is there something I can do with this space?

[caedmyn]

This is supposed to be a breakfast nook area but it's completely open and idk what I could do with the space.  It's a good sized area, probably 10' x 14'. I'd like to at least put a rug there in hopes of dampening the noise level somewhat...the main level of this house is mostly tile and it is SO incredibly loud.  Would a rug in the middle look funny? Any other suggestions?

[KathyBC]

Yes, rug!
Play pen
Pet beds
Bookcase
Musical instruments
Reading Nook
Phone message center/small desk
Additional pantry cupboard
I've seen a somewhat similar though smaller space with a spinning wheel displayed.

[happi duck]

I like the reading nook idea!

[caedmyn]

36 minutes ago, KathyBC said:

Yes, rug!
Play pen
Pet beds
Bookcase
Musical instruments
Reading Nook
Phone message center/small desk
Additional pantry cupboard
I've seen a somewhat similar though smaller space with a spinning wheel displayed.

Where would you put things?  In the corners?  There's no walls at all other than those 2 corners.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Yes to the rug.  The larger, the better.

My first thought would be to move the dining table into this open space, and use the "dining" room for something else, like a den, school room, or play room. 

My second thought would be a pool table in the middle.

But then, I realized that I might claim that space under the picture for myself.  Since I spend so much time in the kitchen anyway, it would be nice to have a home office or craft area there, or a piano, perhaps a large chair with a good lamp for reading/crocheting, or maybe put my floor loom there.

A children's play table in the small space next to the dining room to keep little ones busy while I'm working in the kitchen or my other space.

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2019 by Suzanne in ABQ

[Garga]

14 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

This is exactly what I thought too.

 

Me three.

[Annie G]

I agree- dining table in that space, with a rug under it to anchor it.  

[KungFuPanda]

I’d do a plush rug, bistro table, upholstered chairs thing so it’s like a cozy library/coffee shop extra comfy spot to have tea or read or chat with a friend or school one child at a time or have a date with Dh or check the boards and draft a run-on sentence. 

Found a photo!

Edited February 9, 2019 by KungFuPanda

[Junie]

My first thought was a train table.  :hiding:

[Ellie]

56 minutes ago, Annie G said:

I agree- dining table in that space, with a rug under it to anchor it.  

ITA. There's a light fixture in the ceiling, so I'm assuming that was the area's original function, some  sort of eating area. I'd change that light fixture to a chandelier.

[Melissa in Australia]

I also was going to suggest shifing the dining table there

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Another vote for shifting the table and making that space the main dining area.  

I would not want a non-food living room/office/library, simply because being that close to the kitchen, and with food needing to travel to the dining area through that space... food will inevitably end up on things it shouldn't (at least, it would in my house...).  

I also prefer to have the main table in view of the kitchen, so baby/toddler/etc are in view while having a little snack or craft, but I can still be cleaning or cooking in the kitchen.   

 

[mmasc]

Oh yeah, I’d definitely slide that table into the kitchen area space. Then that area would make perfect sense as is, and the other room could be used for absolutely anything you want! It would be easier to figure out since it’s an actual room.

[MrsRobinson]

I agree with moving the table. To me it seems odd (and annoying) to have to travel with food more than a few steps to sit at a table to eat it. 

Utilizing the other room as a playroom, office, den, or whatever could easily turn it into a favorite spot in the house. 

[Lecka]

I have three kids, and we had a kind-of built-in area that made sense for a table, but the table was going to be too small to seat 5..... well, we tried our table back and forth, and it turned out to work the best to have our table with the leaf out, so it would seat 4, and just keep one chair in the corner, and somebody pull the chair up when we ate.  The table legs were along the edge, but with a different design of table it would have worked better.  

Anyway -- if you are thinking -- but you need your table to seat your family, and it doesn't fit in the breakfast nook.  

I wanted to keep my grandmother's table, but with a table that doesn't have legs on the outside, you can fit more people without anyone bumping into a table leg.  

[alisoncooks]

If the table won't fit, then my first thought was a rug and a little comfy chair, if it'd get used. 

If not, maybe a little art table/station for the wee ones.

Or a treadmill, haha. 

[marbel]

13 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I’d do a plush rug, bistro table, upholstered chairs thing so it’s like a cozy library/coffee shop extra comfy spot to have tea or read or chat with a friend or school one child at a time or have a date with Dh or check the boards and draft a run-on sentence. 

<snip>

This is similar to what I was thinking. I wouldn't move the dining table in there. But I would have some sort of table and chair setup.  

I used to have an eat-in kitchen and a separate dining room.  I really miss that.  (Now I just have the eat-in kitchen.)

[Carol in Cal.]

Seems like the main challenge is the many doors, forcing pathways through the room that a table would block.

That being so, I would hunt for a table that can change size and be moved around easily.  I would want an antique oval one, pretty simple, two drop leaves on the long ends plus the ability to add leave in the middle to make it longer.  I would get a walnut one if possible, pine if not—not oak because they are too heavy and also the grain makes drawing and writing more difficult. I wouldn’t keep it in the middle of the room, but would normally keep it folded up off to one side.  I’d have four chairs for it, two kept tucked under the table and two against a wall elsewhere in the room.  I’d have an indoor/outdoor throw rug, a big one, because those are so easy to clean, in the middle of the room.  And I’d get some very comfortable outdoor plastic wicker furniture for one edge of the room—probably a loveseat or a 3 seat sofa—with deep, cozy upholstery, but again very cleanable/non staining.  And there would be a nice narrow sofa table behind it to pile books or my tea on.  

That way I’d have free movement through the room most of the time, I’d be able to curl up on the couch and read or read to the kiddos, I’d have overflow dining available in an instant, and I’d be able to set up a project table without worrying about damage or mess very much.  I’d still have a nice open looking space most of the time, but add a great deal of function.  I love having an actual dining room too much to give it up, and this way it would be easy to have the kids in the kitchen and adults (including guests) in the dining room, with everyone in sight of each other, for larger gatherings.  I’d consider bar chairs at the boundary counter, but only if they didn’t take too much room away from the breakfast nook.

I would either put a table loom on the table or a folding floor loom on the floor behind the chairs against the wall, but that’s just me.  Do you have a hobby you would like to set up for more permanently, for instance having a sewing machine or card making station always out?  IMO that should be on a separate little table from the big one, but in that room, welcoming and giving personality as well as function to the whole space.  

[Farrar]

I assume that you want the dining table in the dining room and that it's really too big to be workable there since you have a larger family? Because for a small family, that's totally what I'd do and then repurpose the dining room and possibly have folding tables and tablecloths for special holidays at the ready.

I'd make a decision about whether to make it older kid/adult social/reading space OR making it little kid space. I think it could easily house a train or lego table with storage underneath and maybe some other kid-friendly things for your younger ones. Could be especially useful if they're the sort who like to be underfoot when you're trying to get things done, like, say, making dinner. Or you could do something more like the image above and put a coffee table and a couple of comfy chairs there. Or a single comfy chair and a little shelf or table or book something along with some stools at the tall counter.

[Farrar]

Adding, don't get hung up about anchoring things to walls in this space. You don't need to have a wall to put a chair against. With a rug and a little table and so forth, you can define the space without needing things to be against the wall.

[KungFuPanda]

I was answering for my phase of life. On the phone I can’t see the ages of the OPs kids. Judging from other responses, she’s still got little ones.

When my kids were little, we used a 2’ x 4” lifetime table set at kid height as our family room coffee table. It was only slightly higher than a standard coffee table, so it still worked, but opposite the couch we could put two kid-sized chairs. (Four would fit if you put chairs on the ends.) we homeschooled all of elementary there and it was an easy transition from table work to cozy reading.

Of course you could do something cuter than my plastic and metal table; maybe round and wooden. However, if the table is kid-height, you can have a love seat or some upholstered chairs for adults AND smaller children’s chairs for schoolwork or crafts or snack time.   If a rug is asking for trouble at this phase of life, use foam puzzle mats. 

Using two square kids tables would make it even more versitile because you could reconfigure the space on a whim. 

Found some photos . . . something like this but cuter. The coffee tables with little seats are fun too. 

Edited February 10, 2019 by KungFuPanda
Found photos!

[caedmyn]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I was answering for my phase of life. On the phone I can’t see the ages of the OPs kids. Judging from other responses, she’s still got little ones.

When my kids were little, we used a 2’ x 4” lifetime table set at kid height as our family room coffee table. It was only slightly higher than a standard coffee table, so it still worked, but opposite the couch we could put two kid-sized chairs. (Four would fit if you put chairs on the ends.) we homeschooled all of elementary there and it was an easy transition from table work to cozy reading.

Of course you could do something cuter than my plastic and metal table; maybe round and wooden. However, if the table is kid-height, you can have a love seat or some upholstered chairs for adults AND smaller children’s chairs for schoolwork or crafts or snack time.   If a rug is asking for trouble at this phase of life, use foam puzzle mats. 

Using two square kids tables would make it even more versitile because you could reconfigure the space on a whim. 

Found some photos . . . something like this but cuter. The coffee tables with little seats are fun too. 

I like that coffee table with the little seats!

[caedmyn]

When we moved into this house I was originally going to put the table in the eat in space and use the dining room as a playroom, but I think the table is really too big for that space, and I don't want to be walking around it all the time.  

I like the idea of a reading/conversation spot, with a bistro table and a chair or two.  I think I would put it off to the side near the counter, not in the middle of the room where everyone would have to go around it.

Or maybe I could do a rug with a big sturdy coffee table on it as a play space.  I could get some of those small round ottomans to go around it as seats.  I have a baby and a 2 yo plus elementary to middle school age kids  so anything I do needs to be very kid-friendly for different ages.

 

[Jaybee]

Google "bookshelf coffee table". You could set up a little sitting area using one of those (to solve the no walls for bookshelf problem), incorporating some of the ideas above.