I was talking to a friend today who asked me if I had a dining room…which lead me to remember when I was a kid, we never had/ate in a dining room, we ate in the kitchen. We had a table in the kitchen that we ate at. In fact, when I visit my mom, we still eat dinner in the kitchen.
What about you, though? Does your house have a dining room and, if so, do you usually eat dinners there? Or do you eat dinner in the kitchen, at a table?
Or do you eat somewhere else entirely?
And I’m talking about dinners that you eat whenever you eat with your family, company, or at least one other, not meals by yourself.
You assume that people always eat in only one of the options. Currently, we have only one room with a table (the dining room), so that’s where we eat all meals, but growing up, we ate some family meals in the kitchen, and some in the dining room. (All company meals were in the dining room.) Depended on what was being served and my mother’s mood that day.
If just my wife is around, we usually eat in the family room in front of the TV. If a few other people are with us, we would usually eat in the kitchen. The dining room is only for special occasions and/or large groups.
“If that there’s a billy-ard table, then that there must be a billy-ard!” (Jed Clampet)
I picked kitchen; it’s really a breakfast nook though, if I want to be all Martha Stewart about it. But, we do eat some fancy meals in the dining room from time to time.
We eat family meals in the kitchen, at the table. If it’s nice out we’ll eat on the deck. If we have more than 6 or 7 for a meal, we move to the dining room. In our last house we only ate in the dining room because our kitchen was too small for a table. We don’t allow food (at least not when the kids are around) in the family room, and nothing ever happens in the living room except it’s where we put the Christmas tree.
Growing up, we ate the vast majority of our meals at the kitchen table. The dining room was for when we had company, or for holiday meals. These were also the same general occasions when we would use the formal living room.
In my house, the kitchen is too small for a table so we eat in the dining room. On nice days, we may eat outside on the patio.
In the old house, we usually ate dinner in the living room, in front of the TV, with the TV on. We had a dining room and table, but we never used it. In the new house, we eat in the dining room, and the TV is off, or it’s set to a subscription radio station. If I eat alone, it’s in the dining room, with the radio on.
We eat as a family, generally in the living room in front of the (on) television. shrug I felt all kinds of guilt over that for a long time, but we’ve found that we actually talk and interact more there than when we try to eat at the dining room table. One of the kids will ask a question about something on whatever we’re watching (usually MAS*H) and conversation will ensue, often going very far off track from the original question. It’s also the only time when talking during most TV shows is allowed!
Growing up, mealtime at the kitchen table was just another opportunity for my father to display his SOB personality by nitpicking on everyone for everything. At one point, he threw a plate full of food across the room because the fries weren’t hot enough, where plate full of food hit the wall above the fridge and the entire thing fell behind the fridge. I distinctly recall the ketchup smeared on the wall.
Because of the lovely childhood experience of eating at the kitchen table, I rarely eat dinner at the table. Instead, Hallboy and I eat in the livingroom. Occassionally, when we have company, or Hallgirl comes over, we’ll eat at the kitchen table. But, even after all these years, I can feel my level of anxiety rise, so that I’m the last one seated, inhale my food, and am the first one finished. I can’t wait to get the table cleaned off and try very hard not to rush everyone else through their meal, just so I can get the whole experience over with.
Oddly enough, I don’t have the same problem when we eat out.
We usually eat in the kitchen, since the house has no dining room. Occasionally, my wife will eat in the living room in the summer because it’s air conditioned, but I’d rather sit at a table instead of juggling food.
Kitchen, now, when I was growing up, and pretty much in any living circumstance I remember it was either the kitchen or a dining room.
The only exception was when there was no separate dining room, and the living room had a corner of it that was used for dining, but I consider that a dining area.
Usually in the kitchen. There’s only the two of us usually, and when there’s more the kitchen table has a leaf that allows eight seats. We do have a dining room, but we only use it for Thanksgiving. Even then, we use the kitchen table too. We usually have about 30 guests so we need them both. Plus a card table for the kids/grand kids. For day-to-day living, the kitchen table is just more convenient.
For those who eat in the living room, where do you put your plate, silverware, drink, and food platters? Do you balance your plate on your lap, or use TV trays, or keep everything on the coffee table? If the latter, isn’t it uncomfortable to hunch way over to eat from the coffee table?
Growing up, in the kitchen except for formal meals. Now, my husband and I and the kids eat at the diningroom table because our current house doesn’t have space for a table in the kitchen.
