RSVP Collection No. 57 - Round Peg - Square Hole: The Dining Room Layout

 

A room's shape can dictate a room's layout limitations. What is shouldn't dictate is the intimacy of the room and its dwellers. What a room's shape should allow for is a reflection of the lifestyle of the homeowner, how the room will be used, and what the experiences while in the room will become.

We often forget these important factors when it comes to the dining room. We fall into routine and custom, where the dining table is automatically drawn into the floor plan as a rectangle shape. After all isn't that how we will be able to seat all our guests? Reconsider this traditional concept. Consider round dining tables and the clever expansion options available. Like the ingenious jupe-like dining table. Solutions are available that will increase your consideration of the round dining table. Don't fall into the traditional trap.

I have found over and over again that my best dining experiences have been seated at a round dining table. Even as a child, our family of nine grew up at a round dining table. This lion head based round dining table became an oval shape as needed, but was always put back into the round dining shape when my older siblings were at their own homes. 

The conversation at a round dining setting becomes more intimate, more open, more lively, more interesting. The diners linger at a round table, relaxed and intrigued. Why then do we line our guests up down two sides of a rectangular table with dissected conversations that not all can join?

I am not saying the rectangular dining table is obsolete. By no means. There are times when it is the best option that meets the needs of the home dweller. When this option is perfect for the room's design and fits the lifestyle of the homeowner - then the art of conversation is a learned skill that becomes a must for that same homeowner. The host and hostess must lead and encourage conversation that delivers an experience that goes beyond a required once-a-year holiday gathering. 

We put so much dedication into the planning and preparation of this event - why then do we not also put that same devotion into the experience at the table?

Round peg - square hole? It's possible and should definitely be explored more when it comes to the dining room layout and design plan.

Source: Heidi Lerkenfeldt, Elle Decor, Pinterest, Architectural Digest, Decor Pad, Veranda