Dining rooms are disappearing from new floor plans
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Dining rooms are disappearing from new home designs.
Why it matters: What was once a nice-to-have feature is now getting cut as builders and buyers look to save money.
State of play: Nearly 80% of designers working on new home communities said dining rooms became less important over the past year, according to research shared with Axios.
- "Formal dining rooms have almost been eliminated from our design vocabulary," said Kelly A. Scibona of Stanley Martin Homes in the report by John Burns Research and Consulting and Pro Builder magazine.
They're being replaced with flex rooms that serve multiple roles, like an office or bedroom.
- Kitchens might also gain a bit more space or a bigger island to make everyday meals easier, says Maegan Sherlock of John Burns' New Home Trends Institute.
Between the lines: Home designs are shrinking due to higher building costs, including for labor and materials, while still-high mortgage rates squeeze buyer budgets.
- A median-priced new home ($459,826) is out of reach for roughly 75% of U.S. households, per a February analysis from the National Association of Home Builders.
- Builders have warned that tariffs could further raise costs and hammer affordability.
The big picture: "Designers are trying to figure out how to fit the same amount of function into a smaller footprint," Sherlock tells Axios.
- That's been the case for years, though homes briefly grew larger during the pandemic.
Plus, many shoppers are "thinking really practically" and are more likely to put storage solutions and ample counter space at the top of their wishlists, Sherlock says.
- "Consumers are just so affordability-minded that I don't think they have time to think about extras or the ideal of a dream home. The home itself is the dream."
Reality check: Dining rooms might stick around in some regions, like the Southeast, where buyers "still value formal dining where it fits," said Brian D. Miller of architecture firm Danielian Associates in the report.
What's next: It's not just dining rooms getting cut from floor plans.
- Other less common nice-to-haves like workshops, prep kitchens and fitness rooms are also on the chopping block, the report found.
