Every house has a formal dining room – or are they trending out of style?”
My experience with Buyers is that younger families don’t see a need for a formal dining room. They would prefer an open kitchen, preferably adjacent to the family room – with an area for a large table. But, they’re not purchasing dining room sets with formal buffets or hutches.
Dining itself has become less formal.
However, baby boomers still want the formal dining room for large family gatherings, entertaining and holiday dinners. They DO still have nice crystal and need somewhere to store that. There is still a desire to segregate the dining area from the cooking area.
Formal dining rooms – trending out of style?
Younger Buyers are more conscious of their social footprint and frown upon using an area for only one purpose, with some exceptions. And, as more couples are working from home (or working at home after coming home from the office), a home office is more desirable than a formal dining room.
One only need to take a look at Pinterest to see what types of dining areas are in style. I would say, hands down, that OUTSIDE dining areas are more desirable than inside formal dining rooms.
What does this mean for home Sellers? If there’s any way possible to reconfigure (or stage) your formal dining area into an office, a 2nd living area or den, I would consider that. It might be worth having an architect look at your home to explore possibilities.
And if you have the budget to add an outdoor fireplace, patio and outdoor dining furniture, I would highly recommend that. It’s not as expensive as you think – and to the Buyer, they view that as an added value to your home for sale.
For more home selling tips, please visit my blog! And, do call me if you’re interested in selling your home! 918-852-5036
Content written and published by Lori Cain.
