INTRODUCTION
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Dining room design details relating to dining space seem to fail more often than any other home space design. Now, we’re not just talking about a formal dining room design; we’re also talking breakfast room design and eat-in kitchen space design. Anywhere folks sit down to break bread together or alone – that’s what we’re talking.
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Whassup with this? Sufficient space is up with this, that’s what. Way, way more often than not, there’s not enough dining space around the table.
DINING SPACE DESIGN DETAILS
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Dining areas, that is, surface areas and including breakfast and other informal eating areas, are often undersized
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While it is impossible to be sure of a client’s dining table size unless ask-and-tell proves fruitful, it’s not impossible to setup an area for seating within reasonable limits.
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Ask-and-tell can produce wonderful, helpful results
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“For formal dining, never more than 8. Any more and it’s family and buffet-style works best."
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“We’re only three now, but two more planned.
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“We regularly dine formally and catered for groups to 12. For my business and for his business."
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“Just bought the dining table. It’s 42 linear inches x 96 linear inches.
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“All three boys and their wives and their children come together to visit and eat at least once a week, sometimes more. 17 in all and 2 on the way. Our table’s 14 linear feet long and 34 linear inches wide. One slab." [No kidding, really was so.]
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And one can adjust for missing facts based on reasonable assumptions and experienced design metrics
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The dining table will
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If there’s a wall segment bounding the dining area which segment is 4 linear feet long or longer, reckon 18 linear inches of sideboard or similar can end up there on at least two walls, one of which will be by the main passage to the space and one visible in direct line of sight from that passage
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Or one can determine within a given space the maximum dimensions of a dining table and gauge reactions, as drawn below
Comment: ALWAYS inquire of clients – especially wife clients - as to what furniture they have or envision for dining areas – especially for formal dining areas.
Comment: This 64 linear inch passing-behind prescript taken with or without the 36 linear inch not-passing-behind prescript pragmatically means that a family breakfast or morning or otherwise informal dining area should be about the same surface area as a sufficiently sized formal dining area. On the one hand, short-sighted amends can be made for somewhat tighter spaces for kids assuming they don’t grow. On the other hand, a dining space may still need to be substantially larger to accommodate lifestyle-specific needs for formal dining or extended family or friends dining.
Comment: The statements about clearance come from a comprehensive and useful design
Guide to Standard Kitchen Planning Dimensions, “40 Guidelines of Kitchen Planning" by the National Kitchen & Bath Association,
http://www.superkitchens.com/sk/asp/catId.59/itemid.123/ks/page.htm. While not immutable, the algorithmic rules therein have for years provided Before The Architect with a heads-up sense of kitchen layout metrics and latitudes.
Comment: In dining areas like none other, adequate surface area is skimped in most all the plans this home designer sees of others.
Comment: In informal settings, a banquette can be a valued alternative to standard-set table.
HOME DINING SPACE PLAN
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Here’s a plan view that commonly gets included by Before The Architect in floor plans involving dining spaces – even bar stool dining spaces
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In this instance, the dining table had been client-undefined as to size but the dining space itself was specifically client-determined; therefore, Before The Architect established maximum dining table dimensions based
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Note the labeling of areas and dimensions for future reference
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Note exterior door swing
Home Dining Area Design Detail, Plan View
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Comment: See the ½ linear inch lets for wallboard as the dimensions are to rough. Also, please note the swing-flat double doors.
Comment: Yes, the serving stage could be longer, except as-is possibly makes room for floor-loaded accessories, e.g., adult beverage cooler, roll-in cart. Kitchen is below bottom of this pic.
HOME DINING LIGHTING
Such detail thereafter enables exact placement of pendant lighting, door swing clearance, etc. once this layout is approved, as presented below.
Home Dining Lighting, Plan View
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Comment: This space will be tricky times two to illuminate with luminaires: tall cathedral ceiling, large dormers on both planes, decorative timber trusses getting ready to get in light rays' way.
