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Home Decorating Furniture Design Dilemma

Furniture ideas for living and dining rooms

3 years ago

We have a new house and I have been resisting purchasing sofa/couch and dining table for guests primarily because I have noticed that dining table is seldom used at other houses unless there are guests. I have an open floor of 26'x15' between these two rooms. Though the place looks empty, it is put to great use by kids for variety of activities every day. I wanted to check if there are any creative ideas for decent furniture (foldable ?) that doesn't look shabby and can be easily and quickly put away when space is needed. I am willing to try something modern or novel.

Thanks.

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Comments (2)

Elaine Doremus Resumes Written
3 years ago
Do you have anywhere else to sit to eat? Please provide us with a floor plan and measurements so we can help. Please do not do anything unless you have an overall plan (for a unified look). What is your style? If unknown, please put different styles in top search box, one at a time. Examples include transitional, traditional, casual, etc. How many people and children use this space on a regular basis? Usually a long narrow space is best used by creating two "zones" - one for a living room space, and one for ? - kids play space? What kind of foldable furniture are you looking for? tables? chairs? Is that for the children or for the adults?
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
I agree with the above comments. There is no way for us to answer this without a to scale floor plan and alot more info. I will say kids might need a place to play but not take over a really useful space . IMO a DR is a nice place to eat every evening meal as a family instead of in front of the TV or crammed into a tiny eating space in the kitchen I grew up eating supper in the DR my whole life and our kids too. BTW take pictures of the spaces too.
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Agree with lynartist get someone knowledgeable in to look at the walls. Shifting the color used makes a huge difference. I would not have the walls smoothed or made shiny. But there are all sorts of ways to approach this and end up with a great looking home. Consider moving the functions of the two spaces. A modern dining area with a fireplace, even such an ornate one, could be spectacular and marry well with a more intimate USED space for conversations, drinks, and even just solo book readin'! Making the switch would also de-emphasize the fireplace and allow it to look its very best. A bit of a paradox but look at many old European houses and you'll see it again and again. My other preference would be to have a wood refinisher take down the shine on the floor. Congratulations and I hope you let us know how this progresses.
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