We have a formal dining room that we use approximately 2x/year. I want to keep the option of using it for large gatherings, but realistically it goes unused 95% of the time. We could use a home office space, but this would require being able to set up a computer in there. The room is not huge, though, so it's not obvious to me how to make it work for both functions in a way that looks nice. Anyone had any success doing something creative with your formal dining room or using it for dual purposes? Would love some inspiration!
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Maybe it could work as an office if you had closed cupboards on the walls and then you used your dining table as an office table?
Currently, we use ours as a playroom and precious owners had it as a piano/reading room.
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What kind of computer set up do you need? If it's a laptop and a printer, maybe you can look into one of those new style secretary desks. When closed, they look like a small cabinet.
Ballard Designs has several options.
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Would you be open to using a folding table with a table cloth as your dining table for the couple times a year you use it? Then you could probably have a small but regular desk. Or the secretary desk would work I would think.
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We love our secretary desk! We have a small house, no room for office, and I like that it holds a ton but looks nice. Ours is IKEA circa 2009. Shelves hold a ton, bottom that opens out holds printer and laptop. We have a rolling bench for the seat so it fits underneath (and also stores files!). I wouldn't work there for long periods of time but easy to carry laptop elsewhere.
We use our formal dining mostly for laundry folding and organizing
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@Foodnerd81: that's a great idea. Then you can use extra long tablecloths like banquet halls do. Heck for not a lot of money twice a year you could rents the table, chairs, and linens. Your more permanent desk could be used as an extra serving surface.
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: yeah inwas thinking that- you could easily rent tables and chairs and table clothes. My sister has done that for years actually because it took them that long to decide on a real dining room table.
@bhbee: our formal dining room is mostly for storing things I buy for the house but haven't decided if I'm keeping and currently, birthday party supplies for the end of the month. We would definitely use it as an office if we didn't have a separate one already.
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Could you use a hitch for office storage and the table for working? Like the first part of this post
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bloggingmartha-stewart-circa-a-62955 -
We had a formal dining room that we used probably once. Same issue, we were trying to think of how to make it work but it was fairy small and our dining table took up a majority of the space, we couldn't fit a desk or a small play area...
After living in our house for a year and realizing it wasn't worth it, having a totally separate room with a table, and blocking the light... so we knocked down the wall between the dining room & the kitchen (with my dads help), put an attached island in the middle and it's been the greatest thing ever. We still have the big table for everyone to gather at, but it feels connected to the rest of the house now!
Not sure if something like that is an option? Our wall wasn't a supporting wall so we were able to take it down ourselves and very cheaply with just some help from a plumber and electrician.
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@Mrs. Goose: @looch: @Foodnerd81: @bhbee: @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: @Foodnerd81: @skipra: @hellobeeboston: these are great ideas, thanks ladies! i had not even considered a folding table but that makes so much sense. that way we can do a full office setup against a wall but don't have to feel cramped with a big table in the way all the time. our current old/not terribly nice dining table actually folds down pretty small when you remove the leaves, so maybe we should just leave it in the basement!
@hellobeeboston: i love the idea of removing a wall! not really an option right now but i would love to do it eventually. unless i get my perfect semi-private office going in which case maybe i want to keep the walls
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@skipra that office is beautiful! i love the design. that might work really well, but i'm spoiled by large monitors at work and am kind of dreaming of a desktop for the home office, even though a laptop would obviously be much more versatile.
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The space in our house that’s supposed to be the dining room was turned into a home office by the previous owners. They added a built-in bookshelf/desk combo like the one below. I don’t know how big your dining room is but we could definitely still set up a table if we wanted because the built-in takes up very little space.
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@skinnycow: i LOVE this! i do think built-ins would probably be the best solution. they are just not in the budget at the moment.
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@hellobeeboston: We have a LARGE island in our kitchen that is our table but only seats 4 so when my parents come for dinner (which is often), we'll use our dining room. That being said, once the kids are out of daycare and we're not spending more than our mortgage on childcare, we plan on knocking down the wall in between to make one large kitchen and eating area. I can't wait! And it looks like only about 5 more years to go. . . . .
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@Mommy Finger: It's the greatest thing we ever did to our house. Our island seats 4, we can squeeze in one or two more on the other side, so we also usually eat there... But if we have company its great because everyone can gather at the island and the table is right behind, and the island is a good buffet as well! (PS - your username is hilarious)
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I found this blog the other day that shows a kitchen remodel that included a computer nook. Not exactly what you've described, but it may provide some inspiration
http://mythirdtruelove.blogspot.se/2013/07/my-new-kitchen-reveal.html
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