Well you provided good information about dining rooms, but you have to consider some major factors like cost that anyone can afford and other like problems

Here is a link that might be useful: Guide to Home Renovation & Remodeling; Interior & exterior Improvements

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I wasn't providing "information about dining rooms." I gave information about *my* dining room. I am re-decorating it with mostly items that I already own, and seeking input about successfully combining a home library and dining room.

Thanks for the link, but it doesn't pertain to my post.

Red - It looks like the above post was just spam; ignore it.

Without pictures you're not likely to get a lot of comments, but since I also don't post pictures, I'll try a few comments. I grew up with a dining room of lovely period mahogany furniture, lace-trimmed curtains, and a brass chandy; it was beautiful, not overly elaborate at all. If you're going to change the chandy, I'd look for one that has rather refined and interesting lines, and think about where else to repeat that ORB look in the room. Would a simple chandy with crystal work?

A reading corner sounds very nice. But do people actually sit on accent chairs and read? A lot of readers like to slouch on sofas or comfy armchairs or in bed. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a reading corner, just that it might not be used a lot.

This is just a personal opinion, but IMO dining rooms love floral artwork and displayed plates; they are great for a festive atmosphere and enhancing the appetite! Personally - and maybe strange - family photos make me nostalgic to the point of rather weepy - so I keep ours in private areas in mostly obscure places.

We have successfully created a dining room/library; the look is different than yours, though. Our furniture is pine, with fairly plain, almost Shaker lines. There's a buffet and hutch, but inside the hutch, instead of a display of china, I have quite a few books, my mother's crystal candlesticks, two sets of her pewter coffee and tea services, a Vietnamese teapot, and a few other things. I really like the look; it's eclectic and IMO interesting. On another wall there is the big sliding door to the deck. Didn't want curtains there, so installed a Hunter-Douglas horizontal cellular shade that exactly matches our rough plaster walls and has a matching cornice. We keep the shade raised almost all the time. The third wall is useless; it has a large archway and the door to the kitchen. The fourth wall has the archway to the foyer and a tiny patterned glass window to the front porch. Under that window I placed the bookcases, which I bought at a finish-it-yourself furniture store and had stained to match the buffet-hutch. The bookcases are 72" long and 36" high and fit exactly between the exterior wall and the arch to the foyer. One thing I would suggest is that your bookcases be in a similar style and color - or something that coordinates well - as your other furniture. I put "happy" books in these cases, mostly classic novels, and garden and nature books. Didn't want someone having tea and cookies to suddenly notice "The Horrors of the Third Reich"! I would LOL that, but it's not fuuny! And on the walls are several watercolors, of places we've been and love. So it's a very personal room, but also neutral enough so that anyone would feel comfortable in it.

Hope this helps!

I'm also not sure about the accent chair or the family photos, but I also question the bench. I don't think either the chair or bench would be conducive to comfortable reading, and I don't care to see family photos in a dining room. What about looking for a couple of wing back chairs to serve as head chairs at your table? They could also double as reading chairs.

Or, maybe I misunderstood, do you have the coat rack IN the dining room, where you plan the bench, or is it in the foyer?

It would be great to see photos of the current layout. It would be much easier to understand what you're planning.

Dee

I'd love to see photo's too (yours to Sable CA!).

How big is your DR? I tried something similar to that in our DR w/ an accent chair, buffet etc. but it just ended up crowded and there was no 'flow' if I was having a party.

I like the idea of a library/ DR very much but I guess I am visualing a 'working' library. One where there are floor to ceiling bookcases and the DR table is used for research, work etc. when not in use as a DR.

How often do you use your DR for eating?

I love the idea of making a under-utilized dining room a dining room / library / study, exactly as ttodd described it: a "working library" where the dining room table is used for research. My mother uses her dining room in this fashion now. It is her favorite room in the house filled with light and a great view of the yard. She spreads her books over the table to work on multiple research projects at a time. She sits at the dining table and often has a small footstool to stretch out on while reading through any given book. She does not have book cases, but I could see them fitting in very well.

Personally, I much prefer a cozy arm chair, sofa, or even bed to curl up and read a good book. If I am doing research, I am usually at a desk surrounded by books and using the computer. I would be unlikely to use an accent chair or bench for reading. However, I would enjoy having a working library with book shelves, at least one comfortable chair with an ottoman or a sofa or a chaise, and a large table for spreading out when needed.

If you Google "dining room library" images, you'll see may examples, and they are mostly dining room tables and dining chairs will walls of bookcases, and not much else. Think of a study hall with library tables, rather than a place to dine.

We have friends that have a built in book cases that go around a corner in their dining rm. It makes the room very cozy and inviting.

Red Eared, your goal sounds really great. Do go get some of those pictures of dining room/libraries, a time-honored concept. Once your family's living with yours, I'm pretty sure the standard neglected dust-catcher is what'll strike them as weird. :)

Since a very used room is right across the entry, were you thinking of having the rooms function together as extensions of each other? The suggested library first that also functions very well for dining sounds like a very good direction. It would open up ideas about comfortable and functional furniture (and be a lovely place for family pictures). Is the buffet full of dining stuff, or could it multifunction?

BTW, my dining library triple functions because it's actually a wide "hall" in the middle of the house with 4 doors, as well as stairs up and down, opening off it, and books on 2 walls. It's a calm shadowy place with one comfy chair and footstool that are only used when the living room is a bit too sunny and with a mahogany dining table that is normally folded up against the wall with a lamp and piles of books on it. Large thick rug in the winter, rolled up and put away in the summer. Not exactly your concept but it does work very, very well. It makes a pretty view from all around and I love just walking through it, which are major functions served.

I want to thank everybody for your responses. I want to post some pics, but am having technical difficulties tonight. Maybe I'll be able to tomorrow. I will comment more then, too.

Red

Our DR is also a library with bookshelves on each side of the door from the foyer. I put a chair in the opposite left corner with a hexagonal chest/table for much of my gardening folders/books so I can sit there when thinking about making gardening decisions. I can see a lot of the front and side yards from both sets of windows in the room, and I can easily go through the foyer out the front door onto the porch and ponder the gardens there also.

If you could sketch out your layout, with measurements and furniture locations and post it, it would be helpful in determining if your layout has enough room for what you are suggesting.

"I think that when I'm finished, it will not only be very inviting, but it will render the dining room more useful throughout the year." I totally agree! IMO, it's your FAMILY that's weird ;o) Seems like at the least, the shelves should work in your DR. I LOVE our room!!!

Anne

We have a very small dining room (about 10' x 12') that we never used. I got rid of the large table and china cabinet and moved in 2 tall bookcases, a 42" round antique dining table, a small loveseat/settee, a smallish leather club chair, and 2 wood dining chairs. ALl the seating can be pulled up to the table if needed. I also have a floor lamp next to the loveseat (in addition to the chandelier over the table, which is still centered in the room) and a basket for knitting supplies. I also have an end table that used to be an old school desk, and under that table is a wine rack. Now we use the room for reading, playing games, having tea or coffee, and sometimes even to eat a meal! I used to have pics that I posted here, but can't find them now. For us, this works out much better than the formal dining room.

Man, it's not even 9 o'clock and I'm ready to go to bed!

@ sable: I hate to say it, but I think you're probably right -- a reading corner probably would not be used. I don't have enough space to make it as comfy as it would need to be. My bookcase right now is not the same color as the rest of the furniture, though the style does agree. I'm giving thought to what I want to do about that.

@deeinohio: I'm not really planning for the bench to be a reading spot, but it would be a convenient place for one to sit and tie his/her shoes. The kids tend to leave their shoes near the front door and usually sit on the floor when they need to put them back on. But this is also a place where they drop their backpacks when they come home in the afternoon. If anybody has any ingenious ideas on how to tidy up that mess, I'm all ears. I *do* really like your idea about a couple of wingback chairs as head chairs. I am giving that some serious thought.

@ttodd: We use the DR probably a half dozen times per year. Don't misunderstand me when I say a "library"; I'm talking about one large bookshelf and a smaller DVD shelf. I don't foresee serious research happening, but geometry homework is a possibility. I'll post pics at the end of this message.

@ jimandanne: Your DR sounds like a very peaceful place!

@ sueb20: I would love to see pics of your space. It sounds divine.

Ok, here's what I started with. This is taken from the kitchen door, facing the front door:
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I had been planning something else for that wall and just had the pics there so it wouldn't be totally blank.

Now here it is with the bookshelves. Would it look better if I stained the big bookshelf a darker stain?
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I'm really liking the "head chairs" idea. I might remove the leaf that is in the table right now in order to make room for something like this at either end:

Of course, I'll have to get the dishes off the table if I truly expect a kid to do homework there.

Here's the room from the front door. I think a rug would go a long way in warming the room up and making it feel more welcoming.
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One more view. There's the coat rack where I'd like to put a bench or settee. The chairs that are there now are just part of a set that I intend to get rid of. You can see how the space is used for a landing spot for backpacks.

{{gwi:1889091}}

So that's what I've done so far. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You're all really helping me to think this through.

Now I'm going to bed!

i would definitely try to move the dvd shelves to a different room... probably near a tv! if you don't have room for the shelf near the tv, i would probably select some dvds and place in a basket of some type and store the other dvds elsewhere-inside a cabinet or in a basket or box on top of an entertainment cabinet(or even on top of the bookshelves in dr)... i wouldn't worry about the different color wood of the bookshelves in the dining room...
(perhaps you could find room for the shelves in one of your kids' bedrooms for book storage??)

i think a rug would really warm up the room and i love the idea of wing chairs at the heads of table!(and like the ones you pictured!)

if the dining room is the main/only landing place for "stuff", i would look into storage bench of sorts with a hinged top...could be wood or upholstered. i would really try to look in the foyer/other areas though for space for a storage bench and try to retrain the family!(although, i learned to live with the heap of backpacks in the kitchen!!)

i would also probably get rid of the lace tablecloth (and curtains ideally)...very pretty, but, too dainty for library/dining room imo.

your room really seems quite large! there's alot of potential on the buffet wall...alot of wallspace above the buffet...i don't know what you could do there-possibly a cabinet piece or floating shelves?? or something?? maybe you could switch walls with china cabinet and buffet and then incorporate shelves/hanging hooks over the buffet??? then you could put the 2 wooden chairs from your dining set on either side of the china cabinet when you get the 2 wing chairs.

Busybee, you are right, a more appropriate place for the DVD's would be closer to a TV, which is in the family room right around the corner. A re-do of that room is coming soon (which will be a whole new post), so the DVD's will probably stay parked here until then.

But I like your idea of storing them in a basket or something similar. A thought *did* occur to me to transfer the discs to a CD holder (like what you might carry in your car), something nice, maybe leather-bound and looks like an old book. Like this one I found on Amazon:

That wing chair is awesome, isn't it? Looks like it would be small enough to be comfortable as a dining chair, yet big enough to be comfortable for a few hours of studying, or even just reading.

Re: retraining the family -- oh, my liver! LOL. You see those French doors across the foyer from the DR? What would it take to open the door and drop the backpacks there instead? One would think... But noooo, it's more fun to leave it one step inside the door, so one's parental unit can trip and break an ankle after coming home from a long day at work. :-O

The lesson here is that my darling children will probably be off to college before they'll be trained enough to lift the lid on a storage bench. I've thought about it, and that's the conclusion I've drawn. A settee, however, is open underneath, and I can just kick the backpacks under it when I walk in the door. :-P

Tablecloth and curtains -- I will probably need some serious help here. I should probably get the rug and chairs in place first, and then I'll solicit opinions on those accessories. I admit, I tend to put something up that I like, and there it stays for *years*. (Wait 'til you see the living room curtains...) It's time for a change.

I like your ideas about floating shelves and using the wooden chairs to "bookend" the china cabinet. However, I like the china cab where it is because it looks nice through the window from the street. :-) (But I am always open to hearing fresh ideas!)

Looking at my pics, it becomes glaringly obvious to me that the upper fourth of my walls are quite naked.

I think the chandy that I've honed in on, however, will add some interest higher up. I thought this would coordinate well with the other wrought iron accessories in the room:

I wish my budget could keep up with my mind; this would be an awesome room already if it could!

I work full-time in a male-dominated field, so I am sorely lacking in access to female opinions. It is so cool, being able to bounce ideas here.