10 perfect dining rooms for small houses

Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada
Apartamento compacto, moderno e clean, Studio² Studio² Modern dining room
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In a tiny downtown apartment or small starter home, the dining room can often feel like it's the first to go when the space requires reconfiguration in order to accommodate other, higher priority needs. Add this to the fact that many people eat out more than they eat in, or eat prepared meals more than they prepare them, and a room devoted entirely to dining becomes simply impractical when space gets tight. 

However, homify’s design professionals all around the world have come up with many clever ways to include a dining room in a small space, maintaining an intimate, stylish, and relaxing ambience without requiring a generous floorplan. You’ll find that many of these dining rooms are not “rooms” in a proper sense, but in fact small and tidy dining “spaces” which often serve a double function as a kitchen countertop, room partition, transitional element, and more.

​1. Refreshing atmosphere

This example shows a dining room tucked away in the corner of the living room, nestled between the back of the sofa and the apartment’s entrance door. The designers have made an advantage out of a seeming disadvantage, using this small nook of space to create an intimate atmosphere characterized by bright white, natural wood, and a refreshing splash of green. By replacing the end chair with a mirror and pushing the table against the wall, the dining room sits neatly out of the way without feeling cramped, and plenty of interesting textures and lines keep this small space feeling energized.

​2., Mirror wall

A mirror is an excellent addition to small and narrow spaces, reflecting more light—and visual space—into a small room. The edgy, artistic decor in this dining room gets additional emphasis as it appears in a mirror image, the energetic burst of the copper light fixture bringing attention towards the open, airy space in the upper half of the room.

​3. Transitional space

In this uncomplicated studio-style layout, what you see is what you get. The long, narrow rectangle with a large window at the end may not be a conventional layout, but the designers in this case have worked to harmonize with the uncomplicated nature of this narrow space. The dining room table sits in the middle of the room, acting as a transitional piece as you move along from the kitchen to the living room area. The thin-legged furniture and glass tabletop keep a low profile, with a tidy trio of black lamps making an understated silhouette.

4. Room partition

This narrow dining room table takes on the role of a room partition, its narrow shape providing distinction along the boundary between the kitchen and living room spaces.

​5. Invisible dinner

The best way to create space in a small room? Simply don’t put anything in it. These designers combine negative and positive space with the addition of this unusual dining array in which clear tables and chairs exercise the sublest effect possible.

6. ​Keeping a low profile

This small dining arrangement is not only notable for its cheerful personality, but also for its determination to keep a low profile: notice how the table stands on one slim central leg, allowing for chairs to be tucked in closely to remain out of the way. Likewise, the chairs all adhere to a slim aesthetic in which lightness and delicacy become the primary factors in their design, contributing to the feeling of lift in this little dining environment.

7. ​Kitchen island

This design does away with the need for a dining room entirely. Here, a low kitchen island functions as both a stylish dining room table in addition to serving as a kitchen prep space.

​8. All for one

This dining room table is hard to classify: its location makes it as much a part of the kitchen as of the living room, making it easy to add seating to the living room by simply turning a few chairs around. A bench tucks out of the way on the kitchen side, providing easy access to the space for use as an additional kitchen countertop.

​9. Tiny but bold

It’s common to make the mistake of believing that small spaces call for subdued and downplayed decor features. This example clearly believes in making a big, bold impact, even in small spaces. A striking black and white theme takes a little dining array and turns it into a dynamic space full of polish, drama, and edge.

​10. Playing with colour

Yellow is a popular choice for a kitchen or dining room, as the colour is said to be a metabolism stimulant. In this dining space, many of the features fade into the background in subtle white or clear surfaces, with just enough colour present to create a well-balanced theme. Take note from this design which never over- nor underwhelms, playing with the presence of colour and pattern to add just enough activity to a small space.

Find other ways to embrace your small living space in this ideabook featuring 14 sliding doors that optimize space to the maximum

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