Growing up, my parents had a formal living room that literally no one ever used. We were always in the family room where the television was or yes, at the kitchen table.
When I built my own home in Minnesota, I didn't get a formal dining room or living room. What I had was a great room with kitchen, family room, dining area, and foyer all in one. It could have been a smidge larger because it was slightly tight, but overall it suited me really well. The picture below is one of my farewell pictures when I moved. I loved this house whole-heartedly. This is from the foyer looking into the family room. The dining area and kitchen are on the right.
The house I bought in Georgia did have a formal living room and dining room. I knew from the start that I'd never use the formal living room. Like ever. And I ended up using it as a craft room, which was a bit awkward since it was open to the house and right next to the front door.
I put my table in the formal dining room because it looked more like it belonged there, but that left the eat-in kitchen part empty and I banged my head into the light fixture more than once as I walked through because there was nothing there to make me go around it.
These pictures from the first house I had in Georgia were taken before I removed the fake fireplace and changed out the light fixtures. I call these shots my hello tour. :-)
When I moved into my current house, I actually did want a dining room because after my mom died and my dad moved in with me, we did now have a kitchen table. Since I didn't want to get rid of my table or my parents' table, a dining room would be necessary. The new house doesn't have a formal living room, just a family room.
This picture above is from the new house. I took it before we bought it and the previous owner used it as an office. I realized I don't have a shot of my dining room as it looks now and I can't run and take a picture. I'll explain why in a minute. Just FYI, that light fixture is GONE!
Anyway, the dining room was mostly sitting empty except at a holiday when Dad and I would eat there, but that changed. My dad decided he was going to write his memoirs. At first, he spread out all over the kitchen table and had to pack everything up every night at dinner time. I finally suggested to him to take it all to the dining room. That way he could leave everything out. This is why I can't run and take a picture. My entire dining room table is covered with paper and the chairs are all over the place. It works for him!
So while I do agree with this article that formal spaces are largely wasted space, I do appreciate having a dining room. It'll also be good for me to lay out my knitting projects when I'm blocking them. Not the most efficient use of space, but useful at times.
