal dining area should I ever want it to be. I don't generally cook for large numbers, but when I do, I like to clean as I go, leaving behind a small mess that is easy enough to dispose of before sitting down to eat. Beyond the great room and kitchen, I have designed a master suite (the bedroom is separated from the great room by a wall with a built-in double-sided fireplace and double-sided book shelf). The wall separating the master suite from the great room is another great space for art in both the great room and the master suite. With the symmetry and proper lighting, the interior of the house, itself, will be a piece of art. And the best thing about this house is that every square foot of it will be used every single day. I won't be staring at a bunch of unused space that might only get attention on special occasions. And I won't be heating it, either.

See the third picture down with the blue polka dotted nautical themed chairs? Someone must have used a jigsaw (and a Dremel?) to make the fancy pieces that go into the backs of the chairs. My question is how do you think those backs are probably attached? Now, see the 9th picture down? The one outside with the blue tablecloth and the pink chair nearest to us. Is there a name for that style of chair? Is there a name for the style of chair in picture #2? I see those in CL all the time. I usually don't like them but I love what they did with them in that pic. I detest chairs with arms on them at the dining table. They're so awkward to try to scoot in and out, and I feel imprisoned in them when scooted in. Maybe that goes way back to being trapped in a high chair as a baby. Am I the only one who feels that way? Scoobyruby, I just remembered something else. When I worked at Boeing we had to wear a badge. The rule was it had to be at chest height. I've always been pretty stacked and I got SO tired of men saying "hi" to my boobs when we passed in the hallway at work. My badge being there gave them an excuse. So I started wearing my badge attached to the bottom of my shirt instead. It actually did cut down on the rude boob staring from the guys. So one day one of those "hall monitor" types of women looks at my badge and says, "You're supposed to wear that at chest height." I (in my mid 50s at that point, and she was too) replied, "I am! They didn't specify with or without a bra." She went into gales of laughter and that and it diffused the situation. Okay, one more. There was this one guy named Howard who would *always* say HI to your boobs when you passed him in the hallway. He was just awful and all us gals hated it. One of my friends was a really fun and funny gal. One morning Howard said HI to her boobs and she smiled and dipped her head down toward her boobs and raised her hand to boob height to wave at him and replied, HI! He blushed crimson at being caught and he NEVER did it to her again. But he kept right on doing it to the rest of us. We actually all should have done it to him. I wonder if we'd have cured him? Anyway, if you hang a picture of a woman in your house, I think she should deffinitely be ugly -- make you look good! :o)

That's a plus! Close up the pass through and door and make a high opening through that wall. Joanna Gaines does that a lot so the support is not lost but you get the feeling of openness. She'll take a regular 72" opening and widen it to 84 or 96 and open it to the ceiling. Remarkable difference, but if it is load bearing, you may have to insert some support in the wall above it which is more expensive to do. Remember, when you open this wall, guests will step through your front door and see your kitchen and all the mess. Something to consider. You might appreciate closing the current door and pass through and putting a 48" wide opening at the thermostat end of that wall for access without the direct view from the entrance into the kitchen. With the other wall closed, you might find room for a tiny breakfast table and chairs or for a coffee bar.