The end of the Dining Room?
According to a report in the Telegraph, changes in the way we live is leading to the demise of the traditional dining room. The report is based on responses to a Halifax Home Insurance questionnaire of 1,453 homeowners about changes to their homes and future intentions.
Dining rooms were found to be the most likely to change their use as more and more homeowners knock down walls to create bigger living areas. The report predicts that more than half a million dining rooms are likely to be demolished over the next 12 months in the UK and that if the trend continues, the traditional home of the formal dining table and best cutlery could disappear completely by 2020.
A total of 559,000 dining room walls have been earmarked to be knocked-through over the next year and this is likely to increase with fewer families making use of the room. Fewer families now sit down together for a meal compared to 30 years ago when it was common for households to sit round a table several times a day.
David Rochester, Head of Underwriting at Halifax Home Insurance, said: “Britons have clearly fallen for open-plan living and are looking at ways in which they can make better use of the space inside their homes. In many ways it’s sad to see the decline of the formal dining room, but it appears that they may have become superfluous to modern living where people are perhaps less likely to eat together.”
The traditional uses of other living areas are also changing with our lifestyles and expectations. The study found that 170,000 utility rooms are likely to become incorporated into kitchen areas in line with the desire for a more spacious communal family eating/living area. 125,000 Studies are in line to be combined with adjoining bedrooms to make them more spacious. The desire for open-plan living means that people also want larger Lounges and up to 190,000 living room walls will be knocked down so the room can be combined with adjoining areas.
Last year more than one in five homeowners knocked through a wall of their house. The report urged caution because many people intend to do the work themselves with up to a quarter of those planning to knock down a wall in the next twelve months not planning to hire professionals to carry out the work.
Mr Rochester said: “Not only do we urge homeowners to make sure a qualified person carries out any structural work to their home, we also recommend seeking the advice of a qualified structural engineer before progressing work to knock down any walls. Any damage to a weight-bearing wall that results in ceiling collapse or other damage could also invalidate a buildings insurance policy. They should also seek building regulations advice from their local council or risk difficulty trying to sell their home further down the line.