This is a question I get asked very often – ‘I have a very small dining space. Can you give me ideas on how to design it?’ Or, ‘How can I fit a dining table into a small dining space?’ So here today, are all my tips and ideas on designing a small dining space.
Small Dining Space Ideas
While using a small dining table in a small dining space is the most obvious solution, it may not always be the best. Sometimes thinking out of the box can get you far better solutions. For instance, it might be smarter to place the dining table in an unconventional place.. or in an unorthodox way.
Let me show you what I mean.
1 – Counter Facing The Wall
Do you remember this breakfast counter from our Greige Kitchen? Usually breakfast counters are placed perpendicular to the wall, so that you can look and talk across them. We certainly didn’t have the required width to do that here. We placed the counter along the wall instead and it makes a beautiful dining space.
If you are struggling with dining space in your home, a simple shelf against the wall can be extremely convenient.
You could use a single wall in your living room as your dining area. Place a console with stools against it.. and that’s it! The stools fit under the console when not in use and your ‘dining table’ is easily packed away until the next meal.
2 – Counter Facing The Window
It isn’t really the best option to have to face a blank wall in front of you. So if you do have a window available, placing your counter in front of the window makes for a lovely dining space.
If it’s in the kitchen, it doubles up as a space for you to sit and do your chopping, peeling and other food prep. Or to help the kids with their homework while you cook.
If outside the kitchen, it can also double up as a study area.
And it’s a great way to make that window look pretty too!
3 – Table For Two
If you do want a table with seating so you can face each other, you can consider a small table for two. Add a pendant above the table and artwork on the wall, and you have a clearly defined dining area.
The advantage here is that you can easily fit this arrangement into any passageway or corner. It’s a flexible arrangement so you can always pull an extra chair when you have more people over.
Just like with the dining counters, placing the table next to a window can make your dining area look bigger and more spacious.
If you have more length, you can fit in some banquette seating. Notice how these seats have storage built into them?
Source (I could only trace this pic to Pinterest. Any help to credit the rightful owner will be welcome)
4 – Fit Your Dining Into Your Kitchen
Sometimes your hall is too small to fit in both the living and dining areas into it comfortably. If you have a large family or a big group of friends that you entertain often, you want to make sure you have enough seating space for all of them. In this case, you might be willing to compromise on the dining space.
You can consider fitting a small dining table into your kitchen for every day use.
This could be a breakfast counter as above, or a small table for two as below.
End your kitchen counter a few feet away from the wall, where you can then place a banquette seat with a small table in front of it.
Leave extra space for a large table and seat.
But in this case where do you serve food when you have your family and friends over? Make sure you have a long console or sideboard in your living room where you can lay out a buffet at meal times.
5 – Open Kitchen
Way better than a dining area in the kitchen, which takes up space in the kitchen, is a dining area in the kitchen which does not take up kitchen space.
Yup, having a dining counter in the kitchen, which you can access from the outside is a win win in every way.
You have a full kitchen counter that you can use from the inside, a designated dining space outside of the kitchen and no need for a separate dining table. The dining counter also beautifully separates the kitchen and living areas.
6 – Dining Alongside The Kitchen
Making your dining area an extension of the kitchen can save a lot of space. Take these spaces for example. If the dining and kitchen had been separated here using a wall, either the kitchen would have become smaller, or the dining room would be too tiny and cramped.
Making your dining area an extension of the kitchen makes both, the dining and the kitchen, look so much larger.
In this case, a simple glass partition separates the kitchen and dining areas. Again, this saves space and makes both the areas look roomier.
7 – Dining In A Corner
Sometimes you do have a larger hall into which you could fit in a dining table. But placing it in the centre, with walking space all around it might take up too much floor space or get in the way of passages and doorways.
A smart solution is to push the dining table into any convenient corner. It could be between two doorways, as above. It could be between two storage units, as below.
Place an ‘L’ shaped bench or sofa against the wall and then the dining table and chairs in front of it.
Do you remember this corner table from our Boho Living Room? In this case we had enough length. But we had the passage to the bedrooms running along one side. If we placed the dining table in the centre of the dining room, it would block that passage. We could only have done that by using a very small dining table.
Instead, we pushed the dining area into the corner with an ‘L’ shaped bench. We managed to fit in a full 6-seater dining table and leave the passage entirely free.
8 – Dining In A Niche
Do you have a natural niche or cubbyhole in your home? It might be just the right place to fit in your dining table.
It doesn’t need to be too wide, because you can place the seating against the wall instead of having chairs that slide backwards and forwards.
Depending on how much space you have, you can make your table wider or narrower.
We had a relatively large niche in my home here, but still not large enough to make it a seating area. Instead, we used it to place our dining table. We now have a very large dining area, and because we put the dining table away to one side, a very large living area too.
9 – Dining Along A Window Seat
So many of our apartments have a ledge along the window that works as a window seat.
Placing your dining table in front of this seat, along with chairs on the opposite side is an excellent use of this space.
Placing the dining table to one side, versus in the centre, opens up the remaining space in the room.
10 – Bench Against The Wall
Pushing the dining table to one side is a terrific solution for narrow dining spaces and you have seen me do that often enough. In this living room we pushed the dining table to one side to leave the passageway free for traffic.
In our Modern Tropical Living Room we pushed the dining table to one side to allow for free space to walk between the living and dining areas. This made the entryway to the balcony outside.
Pushing the dining against the wall also allows you to use a sofa for seating one side which, I think, looks fabulous!
11 – Table Against The Wall
If your dining area isn’t long enough to fit the length of the table along the wall, it makes more sense to push the dining table against the wall instead of the bench.
In this living room, for instance, placing the table against the panel gave us enough space to walk between the sofa and the table.
In our Almost Blue Living Room, sliding the table to the right gave us open space on the left, which is along the entryway of the home.
Pushing your dining table against the wall is a brilliant way of making your dining area more compact and saving space.
Families and friends usually gather around food, which makes getting the dining space right very important in any home. These are 11 really simple and practical ways of designing a small dining space. Some of these ways help you to design your space better, while others give excellent alternatives to using a conventional dining table and chairs.
Let me know which worked for you. And remember to keep sending me your questions and requests so I know what you want to read next.
Until next time,
Very useful article
Thanks Preetha!