Not if I was buying, but like everything it depends on the buyers lifestyle and probable the area you're in. Ie what are the expectations of the majority of the people in your area?

I did a similar thing except I have an island for 4-5 people. I prefer having a dining room that gets used instead of just sitting there and the island/peninsula is great for people to sit at and visit or just have a bowl of cereal and then actually use the dining room for meals. For the house we are considering building I'm thinking of doing something similar with a peninsula.

call me old fashioned but i'd rather have an eat-in kitchen and a formal dining room...though i'll admit the dining room gets used infrequently...

I need both... an eat-in kitchen and a formal dining room. I use both all the time!

I won't buy a home without both formal dining space and an eat in kitchen (not an island or peninsula with bar stools). I don't think you'll lessen the value of your home by taking out the eat in kitchen, but you will limit the prospective buyers to those with similar lifestyles instead of appealing to a broader range of buyers.

You have to live there, do what works for you. I'd rather have some barstools or a small area in the kitchen for people to perch when I cook. And prefer a formal dining room for larger dinners!

I think as long as you have the formal dining room, that it should be ok to do the peninsula eating area in the kitchen. The latest thing is the kitchen tables that are countertop height with stools instead of chairs, so how far of a stretch is it to completely eliminate the kitchen table idea?

You may have a small percentage of future prospective buyers turned off by the lack of kitchen table space, but then again you might have an equal amount who say.."wow, what a great idea, and look how great this space flows!!"

jiggreen

My new house has an eat in kitchen, but no formal dining area. I like it that way as I never entertain formally. I always say if you don't have a sense of humor, don't come visit me. To be honest with you, I eat in front of the TV most of the time. I think it's a lifestyle thing.

I think flow is more important. As long as you have space on the peninsula to eat, as well as a formal dining room, I believe that it's better to remove the kitchen table if it makes it easier to move from room to room.

Dislaimer: I have a formal dining room and a peninsula with barstools in my own home. The previous owners used the dining room as a den and put a table in the kitchen - but when we came to the first showing, we thought it was a real traffic-blocker (in our layout, a kitchen table must obstruct two doorways).

I remodeled my current kitchen to remove the eat in part and my new construction house has no eat-in space-- just the dining room adjacent to the kitchen.

People with small children need an "eat-in" kitchen with a table. Once the kids are bigger, they are OK on stools at a counter. Some of this may hinge on the size of the house -- how many BRs? A 4 - 5 BR house would probably be expected to have an eat-in kitchen; 2 - 3 BR, maybe not.

Former neighbors doubled the size of their house but left the tiny kitchen. It was a big turn-off when they sold.

DH and I *live* in our breakfast room -- eat all our meals there. Nice DR is rarely used; we just don't entertain at home as much as we once did.

Why can't people with small children eat in the dining room anymore? It worked fine for my parents and their five children. Why would the dining room be reserved for entertaining guests only?

It is all expectations at a price-point. At a higher price point people expect certain things even if they are never going to use them.

Personally, formal dining room is a necessity. My last house did not have an eat-in kitchen and I swore I'd never, ever do that again.

This is one of those things that every family will want differently. I wouldn't focus on resale, but do be aware that is may limit potential buyers at some point.

I hate a breakfast bar and stools. We spend a ton of time around our family table. Eating, playing games, doing homework while I cook, etc. It's the hub of our home. I like the conversation factor with a table as well as it's much easier for me to help the kids learn table manners and how to set a table if they aren't perched across from the kitchen sink. Neither of us like being on a bar stool and kicking the cabinet under most breakfast bars. I hate not having my feet flat on the floor, which I can't do with counter high seating.

The big factor for me would be the distance of ease of using the formal dining table on a daily basis. I like to be able to talk to the kids as I'm working, clean up from a different room is harder for the little ones. I just plain like an eat-in kitchen and rip out peninsulas.

YMMV

Gloria

I'm a firm believer that you should make your house adapt to you, not the other way around. Your plan sounds as if it will enhance the way you live in your house, so go for it.

That said, I have to admit that to me, a dining room that has any kind of an opening to the kitchen, other than a doorway with a door, is not a formal dining room. If you can see the dirty dishes in the sink while you eat, it's not formal! But that's just me. I realize from all the houses I've looked at that very few people feel the same way. So you're probably good to go.

Do whatever works for you and your family.
I personally dislike formal dining rooms. Our last home had one and we never used it. It feels cut off from the rest of the house. I like to cook and hang out with my family in the same room together. I was raised in a city loft space so i'm used to an open floor plan. That is what I am most comfortable with - too bad they are not so easy to find in homes these days(not apt bldgs.)

Thanks for all of the wonderful, thoughtful responses. Here's the thing...the house is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2400 sq. ft. house. Children are in college far away, so it's just dh and me at home. We bought the home this summer after relocating to Tampa from the Midwest. For my husband and me, the best option is to eliminate the table area. But, we're not sure we're going to be here for more than a few years. So, that's my dilemma - remodel for us, or remodel to appeal to the biggest segment of future buyers. You've given me lots of things to think about. Thanks!!!

Sammie, I think you answered the question yourself. Your kitchen remodel will improve the flow, and that consideration--FLOW--will be of great importance to you as well as a potential future buyer. In the grand scheme of house things, good flow trumps specific rooms or functions.

Also, since you will have seating at the peninsula, think hard about making that seating as comfortable as you can, by planning for seating that (1) isn't all in one row, like a diner, but allows for face-to-face or catty-corner seating, (2) gives people a place to rest their feet, either with a stretcher under the peninsula or the stools, and (3) is 24" wide for each person, so their knees won't be squished and they can spread out comfortably at the table/peninsula top.

Ah-hah! The problem isn't the eating area, it's that the house is too big for two people. If you're going to be selling it, I wouldn't remodel "for two".

I have to respond to sweeby's post. I agree. Our "breakfast room" is where *we* live, but it's only a breakfast room on the architect's plans. It's 12 X 13 (plus "aisle" area between it and the kitchen proper) with sets of french doors on the two exterior walls. I'd say it is in use six hours a day!

Our DIL's parents have a log house in Michigan. It has a living-dining area off the kitchen that houses a long pine table -- the hub of the house.

Sammie, I understand your dilemma. Here's what we did. Instead of making a fixed peninsula, we made an island that could be moved with space for two people to eat a snack. If new owners wanted the peninsula, they'd move it that way, thus eliminating the eat-in kitchen idea, but if they wanted the eat-in kitchen they could turn the peninsula into an island and place it to where they had room for a table. Personally, we had no need for an eat-in kitchen, but great need for an island. We ate in the formal dining room every single night with our four kids. So maybe instead of permanently attaching the peninsula, make it movable so new owners can have options.