If your future mother-in-law guilted you into registering for fine china when you were young and green, you may have known from the get-go that formal entertaining is not your bag. So what, then, becomes of your proper dining room?
For Jim and Tedi Sponaugle, homeowners in Manheim Township’s Grandview Heights neighborhood and big proponents of casual entertaining, the dining room became a dumping ground for things in need of a temporary home. The table was littered with school work, art projects and mail. On the floor resided PTO supplies and gym bags. Not a crumb of evidence would show that their family ever ate there.
“I think in the 10 years we’ve lived here, we ate in the dining room four times,” Tedi said, while seated in her renovated kitchen. “My entertaining style is much more informal. People would giggle if I set a formal table.”
But their dumping ground was taking up precious real estate. Jim and Tedi faced a space issue, as most of their neighbors do. Located just outside Lancaster, Grandview Heights was the city’s first suburb. The homes, many built in the 1920s and 30s, have small closets, tight kitchens and leaky basements.
When they sat down with architect Charlie Yohe and Jason Binkley of Capstone Design + Build to discuss expansion of their kitchen, they knew the dining room was Suspect Number 1.
The new plan: Ditch the formal dining room by removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room to make one big space for eating, food prep and casual entertaining. The resulting function after merging the rooms is a sort of family room vibe, where people convene…whether or not food is being prepared.
This was largely achieved by creating a comfortable seating area in the one end of the kitchen. A sectional sofa is tucked into the corner with bright, inviting pillows and a flat screen TV positioned on the opposite wall.
The other end is where food happens…the sink, appliances and counter surfaces. After learning about how Jim and Tedi entertain and their culinary interests, Charlie added a warming oven and spice cabinet to enable Jim’s passion for smoking meats, as well as a built-in espresso maker for espresso martinis.
What ties this all together is the long kitchen island in the center of the room. One end is the staging area for drinks, food and equipment; the other end is where every meal is enjoyed. If a guest drops in for dinner, a matching stool is simply added to the end of the island. If Tedi and Jim are hosting a larger group, they do what they would have done in the past—lay a buffet and encourage guests to grab a seat wherever they feel most comfortable.
“We enjoy spending time so much in our new space, that our family room is kind of being neglected,” Tedi said. “Our family and friends immediately gravitate to the kitchen.”
Which is what everyone does in almost every home. Whether your kitchen is galley-sized or palatial, we all gather in this space of food, warmth and bustle.
So, maybe more of us should consider putting that china on Craigslist and making our own version of “finer” dining happen.
The Sponaugles’ home will be among those featured on Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity’s Renovators’ Home Tour, Sunday, October 1st. For ticket and event information, please visit www.renovatorshometour.com.
