For many people, formal dining rooms are extremely useful, but often only during holiday seasons and dinner parties. Don’t give up on the dream of having a formal dining room in your home, though! There are creative ways to keep a dining room in use year-round, without having to remove the table and chairs.
How To Use Your Formal Dining Room Every Day
1. Use it as a library. Place shelves or construct built-in shelving around the perimeter of your dining room. When it’s not is use for Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can grab a pile of book, pull a chair up, and read to your hearts content!
Need inspiration? Check out this blog post on library dining rooms by Susan.
2. Use it as an office. Dining room tables are perfect spaces to spread out office work, especially if you work from home. Set up your computer, your books, notes, whatever you need to work on and spread out as far as you want on your dining table desk!
Need Inspiration? Check out this blog post on dining room offices by Victoria.
3. Use it as a craft room. When it comes to completing arts and crafts projects, dining room tables are a huge bonus. I’m sure we’ve all had experience trying to complete a craft project on a small surface, and found ourselves dropping and losing items as we progressed. Thankfully, a dining room table has the room to spread out and organize your craft materials! Another welcome feature of using your dining room for arts and crafts is that you can hang artwork on the walls, decorating your dining room/”craft room” at the same time!
Need inspiration? Check out this blog post on a dining room craft space by Desiree.
4. Use it as a schoolwork room. This is one of the simplest ways to put your formal dining room table to use (so simple, in fact, you’ve probably already done it if you have kids with homework). However, you can make the room more official by decorating it in a way that is appealing both as a schoolroom and a dining room.
Don’t believe us? Check out this blog post on a classy dining room for schoolwork by Ashley.
5. Use it as a game room. Table games are growing in popularity and friends gather weekly to try their hand at poker or play a marathon session of Settlers of Catan. There are some gorgeous convertible dining/gaming tables that will complement your dining and game nights perfectly!
For inspiration, check out this Apartment Therapy article on dining and gaming tables.
6. Use it as a music room. One of the most perfect multipurpose matches for a dining room is musical instruments. Most people have an upright piano or a couple guitars that fit perfectly in the corner of a formal dining room. Music is also a beautiful dining room decorative theme.
For inspiration, check out this post on a beautifully simple music/dining room by Meg, or this one on a colorful dining and music room by Adrienne.
What Have You Done Creatively With Your Formal Dining Room?
So, there you have it, creative ways to use your dining room that allows you to keep the table and chairs for when family and friends get together! What have you done with your formal dining room? What decorating or multipurpose projects have you finished? We’d love to hear from you!
If you live in the DFW area and are ready for a new home with a beautiful, useful formal dining room, contact us and we’ll get started on your dream house!
