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Just Because It's Called"Dining Room" Doesn't Mean You Have To Eat There

By
Industry Observer

When you look at a home for sale, do you see the rooms as they are currently being used and think that use is set in stone as the only option?  Can you look at the rooms in the home and imagine how YOU would use them - even if it is nontraditional?

Most buyers have in mind whether they need a formal dining room, a family room, a guest room etc.  But it is really important to think through how you live most of the time, and get creative if you need to.  A dining room does NOT have to be where you eat - and many, many families will admit that their nice formal dining room gets used once a year during the holidays. 

Dining room

A den can be used in a multitude of ways for guests, crafts, playspace for the kids, a reading room, an office etc etc.  I have seen people use their breakfast nook for an art space because it gets great light.  I've seen those large landing spaces at the top of the stairs in some houses be used as everything from computer areas to playrooms to TV viewing spaces. I have seen bedrooms used as exercise rooms or music rooms...I've seen bathrooms used as....well OK - bathrooms are pretty much bathrooms.

The bottom line is that there is really no rule that says you have to use rooms in the way the builder or previous owner designated them.  Think about how you live, & about what spaces you need, and then look at each house to see if there are spaces that match up to those needs - no matter what they are called.

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Nancy Conner, City Realty Inc,    360-701-1086     nancy@cityrealtyinc.net      

Kathy Denworth
BHHS Keys Real Estate - Islamorada, FL
Realtor in the Florida Keys, Islamorada, Key Largo

My daughter uses her "dining room" off the kitchen as a den, they dine in the "living room" and live in the family room. My "third bedroom" is the den WITHOUT a pull out couch.

Mar 22, 2011 10:29 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

What!  No second uses for the bathroom?  I'm so disappointed...LOL!!

Mar 22, 2011 10:40 AM
P.J. Virgilio Jr., Realtor 408-568-6578 Selling homes in the Greater San Jose area and South through San Martin, Gilroy
Keller Williams Realty Silicon Valley - Gilroy, CA
San Juan Bautista and Hollister as well!

You Gals are too funny..... but make alot of sense.

Patrick

Mar 22, 2011 10:45 AM
Sandra Pearce
Republic Mortgage Home Loans in Olympia Washington - Olympia, WA

you could use the bathroom as a dark room for photography..  :)

Mar 22, 2011 10:52 AM
Suzanne Taylor
Ultima Real Estate - Corpus Christi - Corpus Christi, TX
Home Sales In Corpus Christi, TX

Nancy,

I have been using my dining and living room as an office for many years.  Eat in the dining room, no way, the table is covered with my paperwork.

Mar 22, 2011 10:52 AM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA

Hahaha - I should've known that I just wasn't stretching my mind enough to say there weren't alternate uses for the bathroom!!

Mar 22, 2011 10:53 AM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA

Suzanne - we fall into that category of seldom eating in the dining room except at the holidays, but it makes a heck of a place to wrap presents, spread out office paperwork even more than on my desk, decorate cookies, play a board game or cards....

Mar 22, 2011 10:55 AM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA

Yep Kathy - repurposed rooms or multipurpose rooms are the way to go!

Mar 22, 2011 10:56 AM
Karen Burket
Bank of Oregon a division of Willamette Valley Bank - Medford, OR
Valley Mortgage Grou, Conventional, FHA, VA, mortgages

Doesn't the bathroom double as "the library"?  lol  ;-)

Mar 22, 2011 11:00 AM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA

LOL Karen - I obviously just wasn't thinking this through!!

Mar 22, 2011 11:07 AM
Diane Mora
Keller Williams Chino Hills - Chino Hills, CA

Love your post, Nancy! One of the things I love about my current living space is that I can be really flexible with how the rooms are used. Especially as the nest empties out...

I also advise clients to look for flexible floor plans. Lifestyles change over time, and the ability to use space creatively helps a home to evolve with you. 

Suggested...

Mar 22, 2011 02:12 PM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA

Thanks Diane!!  You are so right that a flexible floor plan can be wonderful so you can change how you use rooms or spaces without having to change your address!

Mar 23, 2011 07:06 AM