PublishedDec 4, 2024 1:45 AM EST
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When my boyfriend and I go out to a restaurant, we'll almost always pick the bar over a table or booth. Mostly, we like being squished closer together, but the easy access to the bartender doesn't hurt, and when there's a clear view of the kitchen, it feels like we're getting dinneranda show. Back at our studio apartment, it's a different story. I dream of having a proper dining table we can dress up with colorful linens and spread out at when friends come over.
Right now, we eat at our two-person, bar-height peninsula because I've yet to crack how to wedge a dining table into our adjacent living area, which already feels crammed with a sectional, coffee table, dresser, and desk. But the one empty corner closest to the kitchen still gives me hope I can transform it into a dining nook. Needing to visualize how a living-dining combo would actually play out in our tiny space, I started saving images of other people's clever layouts, includingGeorgie Stogdon's cozy London home (pictured above). Here are all the other rooms I ogled in my search and what I learned along the way.
Nobody puts Baby in a corner, but I'd absolutely have to shove our future dining table as close to the walls as possible to maximize the rest of our space. My fear has always been that it would look like we just crammed everything there on move-in day and never got around to fixing it, but L.A.-based screenwriter Alexandra Cadena reminded me this setup can read as thoughtful if you frame the area with big art.
One way to make a dining setup in a wide-open living room feel like its own zone? A perfectly sized rug. After seeing this taupe-tinged apartment, designed byShapeless Studio, I started seriously contemplating downsizing our current 8-by-11-foot area rug for a smaller rectangle so I could place a circular one under our future entertaining zone.
I haven't run the measurements just yet, but if a second rug isn't in the cards for our space, plan B involves an extra-large articulating wall sconce that doubles as a divider.
Brett Williams's tiny NYC apartmenthas been a constant source of inspiration. While not ideal for hosting double dates, his arrangement of a petite bistro table with threeEra chairsseems like the most realistic option for us. The curved arms automatically make it feel a bit more tucked away.
ForBarefoot Livingauthor Natalia Swarz, being a minimalist doesn't just mean not having piles of paper clutter lying around—it also involves owning only a few pieces of furniture and making sure each one works overtime in her 700-square-foot space. If she and her family ever want to scoot their dining table closer to the living area to make room for guests to gather at the kitchen island, they can: The Vetsak sofa breaks into individual pieces that shift around easily.
Probably the most crucial tip I've taken from all of these spaces is that you can get a lot closer to your living room rug than you'd think. There's less than a foot of floor space between Gabriella Picone and Daniel Marion's six-person table and their seating area, but the arrangement totally works. A similar setup might mean sacrificing a view of the TV, but that's fine by me.
One reason I didn't think a dining area would be possible for us is that it would cut off part of the hallway leading into the room (not enough to be a hazard, but I assumed it was a flow no-no). Then I saw this Augusta Hoffman–designed space and once again realized that if you want to make the most of a small space, you need to measure in centimeters, not inches.
Lydia Geisel has been on the editorial team at Domino since 2017. These days she writes and edits home and reno stories—house tours, before and afters, DIYs—and runs our design news coverage. She lives in New York City.
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