Wine and Dine: six inspiring dining rooms for seasonal festivities
We’re well in the midst of the holiday season, which means all eyes turn to the dining room. Name a more festive scenario than a decorated dining table playing host to seasonal feasts, cocktail parties and perhaps even a competitive game of Scrabble or two. So, we’re highlighting six inspiring dining areas within homes currently for sale – from those with grand tables to seat the most spectacular of dinners, to a cosy spot for a small party of close friends. Simply add crackers.
High Street, Lewes, East Sussex
The double-height dining room is the crown jewel of this Grade II-listed house in Lewes. Its impressive volume complements the Georgian proportions of the house, while the combination of a polished concrete floor and oak panelling give it an understated elegance. Enter via a bespoke oak staircase with a mezzanine level that descends to room, only adding to its grandeur. Particularly remarkable is the corner of floor-to-ceiling glazing, which fills the space with light and provides a glimpse of the garden. Best of all, its waney edge table is large enough to accommodate the most spectacular of feasts. Turkey and all the trimmings? We wouldn’t expect anything less.
Puddletown Road, Wareham, Dorset
Who wouldn’t fancy pulling up a Hans Wegner chair in the handsome dining area of this 1950s house in Dorset? Sandwiched between the sitting room and kitchen, the dining area occupies one corner of a large, open-plan L-shaped living area, and there is a wonderful sense of flow throughout the interconnected space. There are vast timber-framed windows on two sides of the dining area, which provide beautiful views out onto the garden and terrace. After dinner, the cocktail bar beckons.
Alexandra Road II, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire
Who says a dining area needs to be of size to make a big impression? There is plenty to delight in the dining room of this two-bedroom house in the village of Kings Langley – not least the Morsø log-burning stove that sits at one end of the space and guarantees the cosiest of winter evenings. Like the rest of the house, the dining room is calm and pared back with original floorboards and white walls. It is also positioned conveniently next to the kitchen, and light streams through the French doors connecting these two rooms to bathe the dining area in a lovely glow. The most wonderful space for a cheeseboard and wine? We think so.
Fox Lane, London BR2
The main joy of this dining room is the floor-to-ceiling doors, which provide views out onto the garden and blur the boundaries between in and out. You get to feast in the cosy confines of the dining area, while feeling like you’re simultaneously in the verdant garden. One of four houses in the village of Keston near Bromley, the two-floor house was designed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by architect Roy Hickman and retains much of its original mid-century charm, with exposed brick walls, white-painted brick walls and a natural palette.
Goswell Road, London EC1
Open-plan living spaces, just like the one in this Clerkenwell apartment, call for entertaining. Sitting in its middle is the dining area, which continues the industrial aesthetic that features throughout the rest of the home. See the concrete floors and ceilings and visible metal cabling. The dining table is well-positioned next to the minimal white kitchen, which wraps around it with two runs of Corian-topped units. Light pours into the space through floor-to-ceiling windows, which slide open onto a generous balcony. One to watch the sun fall with a festive cocktail in hand perhaps.
Swan Mead, Tower Bridge Road, London SE1
The open-plan kitchen and dining area sits on the second level of this three-storey former tannery near Bermondsey Street, extending across the entire front of the building and totalling 11-metres in length. It is just the spot for convivial gatherings, with four windows bathing the space in light. Like the rest of the space, the dining area is all white walls and wooden floors. The building was reconfigured by designer John Pawson in the 1990s to serve as the home, gallery and studio space for an artist, resulting in it being incredibly flexible. Oh, and the dining table is another John Pawson special, designed especially for the space.
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