Do you have a dining table?

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shelleypiper@reddit

Your second question should be:

For those who do have a dining table, how often do you use it vs how often you sit on the sofa in front of the TV?

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coffeewalnut08@reddit

I use it daily for lunch and dinner. I don’t like eating on the sofa most days, because I don’t wan to get stains and crumbs in the living room.

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tomtink1@reddit

Used to hardly ever use it unless we were having a date night or had people over. Then our daughter got old enough to eat and we use it all the time for every meal now.

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We eat every meal at the dining table. I recognise having one is a luxury of space, but as we have that space, I think it’s really important to use it. Family meals are a no phone zone where we sit together and talk.

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Inevitable_Muscle_48@reddit

We have two dining tables (one in the kitchen and one in the ‘fancy dining room’) yet still prefer to eat dinner in front of the tv. It used to be a luxury and then I became an adult and realised I could do it whenever I wanted.

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cnbcwatcher@reddit

Same. Eating at the table feels too formal for me sometimes

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coffeewalnut08@reddit

Formal? The table was designed for dining

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Odd_Fox_1944@reddit

No, you jave a kitchen table and a dining table. You can eat at both, but the name derives from the room they're located

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tomtink1@reddit

I have called our dining table a breakfast table before now and then my 2 year old was highly confused when I said it wasn't called a lunch table.

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Inevitable_Muscle_48@reddit

Semantics, my family calls it a dining table because it’s cut off from the kitchen. I can call it whatever I want, thus I have two dining tables.

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Snap-Crackle-Pot@reddit

Maxie have you seen my keys?

They’re on the dining table

Which one?

The kitchen dining table

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BereftOfCare@reddit

Save time and rename one the kitchen table.

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Inevitable_Muscle_48@reddit

No, like a normal person we’d go; ‘Have you seen my keys?’ ‘They’re on the dining table.’ ‘Which one?’ ‘The kitchen.’

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Snap-Crackle-Pot@reddit

At least George Foreman allowed his sons to be known by their nicknames

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5bottlesofshampoo@reddit

It's called a dining table because it's where you dine, the dining room is also named for the same reason.. the table isn't named after the room.

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harrietmjones@reddit

Same.

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TheBlonde1_2@reddit

Also same. The ‘fancy’ dining room gets used for special meals/high days and holidays, I eat a casual meal at the kitchen table sometimes, but the majority of the time it’s in pj’s on the sofa.

I like that we keep the dining room for ‘best’, it makes it more special when we do use it.

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Lozzy1256@reddit

Our 'fancy' dining room is now the craft and Lego room, and the dining table is covered in paint, beads, Lego bricks, who knows what else. It's a much more fun room now than when we kept it for best!

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TheBlonde1_2@reddit

Ours is also the painting and sewing room when it’s not being fancy and kept for best!

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DungeonCrawler-Donut@reddit

Same.

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YchYFi@reddit

Same here. We barely use the one in the kitchen.

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Inevitable_Muscle_48@reddit

It’s become a holder for post and general shite now.

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coffeewalnut08@reddit

Yes, I have a dining table and always did wherever I’ve lived.

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ot1smile@reddit

Yes, a nice big one we could fit 10 around which in practice means that the kids homework or the wife’s paperwork can be pushed to one end while we eat. Only ever eat takeaways off the coffee table in the living room and even then not every time. We like eating dinner sat at the table rather than hunched over on the sofa and it’s the one time of day we’re all together and can catch up on our day and any plans for the next.

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Tall-Ad4941@reddit

Growing up, I never once ate at a table. Always on the floor or sofa.

So when I had my own family and house, I made a point of getting a proper dining table for meals. Much prefer it.

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theyluvastrisk@reddit

Yes, ours in the living room so we can watch the telly whilst we eat.

Although, I don't think I've ever met a Brit with a seperate room just for the dining table

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_debowsky@reddit

For what it counts I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t have one 🤷

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Leifang666@reddit

I have a dining table but mostly eat at my computer.

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MolassesZestyclose96@reddit

I believe they call that eating ‘al desko’

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SmutReader87@reddit

No we don't have room for one sadly, however we have a camping table which we use instead. That way we can still eat at a table and it can be folded and put away when not in use.

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Spuddiewoo@reddit

I live with my husband and our house is too small for a table so we eat on the sofa. I would love the space for a table!

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BigTip9650@reddit

It came with the car

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MaxGoldfinch25@reddit

Yep we have a dining room and a dining table, and my husband and I eat dinner at it every night. It’s a lovely time to chat together about the day over a meal.

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neon_spaceman@reddit

I do have a dining table, but - if I'm being honest - despite best intentions, we really only use it for date nights/big occasions and mostly we just eat in front of the TV.

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No-Daikon3645@reddit

I have a dining table. When the kids were little, we ate round it every night. It meant we could catch up about our day, and the girls learned good table manners and etiquette.

I tend to eat on a soda now, but when the girls are home, we still all eat at the table.

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xxinsidethefirexx@reddit

We didn’t have space for one in our old house. Been living in this one since 2022 and we’ve only just purchased one. It just wasn’t a priority - there were more things to get first.

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mancunian101@reddit

We have a dining table.

The kids eat breakfast at it every day, will eat lunch at it with us most weekends, and eat tea at it most days.

My wife and I normally eat tea on the sofa after the children have gone to bed. This is mainly due to my wife’s shifts at work and various after school clubs and stuff making it difficult for us all to be in to eat at the same time.

The only time I’ve not had a dining table was when I lived in my old flat which was a small dingy 1 bed flat in a converted terrace. There wasn’t space for one.

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PolgaraEsme@reddit

When the kids were at home we absolutely ate all meals at a table.
Now it’s just the 2 of us, dinner on our laps is the norm.
But if we have people round, or it’s an occasion or a special meal, we will use the table.

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Afraid-Priority-9700@reddit

We have a dining table. Growing up, we didn't have a separate dining room, but we ate at the kitchen table. I still love eating in the dining room, with the TV off, which my husband and I do for the vast majority of meals. It encourages you to be so much more present, to actually pay attention to your food, to have conversations about your day.

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Frosting141@reddit

When I was young my mum made sure me and my brother sat at a dining table to eat so we could learn table manners. Although that stopped a few years ago and now we eat on the sofa and watch TV. We do know how to eat at a table though lol

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Active-Strawberry-37@reddit

I eat all meal at a dining table, in a room without a TV and a strict “no phones at the table” rule even though I live alone.

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Scary-Dot3069@reddit

My coffee table is my dining table 😅, i live in a studio. However it does raise up/lift up into dining height soooo

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sgehig@reddit

We have a 1 year old, we have two dining tables, but currently eat at the kitchen island. Once she is out of her highchair we will probably use the kitchen table. We never eat at the TV.

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SomeRannndomGuy@reddit

We eat 90% of our meals together at the dining table... I think it is a good habit to have.

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Narrow_Maximum7@reddit

Yes have a dining table and a breakfast bar. If yhe kids eat in front of the tv, they call it a picnic and it's a treat for movies or if they are eating at different times than parents

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IDFGMC@reddit

Yes it's in an open plan kitchen but doesn't get used very often. We're much more likely to sit and eat at the island, even with friends over.

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Prestigious-Fan3122@reddit

In many homes in the US, there is an area to the side of the kitchen called a "breakfast note," or something similar. You have a casual table and chairs there. They're often is also a "formal dining room" where you have a nicer table, chairs, and perhaps China cabinet. In my house, we have both.This was the same when I was growing up

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Still-Wonder-5580@reddit

Yes and I set a place for myself and my cat. Sometimes he wears a tie

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AuroraDF@reddit

I grew up with a dining table in our (huge) kitchen. I don't have one now and I haven't had one in lots of my homes because there wasn't space. But I'm retiring to a flat I own in Scotland and I have one there because the living room is large.

Strictly speaking I do have one in my current flat. It can hold 4 when set up and I put it up when my parents visit. The rest of the time it's folded in half and I use the half circle as a desk.

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Flapparachi@reddit

I have an Italian father and am a farmer. We’ve never had a ‘dining room’ but there has always been a table in the kitchen, and it’s the heart of the house. Even when I lived in a tiny house on my own, I had one of the little IKEA fold-aways in the corner of my living room, and ate my meals at it daily. It also doubled up as a space for using my laptop etc.

Nowadays, it’s me and my husband + Papa Bear when he visits, and we eat breakfast and dinner at the kitchen table every day. The odd time we have a takeaway, we ‘treat’ ourselves by having it on the sofa with a good film.

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Radnorr@reddit

We have a dining table. Have had one since living in a house but when we lived in a tiny flat we only had a little kitchen table. We didn’t use it regularly before but now we use it all the time since getting a fancy new sofa. I much prefer having a designated dining table to eating on the sofa. (I live with my partner and 10 year old)

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Newmum288@reddit

We don’t have the space for one. I put a tablecloth on the floor and we all sit around that. I got a booster seat rather than high chair for my daughter so she is sitting at the same height as us. It suits us fine and we still eat together like we would at a table, but obviously not quite as comfy sitting on tiles compared to a dining chair!

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AccomplishedTip8586@reddit

I live this!

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CityBanker57@reddit

I’m not allowed to eat in front of the TV. Neither are the kids or grandkids.

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West-Cabinet-2169@reddit

We have a dining table. And we use it. It's a bit of a dumping ground for me, but we clear space on it most evenings to eat. Sometimes I have warm dishes from the oven, so cork placemats are used. There is a salt and pepper set (tall silver and glass ones with rock salt and peppercorns to grind) and a little holder with paper serviettes/napkins for general use when we eat. Sometimes we sit with my laptop on the table and watch an episode while we eat at the table.

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D1789@reddit

We have a dining table in the dining room and the 4 us is have tea at the table together most evenings.

The 2 kids have breakfast at the table in the morning too.

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YchYFi@reddit

I have one but my sister who had children doesn't, her place has no room for one.

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Norman_debris@reddit

This is key. Where houses/flats don't have dining tables it's simply a matter of space.

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crankyandhangry@reddit

I don't think the OP was making a moral judgement about the lack of dining tables, only saying it's quite shocking for other Europeans. The UK has some of the smallest-sized homes in Europe, and it is kind of awful that we build homes that aren't even big enough to have a basic necessity like a dedicated eating space.

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icanhearsheeps@reddit

Same I would love a dining table and dream of a dining room but my house doesn't have one and unless I extend there isn't room to create one so tea on the sofa it is. Although in the summer we eat at the outside table in the garden.

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YchYFi@reddit

Yeah she rents so she has no say in that matter really. Its a two bed house.

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crankgirl@reddit

Same. Dining table in kitchen, no tv in that room. We eat there most nights and some mornings and afternoons. We also play games around the table. We very rarely eat in front of the tv but if we do it’s an event eg movie night or eurovision.

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SoggyWotsits@reddit

That’s nice to hear, which might sound strange. It’s how children learn good table manners!

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Economy-Worldliness1@reddit

No

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tyr3lla@reddit

We have a dining table but we don't use it, we eat exclusively at the kitchen table.

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angrytapes@reddit

Had one. Barely used it. Just became a thing that things were piled up on.

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rain_fall_rose@reddit

We have two dining tables, one big enough for the older child, me and my husband, and a small one with small chairs for the two younger children. Every meal is eaten at the table, including snacks. Drinks are drunk at the table too and left on the table. The younger children's table doubles up as a crafting, messy play, table.

We chose a separate table for them as they eat much earlier than the rest of us and more frequently, the table is a much safer height for them as are the chairs, and we felt ot was important for them to access their own table as and when they needed. They also set it themselves, and clean up after themselves (with varying degrees of success haha)

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PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

I don't have a dining table as I don't have the space, I think when I buy a new flat I'll look to get a kitchen with enough space for a kitchen table

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rudismum@reddit

I probably could have space in our little house but I'd rather have more storage furniture and also have a big cat climbing tree thing.

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anabsentfriend@reddit

I'm on my third property and finally have the space for a dining table in the kitchen. It's fabulous. I still eat my dinner on the sofa though, but at least I have a choice now and can have friends over to eat like civilised people.

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AdPuzzleheaded4331@reddit

yeah we do this just me and hubby on our laps, family round , special occasion then at the table.

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sparklybeast@reddit

Yes, same story here. Our galley kitchen isn’t big enough and we only have a smallish living room. I would love one though.

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New_Pop_8911@reddit

I had a little fold down table when I had a galley kitchen, couldn't eat in there in winter though as there was no heating and I didn't want frostbite lol

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Lego-hearts@reddit

I’m so excited to have space to finally have a dining table. After so long eating on my lap it seems so civilised!

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Aprilia850MM@reddit

It depends on the size and layout of the home.

I have a dining table (although I can't remember the last time I sat down to eat a meal at it).

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gbraide@reddit

My parents didn't have one when I was growing up although my grandparents did. I feel I have pretty good table manners. I will say though that we always ate together, something I was surprised by when hanging out with my friends.

Our kids have grown up with a table and I don't think they have learnt any manners most days that we eat together!

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wildlovelyworld@reddit

???? It's really normal to have a dining table. Almost everyone has one. Unless you have a super small terrace house where one simply won't fit.

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Wild-Routine879@reddit

i have a (small) kitchen table.

the uk is small and highly developed. homes are often small. it's not that uncommon for a rental to actually not have space for a dining table. it's not some cultural choice, it's being stuck working with what you've got.

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queen-bathsheba@reddit

Yes and use it every day

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ScarlettSlippers@reddit

We have an open living/dining space. When we were just a couple, we would have "posh" meals at the table, but mostly we would eat on the sofas. When we decided to have children, we said that we would want the TV off and sit at the table for dinner, and we've stuck to that. Our oldest is nearly 5.

We will have pizza and a movie on the sofa occasionally, but I do think that it teaches them proper table manners, eating well and sitting nicely without distractions. Having that time to talk about our respective days and what we want to do that evening or over the weekend makes it core family bonding time, and I love it ❤️

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anotherangryperson@reddit

I live alone in a flat. I have a dining table and a breakfast bar but I rarely eat anywhere other than the dining table. I also rarely watch television and eat at the same time. I have standards!

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One-Bumblebee6944@reddit

My parents and a number aunts /uncles all have islands now in the kitchen with high chairs

Space that would have been used for a formal table in the kitchen diner now has a small sofa and tv on the wall so its an extra space to relax

Its the way I would go now😊

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port956@reddit

This cliché is repeated by the same self-loathing Brits who insist the national dish is chicken tikka masala. Homes in the UK can be small, but all have space for a dining table.

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Silver-Climate7885@reddit

I can assure you, I do not have space for a dining room table. Unless it was cutting into my already very small living room. My home is that small I can't even have my fridge freezer in the kitchen, it's in the cupboard under the stairs, which also means I'm limited on sofa size, because I need regular access to the cupboard to access the fridge without having to move the sofa every time.

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port956@reddit

Do you mind me asking, is that a new home build?

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Silver-Climate7885@reddit

No, it's not. Built about 1915, give or take on either side. Some people have built extension kitchens to make their living area bigger or space for a dining area, but this home hasn't and it leaves no yard area

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ReplicatedSun@reddit

We have two, one in the kitchen and one in the dining room. Kitchen one gets used a lot more.

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Wraithei@reddit

Yes, we have a dining room and table, however it is instead used to house 2 laptops & printers until such time that guests are coming for dinner... I imagine most households generally use a dining table primarily as a work space 😂

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Billy_McMedic@reddit

Aye we do, have a dedicated room for it and all right next to the living room, see’s use as a secondary office area for my dad when he’s doing family related stuff on his laptop separate from his wfh space in the conservatory.

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daydreambeliever04@reddit

We have a dining table, but we eat sat on the settee

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Holiday-Poet-406@reddit

Yup my dinning table is my home office and has been since being sent home in COVID19, since then 75% of our office space has been sold off so even if I want to more than 1 day a week in the office is not possible.

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Ill-Caterpillar6681@reddit

We have a separate dining room with a lovely big table…we use it when we have visitors and on Christmas day. Most nights we’re eating in the living room on our laps in front of the TV

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Silver-Climate7885@reddit

No, because I don't have the room. I have a very small living room and an even smaller kitchen. Unfortunately my whole house consists of 5 rooms. Just a little two up, two down terraced house. I'd love to have a dining room table, because I could host dinners for my friends

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Signal_Quantity_7029@reddit

Why the fuck would I want a dining table

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Federal-Chain1580@reddit

Most Brits have a dining table, often in its very own room. If the kitchen is large enough, they will also have a kitchen table. All meals, snacks, and even the odd coffee or beer, with a guest, are taken at the table. However, anything goes on Friday/Saturday evening, when they have dinner in front of the TV, on the sofa (or settee as we say) and watch whatever movie, or drama is the current trend. We call it “slobbing out”. (If confused, Google - Waynetta Slob) I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house without a dining table of some sort, and I’m in my 70’s. Obviously small flats (apartments) may not have space, so perhaps that’s what’s meant here.

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jodorthedwarf@reddit

My family was always really strict about eating dinner at the dining room table, growing up but that rule ended when me and my brother became adults. We still live with our parents but the dining table is generally only used on special occasions for meal (birthdays, Christmas, the rare occasion we all have a day off at the same time with no other plans).

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LynnieD@reddit

I think people have them if they have the room ??

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never_doing_that@reddit

I live with my wife and we dont have a dining table because we have nowhere currently to put one. We have a small extension off our kitchen but its where my desk is set up to work from home (hers is in the spare bedroom). We are hoping to move house next year to a bigger house and at that point, we will establish somewhere to put a dining table.

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reasonable-frog-361@reddit

I came from a tv dinner family (although we had a dining room) and married a strict round the table dinner family. I adopted his way and will never go back. Apart from takeaways, something about that needs to be on the sofa

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Sxn747Strangers@reddit

We have a dining table but it hasn’t been eaten at for some time as it has been used as an office for a while, and a tray in front of the TV is easier at the moment anyway.

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icebox_Lew@reddit

We have one, I built it myself from lumber and "farmhouse dining table" plans I bought online. I also bought plans for the chairs I promised the wife I'd build but that was 4 years ago now and she's stopped asking!

My Daughter, my Dad and I painted it in time for Christmas dinner (painted the base, stained and sealed the top) and it's got lovely sentimental value. The wife says it's her favorite piece of furniture in the house, I'm really proud of it.

We eat at it most evenings, sometimes we eat on the sofa if we're having pizza or something. Breakfast is eaten there too, as the kitchen table is basically an extension of the (lack of) counter space.

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lemon_protein_bar@reddit

I think a lot of flat shares don’t have dining tables because landlords don’t like to have a living room or a normal sized kitchen

Is that being said, never have I ever been inside a family home in the UK that didn’t have a dining table

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faithandbooks@reddit

It depends. I live by myself so don't usually bother eating at the dining table when it's just me. But as soon as there's someone else around, I'll eat at the dining room table. It feels more sociable then in front of a telly.

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Mrs_B-@reddit

Always had one of some kind. Even in my small flat pre-husband I had a little fold out thing.

We also eat on laps, but not if it's messy food.

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GGThumbs@reddit

Got one, eat on the sofa. My kids are well behaved with good table manners, roasts and special meals will always be at the table, everything else there is no expectations to do so and no pressure. My son has ARFID and we removed any barriers for him to engage with food, but the real reason is we enjoy food together in the living room and have a joke and a laugh, they pull out a foldable picnic rug. If shit spills so be it we have hard floors downstairs to be child safe and let them do fun shit without many issues.

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LeggyBeane@reddit

We have one and it’s now used every day. When it was just me and my husband, we rarely ate at it and preferred the sofa however we now have a little boy so made a point to have our meals with him at a proper table. We even have him observe us setting it etc.

That being said, we often have a little food with him at the table on a Friday and often enjoy a pizza on the sofa when he’s gone to bed.

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ThenBlowUpTheWolves@reddit

Some families eat at the sofa instead of at a dining table, but I think mostly it's that a dining table is unusual for younger people. A lot of us lived in houseshares where we didn't particularly know or like our housemates, so you wouldn't eat at the table on your own because that seems weirdly formal, instead you'd eat in your room or on the sofa and then that often then carries on into the early days of being a couple, or if you live in an unfurnished property, you may not even own a dining table. Even in my first marriage, we had a dining table for board games but we ate at our desks playing video games or watching movies.

When you have kids, I think it depends hugely on what your parents did. I insist on dinner at the table with my kids because my parents had dinner at the table and it's deeply engrained in me that families should eat at the table unless it's a movie night (even than, that was my step-mum's influence, my mum insisted we always sit at the table). My husband isn't bothered, his family dining table was covered in hoarded junk.

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Specialist_Use_7692@reddit

Despite having more than enough space in the kitchen, we don't have a dining table. The main reason for this is that when we did it just became a dumping ground for everything no one could be bothered to put away!

Sadly we do eat in front of the TV (though always as a family) as my partner has that thing where he gets irrationally irritated by the sound of chewing so he needs noise to cover it up

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Bazahazano@reddit

I have a fold up dining table that lives under the stairs. It only gets dug out on Christmas Day. Not enough space and an awkward layout means we can't keep it out all the time.

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caroline0409@reddit

I have a dining table that gets used on Christmas Day and Mother’s Day. I live alone and have an old person tray with a cushion underneath to eat dinner on.

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idlesilver@reddit

We do. During the day it is where I work, but we eat at it at least 9 times a week (evening meal every day, plus weekend breakfasts).

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BlackberryNice1270@reddit

I don't know of anyone who doesn't have a dining table. Northern working class,

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Aggravating-Desk4004@reddit

Lucky you. In London it's a luxury.

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intergalacticspy@reddit

Even in London there's normally a table or island in the kitchen.

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Aggravating-Desk4004@reddit

Not really. Depends on how much space you have. Larger properties, yes. Smaller properties, of which there are many in London, don't have space. I know a lot of people without a table to eat on.

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falcon_boa@reddit

I didn't have a dining table growing up. There just wasn't space in my mum's flat for one. We did have a folding table that we brought out on Christmas day and it took up the entire living room.

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IcyPilgrim@reddit

We have a dining table. It’s used for my wife’s work computer setup when she works from home. Normally we eat from lap trays in front of the tv

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Gorpheus-@reddit

I have lived in a place that didn't have a dining table once. It was pretty bad. Hated it.

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lordrothermere@reddit

Dining room table here. We eat at it 99% of the time. It's where we sit and talk about the day with our boys. Telly would be a distraction, and we tend to dish up at the table as well, so wouldn't be as practical taking lots of hot cooking ware to the front room.

However, we may have a takeout in front of the telly once in a while. Except fish and chips: for some unknown reason fish and chips still gets eaten at the dining room table.

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daringfeline@reddit

We do, we eat there once a week, but once baby is weaning it will be more often.

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SemiFeralWomanChild@reddit

I don’t know anyone without a kitchen / dining table for eating.

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liltrex94@reddit

My mum has a whole dining room, with a dining table. Also a garden, with a garden table to eat from in summer. My sister and BIL have a large kitchen and a dining table that they and their children eat at for every meal.

I have a tiny table in my tiny open plan kitchen/sitting room with 2 chairs that I sometimes eat on if I have company. But mostly eat on the sofa, or straight from the kitchen counter because I'm feral. It is easier to just have my plate on the counter and stand there eating instead of taking the plate a few meters away, setting it down, eating then taking it a few meters to the sink. I might just start eating out of the sink.

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BeardyGeoffles@reddit

We have a dining table and all meals are eaten at the table with no TV.

Growing up, however, all meals except for birthdays and Christmas dinner (occasionally Easter dinner), would be sat on the sofa, with a dinner tray in front of the TV. That was normal to me and I continued that when I left home but once I had a table in my kitchen I started using it and now I have a dining room. Even if I’m eating by myself I will eat at the table now.

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sh1ts_and_g1ggles@reddit

My family and i live in a tiny house and ate meals over a coffe table for a bit while we were looking for a small enough dining table. Couldn't wait to get one! I find eating on the sofa very uncomfortable. (i mean proper meals, not like a packet if crisps)

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Kind-Blackberry-6221@reddit

We have a dining table. It gets used for all meals and has done for at least 7 years or so. My husband dropped pizza on the cream carpet in our old house while eating on the sofa, and from that moment, eating in front of the TV was banned. Now have two young children and we eat all meals together, I'd be lost without it. TV is also not on during meals and phones aren't allowed at the table during dinner.

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Sietruc@reddit

Tbh I think the lesson to be learnt there is never get a cream carpet

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Xistential0ne@reddit

I’m in California. My wife did this with lasagna in the living room, years ago. I immediately established a no eat zone for the entire house. AND I was tyrannical about it. I would nail the kids if I found food in their rooms. We were only allowed to eat in the dining room, the kitchen and on our patio outside the kitchen.
Here we are 10 to 15 years later the children are grown and out. When they come home, they still refer to the living room as the lasagna room just to get my goat.

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Birdy8588@reddit

Erm Nailing someone is a bit different in the UK. Might want to be careful who you say that too else you might have CPS at your door!

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Xistential0ne@reddit

So I’ve been told, just today. Anyway, fuck you cunt. (Definitely can’t say that here . . . Except to our current president and the ICEholes)

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secretvictorian@reddit

Nail means something.....different in the UK!

But bravo! Dining at the table is king

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limakilo87@reddit

The question is, when is your husband allowed out of the dog house?

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Kind-Blackberry-6221@reddit

I still remind him about it now, but we've moved house since and no longer have cream carpets, so he's forgiven 😂

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RadicalTherapy@reddit

We have a small kitchen but a table just big enough for three to sit round- breakfast and dinner we eat together, talk about our days, and then play card games or something with little one after dinner. My partner thinks it’s wild but I had mandated 30 minute family dinner at the table time growing up, and not in my kids dizziest daydreams will we eat in front of the tv.

Kids need it to learn conversation,manners, patience- I also feel like it’s the only time I actually get to sit and talk to them!

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Walton_paul@reddit

We have a dining table and our 5 year old grandchildren loves nothing more than eating at the table

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SaxonChemist@reddit

We have a dining table and use it. 40F & 51M, just in case this is a generational thing

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Sid_Flange@reddit

Yes. In our previous house we always ate dinner at it (couple M&M no kids). When we were doing major disruptive building work we started eating on the sofa watching TV. My husband is reluctant to go back to the table now. I hate it.

I do all the cooking (that’s ok I enjoy it) but hate sitting on the sofa eating dinner with the TV on. It’s just common.

We have an unused dining table.

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OkFinding8093@reddit

So I have living room and kitchen/diner and no table at moment. No family close and rarely have people round & when I do it's informal. Table i had was dumping ground for stuff so I got rid & not seen point in getting one since.

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Birdy8588@reddit

Yes but tbh it's used as a junk table most of the time and only gets sorted out for Christmas!

So more of an occasional table? Occasionally it's a table and occasionally it's storage 😁

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namtabmai@reddit

A lot of places I lived didn't have a dining room, nor enough space in the kitchen for a dining table big enough for a family of 4.

If you are just a couple you can sometimes squeeze a table/folding table in somewhere.

Having free space for fixed dining table can be a bit of luxury.

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Otherwise_Cut_8542@reddit

I have a kitchen, open to the living room which is also my office as I have the smallest 2 seat sofa ikea sells with a desk set against the end. The tv is in front of the patio door opposite and that is all my living space. Bedroom has mine and kids bed. If I wanted a dining table I would have to have one that fitted over the bath 😂

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Aggravating-Desk4004@reddit

This is it. If you have a property big enough for a dining table you're doing ok.

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Adept-Panic-7742@reddit

Congratulations, you have a dining table which can seat 8! You live in Middlesbrough

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father-spodokomodo@reddit

i live in middlesbrough and don't have a dining table.

i need to rethink my life.

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TheAmazingSealo@reddit

Is Middlesbrough bad? How do you find it? I live in Swindon and it's not got a lot going for it, everyone always slates it, but I've lived here all my life and I quite like it here. I'm definitely thankful for the quality of life I am able to live, even if there's not a lot to do or be proud of in my town.

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father-spodokomodo@reddit

it's not actually that bad! i love living in boro, but it certainly doesn't have a great reputation.

there's a lot of poverty and consequently it has some of the highest crime rates in england and wales, but this is the uk so it's still a safe place to live.

on the plus side, house prices are low so you can buy a massive house with a dining table that seats eight, for the cost of a poxy one-room flat in the 'nicer' parts of the country.

i'm poor though so i live in a poxy one-room flat.

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Rubytitania@reddit

We have a dining table in the front room that mostly gets used for board games, jigsaws etc. Christmas dinner is pretty much the only meal that gets eaten in there. We have a smaller table in the kitchen where my son eats all his meals, but to be honest we tend to eat on the sofa most of the time.

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daxamiteuk@reddit

Parents have a dining table at their house.

I have a dining table in my flat. Debated so much whether to get small table or full length because of space issues, went with full length. V glad because on rare occasions I’ve had my whole family over and we just about fit around it; also I play a lot of board games with massive amount of components which take up space so it’s been very handy’

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imfinewithastraw@reddit

If you have space you have a dining table. Whether it’s used daily is personal choice but it’s not a uk thing not to have one, we all have one if we can

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heisenbergpuffer@reddit

We don't have one due to lack of space. My parents have one in their dining room, however it only gets used on special occasions. Otherwise they eat on their lap like the rest of us.

Me, if I was single, I'd be happy eating standing up over the kitchen counter! I do it occasionally when her indoors is outdoors.

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New-account-01@reddit

Couldn't imagine sitting on the sofa eating off your lap and watching TV! Even when eating alone I still use a table. Having family meals and talking to each other without staring at devices or TVs is an important part of our day.

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AdThat328@reddit

We have one, it gets used for guests otherwise we sit on the sofa/floor

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holidaymachine@reddit

We have an 8 seater dining table in the kitchen. We have put a dining bench with sheepskin and cushions at one end and soft dining chairs for the other 4 seats, as the teens prefer to use it to socialise when friends come over. No idea why, the living room is great, and big but they all gravitate to the kitchen.

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Upbeat_Ice1921@reddit

Yes, and four associated dining chairs too.

It kind of functions as a place we eat off, a place we throw out coats and a place where my missus does her work.

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BumblebeeNo6356@reddit

Most families have a dining table in the UK

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TimeNew2108@reddit

We eat at the table when I am on earlies or off work God knows what they do when I'm on lates

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kateqpr96@reddit

Yes, I always eat at it with my son but when he’s at his dad’s house I do just have dinner in front of the sofa. Mostly because dinner on those days isn’t usually a proper meal

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indecisivewitch4@reddit

We have a dining room with a table , I love it , just had a new kitchen which involved altering the kitchen and separate dining room into one room it’s lovely!

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Cliffoakley@reddit

Yep, Northwest England and sitting at the dining table in about 10 minutes for my evening meal.

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Fairladycindy@reddit

I have a dining room table. ATM it has a framed painting that a friend gave us 2 weeks ago. We are still working out where to hang it. It also has my sewing machine on it as I am making a soft toy. So also has a collection of sewing accessories in 2 little bags. It also has a weather station which normally lives on the kitchen windowsill. Oh and a fruit bowl on an oak tray. Our flat surface is such a temptation.

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Sparkle_croissant@reddit

Table in the kitchen. All meals and snacks are eaten there (or in the garden). We don’t eat on the sofa.

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DinkyPrincess@reddit

Not every house has room for one

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Conscious_Leading_52@reddit

I will sometimes have breakfast on the sofa if I'm up early and alone. I absolutely hate having dinner on the sofa, I can't use a knife and fork properly with a plate balanced on my lap! The table just feels nice. I take so much joy in setting a table for dinner, candles on it every night, having everyone there, good conversation, good food. It's the best part of the day

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Jjagger63@reddit

I dont have a dining table as i only have a living room and then a kitchen. Myself and my kids always ate with trays on our laps. My house prior to this one had a large living room and we had a dining table there and used it all the time, not just for dining but for homework, art and crafts, drinking copious amounts of tea.

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BagIll2355@reddit

I do but it’s my work desk I try to use it to eat but most of the time I’m on the sofa. Single no kids work from home and have no issue working from my front room rather than in a bedroom.

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BlueberryLeft4355@reddit

Not everybody is the Royle Family.

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Dutch_Slim@reddit

Yes, and we eat all meals there.

I can remember going to a school friend’s house when I was about 8 and they didn’t have a dining table. I was absolutely scandalised at the realisation they used dinner trays on the soft every night!!

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JennyW93@reddit

Do I have a dining table? Yes.

Do I sit on the sofa and eat dinner in front of the tv anyway? Yes.

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GraceEllis19@reddit

I live alone and I have a small dining table that I never use, I eat from a tray on my lap as I watch TV. When I go to my bf’s house we sit at his table to eat mostly (unless it’s fast food) so we can talk. If I had kids I’d like to think I’d use the dining table for most meals.

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Oopsie_Daisy_Life@reddit

When I still lived at home, we always ate at the table except for the odd occasion.

Now that I live alone and work from home, my dining table is used as a desk and I very rarely eat at it.

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wtf_idk_maybecheese@reddit

A lot of houses don't have a dining room, some don't have room in the kitchen for a table either. It all depends on how wealthy you are, when your property was built and how big it is

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Complete_Aerie_6908@reddit

My dining table is in a large family room. My office is in the dining room. Not ideal bc I host large family gatherings, but people just sit anywhere they want to eat.

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Ninetoeho@reddit

I’ve got a lovely dining table but we have to go to the storage unit to eat

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Witty_Ad_2098@reddit

It's often an economic thing. If you can afford housing large enough for a dining table then usually you would have one. A lot of poor families live in small homes that don't have any space for a dining table. It's not uncommon to eat off of trays on the sofa.

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KernowKermit@reddit

yes, in an open plan kitchen and we eat most meals there. also have one in the garden for outdoor dining.

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nimbusgb@reddit

We have a table. Seats 8 but with extensions folded out we have had 16 around the Christmas meal.

Art of the attraction ofjour home was a huge kitchen/diner/day room.with a stunning view.

A lot of UK homes are simply too small for a table to be in place.permanently

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UnderstandingSmall66@reddit

Growing up we always had a dining table and a breakfast table. We ate most meals at the breakfast table in the kitchen but would occasionally eat at the dining table if we felt fancy. If we had guests over then we ate at the dining table. Now, I don’t have room for a dining room in my house so we just have a breakfast table that is large enough to accommodate guests.

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zombiezmaj@reddit

A lot of houses are meant to be dining room combined with living room but a lot of people prefer to prioritise the living room aspect

However I did grow up with dining room table and until late teens we ate all our meals there

I've just bought a house and have a 4 chair table in kitchen and a 6 chair table in conservatory. My house also doesn't have a defined dining room of its own.

We eat all our meals at one of the tables

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K1mTy3@reddit

My parents rarely use their dining table - it's more of a special occasions thing when it comes out. It's a space thing in their house though, it occupies most of the living room. Usually they have plates on their laps whilst watching tv from the sofa.

We do have a dining table, and a large kitchen diner where it's set up. We (myself, husband and 2 daughters) eat there every meal time - it also gets used for arts & crafts at other times, but this gets cleared up when food is nearly ready. The kids are not meant to eat in the living room - we got new sofa a couple of years ago & wanted to prevent food spillages on it. That doesn't stop them running off in there with snacks though!

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audigex@reddit

We have a dining table

… we put things on it before sitting on the sofa to eat while watching TV

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StonedMason85@reddit

My dining table is chock full of my youngest child’s drawings and other creations. It gets cleared a couple of times a year when we have guests round for tea, or for Christmas.

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HandOne4272@reddit

Everyone I’ve ever known in UK has had a dining table.

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SeeSore@reddit

Agree with this. Even if it’s just squeezed into a corner or in the kitchen.

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batgirlsmum@reddit

We have a dining table, but we also have a dining room. No tv in there, so when the kids were kids they wouldn’t be distracted by it and not eat. We tend to eat dinner there, but I tend to eat breakfast and lunch sat in my armchair; soup and knife and fork dinners are easier to eat at the table. Also, sat at the table I don’t tend to drip down my front as much as.

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Cynrae@reddit

I don't have one myself as I don't have the space. My parents had one, though it was only ever used at Christmas - the rest of the time it was just a table we put random stuff on that we couldn't find a place for. We ate with plates on our laps on the sofa (or in our bedrooms as teens).

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ConsciousNectarine9@reddit

We dont have one (family of 5.. 2 adults and 2 children) as we have nowhere to put one. In our last home we did have one as we had a huge kitchen.

We all either sit on the sofa/chairs or on the floor to eat.

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redsthecolour@reddit

When the kids were growing up we always had a dining table and dinner was had there by everyone and we would chat and talk about the day etc. Now they're grown we don't have one, and we don't have space for one either. We do have a counter in the kitchen with chairs so it works!

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Harrybarcelona@reddit

We've always had a dining table, as has every other home I've ever visited in the UK🤷

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Cynrae@reddit

I don't have one myself as I don't have the space. My parents had one, though it was only ever used at Christmas - the rest of the time it was just a table we put random stuff on that we couldn't find a place for.

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Captainwozzles24@reddit

We have a dining table but me and my partner mostly eat in front of the TV. If we have guests or anything we eat at the table.

When my little boy is older (currently just breastfeeding) we will be eating all meals at the table

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thechrisare@reddit

I have a big dining table. It’s where the unfolded laundry mountain and unopened mail live.

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yorkshiredragon@reddit

I don't have a dining table, as my house has no room for it but I dream of having a lovely oak one one day!

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fothergillfuckup@reddit

Of course we have a dining table! Where else would we keep our random crap?

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sir_thrillho@reddit

At my house, we have one but don't use it except for special occasions (Xmas etc). At my parents' house it's used for most but not all meals.

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RepresentativeDry162@reddit

Have never eaten at a dining table except big family special occasions like Christmas

Now housing also too small to fit for most familiea

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orlanthi@reddit

I do have adinign table, up in the loft.but we eat meals at the kitchen table.

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shuggy895@reddit

We do and we use it for lunch and dinner. We've only sat on the sofa and eaten our dinner there once and that's because one of us was not well.

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New_Pop_8911@reddit

We eat at the dining table pretty much every evening, weekends breakfast too. If I'm home I eat lunch at the table alone too lol. My daughters boyfriends family never eat together, let alone at the table, so he found it a bit weird when he first started coming round. Quite often play a card game or do a crossword when we've finished eating, my kids are 20 & 21 and are allowed to eat wherever they want, it's just nice to have a part of the day where we all catch up and see how our days were.

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Chinook2000@reddit

UK born and bred. Never eat in front of tv. Use dining table 25% of the time and Kitchen "breakfast" bar 75% of the time.

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HatOfFlavour@reddit

As kids we could all just squeeze around the kitchen table and eat there, when my sister and I reached teenaged years we didn't fit so we went to eating on trays in the lounge with the TV on. A few years later we got enough money to build a conservatory that was big enough for a large table, since then we eat out there for dinner.

For us clustering around a table was a matter of space.

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Boggyprostate@reddit

No, on our laps with a tray 😁

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melanie110@reddit

Meal times are mandatory at the table, unless we have a takeaway (rarely) and we will on sit on the floor and have a carpet picnic

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FloydEGag@reddit

We do now, didn’t in our last place as it was too small. My mum has a massive one in a proper dining room but then her house is a lot bigger!!

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giantthanks@reddit

Always have used a dining table. Grew up with one in both the kitchen and a dining room for guests. All my adult life has simply been a dining table off the kitchen rather than a proper dining room, even at Christmas. It's unthinkable to not eat at the table even though we don't do the American service (people fill their plates from centrally placed bowls), we still need access to salt, pepper, napkins, sauce, butter, water, and all the stuff you require on a table. It's simpler, easier, safer and a better experience imo. It also trained my children to deal with restaurants properly from an early age.

I watch Come Dine With Me and Dinner Dates etc on TV. And everyone has a dining table set up. I don't know anyone who doesn't have a dining table! It seems an odd thing to suggest otherwise.

Perhaps it's a class thing, a cultural thing, or a regional thing?

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CalmClient7@reddit

Yes. I'm clumsy and can't eat very well from my lap. No matter how small a room or place I've been in I've managed to fit one and am very happy about this.

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Hyperdon@reddit

We have a dining room table but mostly eat in front of the TV

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Old_Adagio_5278@reddit

Large table in kitchen, no TV. We eat there 99.9% of the time. Always have even with the kids

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BeanOnAJourney@reddit

Yes, one in the dining room and one in the conservatory, we pick and choose which one to sit at for meals depending on the weather and the light. I can't stand eating while sitting on the settee and will only do so if it's a quick snack that doesn't require a plate or knife & fork.

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TheAmazingSealo@reddit

Yeah we have a dining table. Nothing fancy, bench on either side, it's like a picnic table. Does the job, we all sit at it and eat food.

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jki-i@reddit

have a dining room which can seat 4 or 6 comfortably, it was used a lot to begin with

also have sort of breakfast room attached to kitchen with small table & 2 comfortable carver chairs which is used all the time. So much so can't drag people into larger rooms They even bring chairs through so we end with about 8 people in kitchen area & rest of house empty go figure Ok in good weather we can spread out to patio, garden 🍻 🥂

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StrangeKittehBoops@reddit

Yes, I have one, and my parents had one when I was growing up. My parents only used it for dinner on special occasions, it was mainly where we had breakfast and lunch, and where I did my homework.

I don't use my main dining table for eating at all anymore. There's only two of us now, and due to work, we don't share evening meals for 3 out of 4 weeks, except for weekends. It's mostly used as a desk and hobby area. I have a smaller kitchen table I use instead and folding tables in the lounge.

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soopertyke@reddit

When we moved to out three bed semi, our kids were 10, 7, and 4. Having more room we had a large dining table and until the kids became adults and flew the coop, every meal was eaten at the table. Setting the table, clearing the dishes away became new chores. We would sit and talk between mouthfuls about how the kids day had gone, they in turn asked us about ours. It was good for us as a family unit , a mutual knowledge and appreciation of each others life.

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Ambitious-Bat237@reddit

I don't have a dining table, even when I did, we never sat at it to eat. Growing up in the 70s/80s/90s, we did have one and used it regularly.

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MrsValentine@reddit

I have a dining table and it’s used for all meals. I have a pale fabric sofa (aka not compatible with splashes of spaghetti bolognese) and also I don’t have a TV in the living room where the sofa is.

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mr-dirtybassist@reddit

It's true. Usually posh people have dining tables

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PlentyOne@reddit

We have one, always have and had one at home growing up.

We had to ask permission to leave the table at the end of the meal.

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Great-Activity-5420@reddit

We eat at the kitchen table. We don't have a dining room. Same when I was a child. However when I moved out of my parents house the house was tiny and there was no room for a table.

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mearnsgeek@reddit

I've got a kitchen table that's used as one I guess.

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herefromthere@reddit

Yes, when I lived in a tiny flat, I still had a dining table, but I never ate at it because there was no room to get chairs to it, so it was folded down and took up some space but not too much. I have since moved to a small house, and it is in the living room now, with one leaf up. It serves as a desk most of the time, a casual dining space maybe twice a week, and we pull the table out, surround it with chairs, put a table cloth on and have nice meals with guests and napkins maybe three times a year.

It's a small house. If I pull the dining table out, it takes up most of the room that isn't the sofa.

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VideoDeadGamlng@reddit

A lot of UK homes are built to the absolute minimum size specs allowed, thus there's no room for one.

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ReluctantBlonde@reddit

We have one in the spare room, but it’s used as a work station for working from home. We eat in front of the telly. My parents and gran have dining rooms with dining tables that are used when everyone is there but if it’s just them they sit with a tray.

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Wild_Region_7853@reddit

Out of the 4 homes we’ve lived in as a couple this is the first where we’ve had space for a dining table. I’d say it’s a 50/50 split between using the dining table and the sofa for meals.

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Lollygagger105@reddit

I don’t have one as I don’t have room. I live alone and eat in front of the telly or standing at my kitchen side. I have a little fold down table if needed.

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onefishone@reddit

Never eat in front of the TV, much prefer at the table regardless of whether we're eating as a family or I'm on my own.

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pickletenny@reddit

I had one growing up but we never ate at it because my parents had piles of stuff on it! Don't have one now as they live in a new build without enough space for one. I've started associating dining tables with wealth because of this but know it isn't really the case

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arioandy@reddit

We always eat at a table

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DucksBac@reddit

I have a dining table and eat all meals at it. I do usually watch something while eating but I'm usually on my own

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JacenKas-Trek-Geek@reddit

We have a dining table, my parents and grandparents did. We ate all meals at them. We do sometimes eat on the sofa, but not all the time.

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Bad_Combination@reddit

I have a dining table, but it doubles as a dumping ground for paperwork, kids’ art projects, some Lego etc. I did used to eat on the sofa, but it has been a long time and I couldn’t imagine doing it now:

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HouseOfWyrd@reddit

I do.

It's just currently in the garage because we moved house and now aren't sure where to actually put it.

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N30NIX@reddit

We used to have a separate dining room but since moving, we have a big enough kitchen to have our dining table and chairs in.

We very very rarely eat in the living room.

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Styxand_stones@reddit

We very rarely eat in front of the TV, we have a dining table in the kitchen

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ClevelandWomble@reddit

We have a dining table and so do both of our kids. We also eat at the outside table whenever the weather is good enough.

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Salty_Nothing5466@reddit

We (married couple no kids) have a dining table and a large breakfast bar in our kitchen. Generally we eat most meals at the breakfast bar, unless I am cooking a special meal / roast or hosting guests, in which case we eat at the dining table. We have a table and chairs set-up in the garden too so when the weather is good we will eat at the table outside!

In our last house we had a lounge diner but the dining table was mainly used to pile random crap on and we ate on the sofa most nights. I’m so glad we have an area to sit and enjoy meals together not in front of the TV now!

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AlphaBlueCat@reddit

London, couple with no kids. Have had a dining table maybe 50% of the time. Mostly space issues. Use said dining table maybe a half dozen times a year when we have a nice meal with friends or family.

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nasted@reddit

Yes, we have a dining table for our family of 2 adults and 2 kids.

I didn’t when I lived alone and would instead used a coffee table - if i was actually eating at home!

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nikadi@reddit

We didn't growing up. My dad's a hoarder so it would have hot in the way of his Stuff to have a dining table in the dining room 🤔

It was something I always prioritised in my family home, not just for eating dinner (we rarely eat together for various reasons), but for sitting together doing crafts, jigsaws, for sewing, colouring, everything really.

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ThankYouFuckYouBye85@reddit

We have a dining table, but it’s only really used at Easter and Christmas.

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stronglikebear80@reddit

We have one in the dining room and we made a conscious effort after we got married to eat our meals there as much as possible. My husband likes to cook and it's nice to sit together, eat and chat. It's also better for health and digestion, much less heartburn and mindless eating!

That said we will occasionally eat in front of the TV particularly if I've been working late and feel too tired and want something light. Most people I know have a dining table or at least a breakfast bar type set up whether they actually use it is another thing.

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dualdee@reddit

Don't really have enough room for one in our flat now. We had one when I was a kid but I can't recall it ever being used for anything other than Christmas dinner.

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Feisty_Outcome9992@reddit

I have a dining table, haven't used it for a couple of years

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FaeriePrinceArbear@reddit

I’ve always had a dining table, and growing up we had dinner at it every night, but it was a fold-a-way one in the livingroom for space. Same with my first flat, and the flat I’m in now has a bigger one in the kitchen

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scarletOwilde@reddit

I have a big dining table in the dining room and a small table in the kitchen.

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7u45vb@reddit

We have a dining table bit eat at the kitchen island more often.

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Delicious-Cut-7911@reddit

Some UK people do. I think it's the younger generation. Americans have had TV dinners with lap trays since the 1950's. I eat sandwiches etc from the coffee table but would never eat a roast dinner with gravy from my lap, that's just disgusting. I'm sure German and French teens will eat pizza out of the box sat in front of their TV sitting on the sofa.

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NPDwatch@reddit

I live in the UK and we've always had a proper dining room. It's one of my favourite rooms in the house. We eat there, hang out, talk, etc

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Paulstan67@reddit

We have a dining kitchen, we eat every meal at the table

The only exception is a late night supper/snack crumpets/teacakes/toast type thing , that is eaten on the sofa.

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FinnemoreFan@reddit

Yes, have a dining table and indeed a dining room, and we eat dinner there as a family almost every day.

It’s how I was brought up, and I just carried on doing what I was used to when I first set up my own home. I wonder if it’s a class thing though.

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SingerFirm1090@reddit

I live alone and use my dining table for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Though I must admit I have a TV in the dining room too.

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Richard__Papen@reddit

We have a dining table but it's just used as somewhere to put things.

I did used to sit at it to have my breakfast but it was always on my own.

In the distant past we used it occasionally if we had guests round but it always felt very awkward.

So, yes, we have been a family that eats off a tray on our knees in front of the TV and even then we might be in different rooms. One of us doesn't even want to eat until there's something on the TV he wants to watch.

There are probably lots of reasons we do this. It's much more comfortable to sit on a settee or in an armchair, the TV drowns out any chewing noises, we don't have to make awkward conversation, conversation gets in the way of eating. I remember my father, decades ago, liked to sit in the kitchen away from everyone else because it didn't help his digestion being with others.

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slartybartfast6@reddit

We (family of 4) have one and eat round it daily, and tv dinner is a treat option occasionally on a Friday or Saturday night.

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ComprehensiveAd8815@reddit

Depends on the size of your place really, I have a small flat and I have drop leaf table that is the size of a console table and when I have people for dinner out it comes. It is also exceptionally good for lego building days. My work from home office took over the space where I used to have a table and chairs. When it’s just me I eat the desk or sofa.

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BlackJackKetchum@reddit

All of our (middle aged couple) hot meals get eaten at the dining table. Rare exceptions for live televised evening cricket.

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Llywela@reddit

I live alone but my 9yo niece stays with me at the weekend. I have a dining table, which doubles as my home office workstation, so during the week I often eat with a laptray in the other room to get away from the desk. At the weekend when my niece is here, though, we eat main meals at the dining table.

Growing up, we always ate family meals around the dining table. When I visit my parents, meals are still taken around the dining table.

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Impressive-Safe-7922@reddit

Every house or flat I've lived in has had some kind of table in either the kitchen or the lounge. In the houseshare where the dining table was in the lounge however, there was awhile where we just kept it up against the wall, and only brought it out to sit at when we had guests. Otherwise we all ate on the sofa or in our rooms. In other houseshares where the table has been in the kitchen, we probably sat at it more often, but still ate plenty of meals on the sofa or in our rooms. If I was eating by myself, I would probably only use the table if I was worried about making a mess. Otherwise the table was more used if eating with a group. Basically it was eating solo - sofa/bedroom, eating in a group of 2-6 - table, eating with more than 6 people - sofas and assorted chairs.

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methough1@reddit

I have always had a dining table. Only eat there when visitors come, otherwise eat from lap or coffee table, but the table is always there.

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Ace1BI@reddit

Have a dining table but only us it when we have family round. Usually we eat in the living room while watching tv.

I used to live in a small one bed flat with no dining room or table. We occasionally had couch surfing guests stay with us and I vividly remember the look of confusion on our Russian guest's face when he realised he was expected to eat his fish and chips on his knee.

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GreatChaosFudge@reddit

Yes. I don’t eat meals in front of the TV, although that’s partly because I don’t watch TV. It’s nice to have a space that’s just for eating and nothing else.

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Shawn_The_Sheep777@reddit

We have a dining table but it’s only used when we have people over for a meal

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Nooms88@reddit

Outside of students and very fresh grads I don't know anyone who doesn't have a dining table

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Intrepid_Bearz@reddit

We have a dining table and I’ve never lived in a house without one. I never eat in front of the tv. Even at the moment when my husband’s in hospital and I’m home alone, I still sit at the table and eat.

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Twisted_paperclips@reddit

I've never not had a dining table. Even when I lived in a flat by myself, with no dining room I had a table. I grew up on an estate and everyone I knew had dining tables....

The idea of trying to balance my food on my lap or get a bad back with my plate on the floor is not something I've had to consider thankfully.

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Aromatic_Recipe_6733@reddit

We used to have a table, but got rid of it a couple of years ago to free up space when our child didn’t need a high chair any more. I still wanted a table so we instead got a high kitchen-bar style ‘table’ that works as an extension of the kitchen counter and somewhere to sit. I try to sit there when eating with my child, but it’s small and often gets cluttered with things so is not always available. When that happens our child often sits at the coffee table in the living room instead (he has a little stool that makes it the perfect height for him), and I’ll either sit on the floor at that table or sit on the sofa. I try to have the TV off when I’m eating with him but in reality it’s probably on 40 per cent of the time. If it’s just me and husband eating (which is rare), we almost always sit on the sofa while watching TV.

Context: we have an open-plan kitchen-living area, I’m from middle-class background and husband is from working class background. We both had dining tables growing up: my family always sat at the table; his family rarely did. Both families always watched TV while eating, except on special occasions like Christmas.

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Raining_Lobsters@reddit

We eat at the table in my house, we're not savages.

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Aggravating-Desk4004@reddit

Yes, poor people are savages aren't they. 🙄

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Raining_Lobsters@reddit

No.

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McBuck2@reddit

Savages would eat on the floor not the sofa. /s

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Mamamertz@reddit

We have a dining table and always use it for eating meals. It is in the corner of the living room (we have a large room), but in my old house we had a dining room ,and I miss that.

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West-Kaleidoscope129@reddit

Every home I've lived in and everyone home I've visited had a dining table. Many of those homes they/we ate at the dining table but currently in my home we eat on the sofa because my dining table is being used for something else at the moment lol. But otherwise we eat at the dining table.

Unfortunately some homes are too small for them though. Kitchens not big enough for one, no separate dining room and living room too small for a dining table.

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terryturbojr@reddit

In our open plan kitchen, diner, TV area we have both dining table and kitchen island, the former seating 6 and the latter 4. We really shouldn't but we often still eat on the sofa, looking at the actual dining areas.

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Dietcokeisgod@reddit

We have a dining table. Very very rarely eat in front of the TV.

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Creepy-Albatross-588@reddit

We have a dining table and use it most evenings. Everyone I know has one. I have a designated dining area in the garden too and in the summer we eat outside.

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buginarugsnug@reddit

My parents had a dining table and a kitchen table. We only used the dining room if we had guests or on special occasions like Christmas Day but the rest of the time we ate at the kitchen table.

I have a dining table in my house, but we never eat on it becuase it’s set up for home office.

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daniluvsuall@reddit

I value having a meal around a table. No television or phones, it's a space to enjoy food and be social.

It's very important to me, having a space for a dining table was something I looked for when we moved.

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withnailstail123@reddit

What else would I put in the dining room ?

I use ours for every meal, I’m occasionally joined by others, but they prefer to eat from their laps in front of the TV ( so uncouth 😆 )

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Spare-Egg24@reddit

I think everyone would have a dining table if they have space. But some of our houses are weird (or maybe just badly designed) I have a kitchen and one 'reception room' which is the lounge. We do have a small dining table in the corner with four chairs and we use it every day but my god it's annoying having to move it in and out every day! There just isn't room for anything else.

Can't wait to have a real life actual dining room one day

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BillyJoeDubuluw@reddit

We have two.

A formal one in our dining room that we really do only use to entertain and a two seater that we use daily.

Television dinners only ever happen if our shifts are polar opposites.

We both grew up in multigenerational households where meal times and gathering today was valued.

That said, I think living spaces can be limited and a lot of the British do generally eat together on special occasions as opposed to all the time.

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Super_Ground9690@reddit

We have a dining table and eat there most mealtimes, occasionally having dinner in front of the telly. I’ve lived in lots places where there wasn’t space for one though, either flats or smaller houses that only have a galley kitchen. Some places we’ve had a dining table in the living room but it’d hardly ever get used.

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AlFrescofun01@reddit

Breakfast and lunch are eaten at the kitchen table. Dinner depends upon what I'm eating , if it is a sandwich then I'm on the sofa in front of the TV, anything involving cutlery is eaten the kitchen table. I have a dining room and table but only eat in there over the Christmas/NY period and Easter. The rest of the year the dining table is used when WFH.

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MaidInWales@reddit

We have a dining table and it's used for all meals. Hate eating on the sofa!

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Miserable-Put-2531@reddit

We have a dining table in the dining room which gets used a couple of times a month.

Most of the time we eat at the kitchen table

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CaptainHope93@reddit

Nope, our flat is tiny and there’s no room for a dining table.

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cari-strat@reddit

Yes we have a separate dining room. We ate at the table when the kids were small as I think it's important they learn table manners but now they're older teens, we often all eat at different times, or they eat at friends' houses etc so it's not always worth it.

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Katharinemaddison@reddit

We sleep in what would have been the dining room because my partner can’t manage the stairs, and there isn’t room in the living room for a table.

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Gold-Collection2636@reddit

I have a dining table but we can't use it because there's no space. I would love to be able to use it but there's just no way

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VioletDaeva@reddit

I have one in my dining room, although it's primary use is for me to build warhammer models on.

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ConstantReader666@reddit

I have a nice dining table, taken apart and put away because we need the space.

We eat on the sofa in front of the TV, usually watching the news during meal times for some reason.

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Says_Who22@reddit

When we moved in, we turned what would have been the dining room into a playroom for the kids. Having young kids eating in a room with a carpet always seemed daft to me, and having a play room meant the room was far better utilised. We have a larger kitchen diner, so have a farmhouse style kitchen table in there instead. When the kids were young, that’s where we had all meals. Now it’s used when people come over, or husband feels like eating there. Husband and I are more inclined to read while we eat, plus it’s our choice to eat where we feel comfortable. Would feel a bit pretentious to eat at the table all the time when it’s just us.

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Either_Reality3687@reddit

Yes I have one never use it though.

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beachyfeet@reddit

Yes but I'm old. I've noticed that my younger friends all have a breakfast bar/kitchen island arrangement instead and mostly eat their evening meal on their laps in front of the TV. We also couldn't sell our old dining table and even had trouble giving it away on Freecycle - I think peoples homes are too small.

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Gorniac@reddit

We don’t have the space for a dining table

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Stevebwrw@reddit

We have a small farmhouse. We don't have a separate dining room. We do have a big kitchen table. We alway eat here. I hate not eating at a table.

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Saxon2060@reddit

Yes.

Just two of us.

I'd say breakfast is 10/90 table/bed.

Lunch and tea 90/10 table/living room (when at home.)

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Gullible_Wind_3777@reddit

Yes we do. But atm only have four chairs, (two broke ) so only the children are using the table now.

Before we had this house we lived in a flat. ( apartment ) and at that time we only had two babies. There was no room whatsoever for a dining table and chairs by the time my third baby was coming lol so we made sure the older two had their own little table and chairs ( Disney princess ) it was omg cute.

I miss all of us eating at the table. Having me and dad sitting over the other side of the house ( long through room, living and dining room ).

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multitude_of_drops@reddit

Our dining table is in the living room, but is currently covered with exam marking (my partner and I are both examiners this year...) so it's dinner on the sofa for the next few weeks!

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dmmeurpotatoes@reddit

We eat every meal at the dining table. Occasionally as a treat, we'll have "book dinner" where we all bring our book to the table and eat and ignore each other, which probably scratches that "eat on the sofa in front of the TV" itch without gravy over the sofa.

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Redgrapefruitrage@reddit

Yes we do. It’s just me and my husband at the moment and we mostly use it for when we have family or friends round for dinner. However, when our baby comes in October, we intend to have every meal at the table from then on.

I grew up having every family meal at the table and I will continue that way with my own little family.

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Top_Barnacle9669@reddit

Yes I do and we eat at it everyday. It was my grandparents table and chairs ❤️

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ramapyjamadingdong@reddit

I call it a kitchen table as its in the kitchen and we don't have a dining room. We can all sit around to eat with apace for guests.

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BroadCat-9799@reddit

We've always had a dining table. Recently we replaced our old one, which is now being kept in a spare room (so now have 2). Usually we eat meals sat at the table, although most times we are too busy to have a family meal together. Meals are generally never eaten on the sofa, so any food would have to go on a coffee table or our dining one.

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PurplePlodder1945@reddit

We’ve always had a table. We have an L-shaped kitchen/dining room (had an extension on the back of the house) so it’s not shut away and ‘kept for best’ like some houses. When our girls were both home we used to eat at it every evening. Came in especially handy when it was a meal that you could dish your own portion like spaghetti bolognese - food would go in the middle and you’d help yourself. Since they’re now adults and come and go (and they’re pescatarian so tend to fend for themselves) it’s not used as much. We eat on our laps (my husband gets a small table out in the living room because he hates eating off his lap). When I cook a Sunday dinner we always sit at the table. Or if we have ‘date night’ on a Saturday we’ll eat at the table, it’s just a bit nicer. If we have a takeaway curry we’ll also all sit at the table

I usually host my family for Christmas dinner because it can seat up to 10 at a squash

We have a breakfast bar that I’ll eat at sometimes and when the kids were very small, we had a little ikea table in the kitchen with a couple of stools and the kids would eat their breakfast at it

These days the table tends to be covered in clean laundry, waiting to be sorted and taken upstairs after being washed over a weekend. Or it’s a dumping ground for various things that need to find a home. If we do have dinner on it, a cry goes up of ‘can someone please clear the table!’

I wouldn’t be without our table, even for the (these days) rare occasion we sit at it

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hop-into-it@reddit

I have one. Right now it is housing suitcases from my holiday last week. Before that it had washing on!!! We do use it sometimes but tend to sit in the sofa!

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BlackCatWitch29@reddit

I have a dining table.

It sits in my living room as I don't have a separate dining room.

However, I am usually watching tv of some description while eating my lunch and dinner. I like to use breakfast to plan my food for the day.

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prustage@reddit

We have a dining table and eat at it every day. None of us like the idea of eating while watching TV. In fact we dont watch much TV anyway - we spend most of our time online and its hard to share a meal if you are each sitting in front of a computer.

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Flat-Pomegranate-328@reddit

Enjoy eating at a table, I can’t get my head around balancing food on a sofa and getting crumbs everywhere

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GerFubDhuw@reddit

As a kid I ate at a dinning table every day for my breakfast and tea. Lunch was more of a sandwichy wherever you want kind of snack.

As an adult we don't since it's just me and my wife we sit on the floor at the coffee table. When we have company we sit at the big table.

If we have kids I'll probably be a bit more strict.

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Knight_Castellan@reddit

If a home has a dining room (or an open kitchen/diner space), it has a dining table. This describes most homes.

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Devilonmytongue@reddit

Two person house and yes we do and eat all meals at it.

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jimmywhereareya@reddit

I live in a small 3 bed semi. I have a small kitchen diner. I ditched my dining table and chairs in favour of a small 2 seater sofa. Anyway, I now have my younger grandchildren staying every weekend. I now have a dining table and chairs that can all be folded down and wheeled out of the living room. The kids love getting the table ready for lunch or dinner

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gobbymoo12@reddit

I dont have a dining room but if i took a cupboard out of my kitchen and moved my radiator, id have enough space for a table and chairs Some uk houses are the pits for space

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luffychan13@reddit

My wife demanded we have one even though our kitchen isn't really big enough. We have only ever eaten at it a couple of times though because she likes to watch TV with meals so we sit on the couch...

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Few_House_5201@reddit

We have two. One in the kitchen and one in the dining room. 95% of the time I’ll eat in the living room.

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Wasps_are_bastards@reddit

Yep

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No_Bullfrog_6474@reddit

we have a dining table and we do use it but tbh we do often eat tea on the sofas in the living room too (on little tables)

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Aphr0dite19@reddit

We have a bench style dining table. We eat together occasionally, and definitely meals that have gravy or spaghetti lol! The rest of the it’s tray on lap in front of the tv.

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Sasspishus@reddit

I have one! Slightly too big for the room but I use it daily so it's worth it

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Nouschkasdad@reddit

I have a table and chairs in my kitchen. But I always eat at my computer desk and use the table as a dumping ground. I live alone and like to having something to watch and listen to when I eat. Part of that is maybe misophonia though. Mouth noises (even my own) freak me out so eating without a distraction is not pleasant.

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highrisedrifter@reddit

We have a dining table in our dining room and we eat at that for meals. We don't eat in front of the TV because the furniture is too nice to ruin with spilled food.

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Proof-Dog9835@reddit

I think most people have a dining table that's covered in stuff. We eat in front of the tv or at the breakfast bar in the kitchen but there's just two of us. Dining table is for company

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Urban_Peacock@reddit

It's a space thing. Having a dining room is a luxury. We have an extendable dining table but we don't use it often because it's in our living room, where we have the sofa and TV. We live in a 2 bed flat with a living room. There just isn't the space to have a massive dining table out at all times. I use the table (short form) as my work desk far more than as a dining table.

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FieldHarper80@reddit

I don't have a dining table now because I live in a studio. However, everywhere I've lived before this, I've had one.

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Dry_Yesterday_3560@reddit

my apartment is too small for a dining table unfortunately... I am looking into potentially getting a desk on wheels which would work... if I move some things round etc.

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Personal-Path1519@reddit

I live alone in a one bad flat with two cats in London, it’s not huge, but it’s not small. I have a dining table in my living room that fits 4 people but can extend to 6. I usually eat at the table but if I’m feeling lazy and it’s a salad, noodle or rice dish that you don’t need to cut up, I will probably sit on the sofa instead.

I also sacrificed 3 kitchen cupboards to turn the sideboard under the window into a breakfast bar and have never regretted it - I live on the fifth floor over a local park next to the canal and the view in the morning whilst having coffee or breakfast really sets me up for the day.

I really do love to eat on the sofa from time to team, but I was brought up to sit up and eat at a table and mind my table manners, even if no one else is present

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Gullible_Fan4427@reddit

We’re sofa eaters. But we’re squeezed into a small 2 bed flat. I’d love a dining table but I prioritise a sofa and tv over a dining table (couldn’t fit both)!

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Alicam123@reddit

Most of us do have a dinning table (unless it’s a tiny flat) but a lot of us rarely use it unless it’s a big family meal or Christmas, other wise we are on the sofa/floor with a tray and watching the tv.

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2ManySpliffs@reddit

Our kitchen is not exactly big but it does have a breakfast nook that seats six round a circular table. That is very convenient and is used for every meall and even snacks, the seats in the window box are actually very comfortable and it also has a lazy susan on it, which the kids still find fun.
We have a ‘formal’ dining room too, which we always need to straighten out whenever we want to eat there, which is only a handful of times a year. It has a massive table for 12, but it is often covered with thick felt, rubber or plywood and in use as a work surface for DiY, kids projects, sewing etc. or a general dumping ground for ‘stuff’.
Those two rooms have hard floors. Eating in any other area (the rest is all carpeted) is strictly verboten in our household. Oh the bathrooms are hard floor too but ew, that’s not where you ever eat.

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homeschoolsy@reddit

For a long time we didn't have a dining table and ate eating on the sofa in front of the TV just as you described , but once the kids were getting a bit bigger I wanted them to sit down and eat properly instead of in front of the TV so now we have a dining table

Also to add growing up we had a dining table but only used it for festive meals eg Christmas Dinner and always ate in front of the TV.

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KatVanWall@reddit

There’s just enough room for one in my kitchen.

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Playful_Flower5063@reddit

Absolutely!

So topical, I just ordered a 5ft x 5ft table for us all to sit round! It's just 4 of us, but I have my niblings basically as bonus children, my sister is always over, and friends.... After dinner we stay at the table and play board games, kids do their homework there, there's always Lego or some sort of craft affair on the go.... Right now there's Caterpillars in little pots turning into chrysalises. It's pretty central to our family life.

I just realised that even when we do a "living room picnic" easy dinner we usually sit on the floor round the large coffee table... Basically turns into a dining table without chairs!

Actually I can't think of any of my kids friends who don't have a dining table.

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presterjohn7171@reddit

We have a kitchen diner. I'm the only one in the house that uses it daily though. The rest of the family prefer trays.

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lawrekat63@reddit

I have a dining table but mainly use it for crafting. Only time I eat at it is Christmas

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Lloytron@reddit

Yes and there are four of us in our house, we always have dinner at the table together, bar a few exceptions.

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Daydreamer-64@reddit

I’m from the southwest with friends from mixed backgrounds. I think all middle class people I know have a dining table, and about half of working class people (excluding people from immigrant backgrounds as they don’t fit into the class system very easily, but they pretty much always have dining tables).

It often seemed like it was a space problem. Most houses without a dining table had converted a downstairs room to a bedroom, and only had space for either a living room or a dining room. People are ok to eat without a table, but less ok to have no sofa or TV.

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smileyhappy@reddit

Dining table. We use it for 99% of family meals. The only time husband and I sit in front of the tv is when my daughter isn’t around because we don’t have to set a good example. Then, all table manners and decorum goes out the window; wherever he is in the world Willian Hansen’s blood pressure briefly shoots up and bile rises in his throat, and he has no idea why.

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purplepumpkins21@reddit

We didn’t have a dining table for 7 years. Our kitchen is too small to fit one, we don’t have a dining room and our living room is pretty small also, we had a corner sofa and TV unit and lots of kids toys and couldn’t fit one. We recently upgraded the sofa to a 3 seater and a cuddle seat and moved things about a bit, put the tv on the wall and chucked the unit and got a small 4 seater table with benches that can be pushed underneath when not in use and it’s been a game changer, completely changed our entire day to day life to be honest and I don’t know how we got by before.

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UniqueEnigma121@reddit

Yes I do. I use it to eat food on in a civilised & comfortable way OP

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The_Geralt_Of_Trivia@reddit

Yes, dining table. Also have a small table in the kitchen for quick meals. I don't eat in front of the TV, although some relatives of mine do.

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CalumH91@reddit

If there's one thing I've seen that's consistent in all my friends houses growing up, it was a dinning table, same with relatives in Germany

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SeriousSignature539@reddit

Yes we have one. All evening meals are eaten at the table and some other meals as well. It is also used for games and jigsaws

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spyrobandic00t@reddit

I don’t as my dining room is now my office. It’s not big enough for both my desk/work stuff and a dining room table. We tend to eat with lap trays on the sofa or outside on the garden table.

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YourLittleRuth@reddit

We have a dining table. It is three metres long. We eat on the sofa, watching TV, unless we have guests.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Where do Europeans eat in a small flat with 1 living space?

Are kitchens that much bigger thst there's room for a table?

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Unfair-Marionberry42@reddit

Yes I have a dining table. Although it's not in my kitchen as it's only small. I have a large through lounge and it's at the back. If I'm only having something snacks like a sandwich I'll sit on the sofa. All big meals I'll sit at the table.

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Westsidepipeway@reddit

I have a dining table, but we normally eat in the sofa area. Dining table is used if have people over.

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LordAnchemis@reddit

We do - it acts as a desk (for laptops) most of the time though
We tend to eat in the kitchen on the counter anyway

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BoutiqueKymX2account@reddit

Not true. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t have a dining table to be honest.

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beepbop24hha@reddit

We have a dining table but use it as storage space, we only eat on the sofa

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Mikon_Youji@reddit

I don't have room for a dining table because my flat is so small, but if I did I would definitely have one.

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FoolishDancer@reddit

We have a dining room and eat all our meals at the table. It’s also how we both were raised.

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HeverAfter@reddit

We've always eaten at the table. Never on our laps.

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Pinkey1986@reddit

I don't know a single person who doesn't have a dining table, friends, family, work mates, neighbours everyone has a dining table

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nameless-rootless@reddit

People who have room for dining tables, have dining tables. Lots of properties in the UK can be quite small though. The UK is fundamentally a busy little island.

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LairyDinlo@reddit

Yes, we have a 6 seater dining table in the dining room (semi open plan with the living room). Every meal is ate at the table.

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weirdbean@reddit

We always had one growing up. When I was younger there was a fancy dining table in the front room (the dining room) and another in the kitchen. We generally ate meals at the kitchen table and just Christmas dinner/occasions in the dining room. Now my parents just have the kitchen one but it’s still all meals eaten there.

My husband and I have a dining table and eat most meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner) there, although occasionally we’ll have breakfast in bed, lunch at our work desks or dinner on trays in front of the tv. For me it’s always been a chance to sit and chat while eating rather than watching a screen. I like the social aspect of dining around the table but I know it’s less common now than it used to be.

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Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit

I've never dined on my lap (or not since I was not a toddler!). Once was taken to visit a friend's home. It didn't occour to me that there wouldn't be a table, until.I was handed a plate in my armchair. Naturally I struggled (while exerting 10009% energy into not spilling) until someone I think fetched me a tray.

Anyway, it isn't for all of us!

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cheese_fancier@reddit

I do have a dining table. I live solo so don't use it often, but am glad to have one for entertaining etc.

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secretvictorian@reddit

We have a dining table. Our kids 9 and 3 have learned their table manners, how to have conversation and enjoy their food together as a family or when we have friends round :)

I would be lying if I said we didn't sometimes eat in front of the TV, but eating together as a family at the dining table is very important to us.

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megan99katie@reddit

Yes we have a folding one in the living room as no other space, but only use it every now and again because we can’t be bothered faffing about. About to move into a house with a dining room and excited to have a proper dining table we can use every day!

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calicoki77@reddit

No , we donated it , it was too big and only I used it . There’s just two of us and we eat at the breakfast bar / kitchen island .

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NurseAbbers@reddit

We don't have room for one. The kids have a bistro set to eat off, and our coffee table has a riser section that turns into a sort of dining space. That's it.

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spicyzsurviving@reddit

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have some sort of dining table!

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Caledonia_68@reddit

We have a dining table. When the kids were at school we ate all our meals at it, but it's usually just the 2 of us now and we eat in front of the TV.

If everyone's in and I'm cooking or we're all having a takeaway we'll sit at the table.

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Lost_Ninja@reddit

I live with my elderly parents, I'm 49.

We have three dining tables though two are seldom used and come from other more elderly relatives who are no longer with us.

I regularly eat at the one that is still used, but we don't often sit as a family at the table unless my sister and her kids are here or it's an important meal (Christmas etc).

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Sorry-Programmer9826@reddit

We have a dining table but only really use it when we have guests or for special occasions

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Purple-Hamster499@reddit

Eat while watching telly off a tray strapped to the head of a dwarf.

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Psyk60@reddit

I have a folding table that I could use as a dining table. But at the moment I'm using it as extra worktop space in the kitchen.

We eat on the sofa while watching TV. There's maybe just enough space to use the table if we want to, but it would be really cramped.

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harrietmjones@reddit

I do. I actually don’t know anyone who hasn’t got a dining table, even if it’s a small one.

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Mustbejoking_13@reddit

Yes, we insist on family dinners because there's nothing quite like an argument over chicken nuggets and chips.

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Purple-Hamster499@reddit

Living the dream

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Btd030914@reddit

I grew up in a small council house that didn’t have room for a dining table, so we always ate in the living room.

As an adult I have a big dining kitchen, which has got the dining table, book shelves, my desk and a sofa in it. Still often eat in front of the tv though.

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EmploymentCapital481@reddit

We have one in the kitchen that is never used and is generally used as a decoration table to place random shite on. It is used to serve food though. We eat on the couch and chairs in the living room, TV sometimes on but almost always off.

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Astroradical@reddit

I live with my partner. We don't have room for a dining table so we eat on the sofa.

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ondopondont@reddit

Yes. I live by myself and I still eat a dining table.

Every meal I ate as a kid was eaten at a dining table. It feels weird to me to eat from the sofa.

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Grouchywhennhungry@reddit

We have a dinning table in our kitchen.

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CrowApprehensive204@reddit

I have a beautiful extending oak dining table in my dining room. I use it for doing jigsaws. I eat sitting on the sofa.

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Far-Radio856@reddit

I never eat on the sofa, always at a table

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Stunning-Bumblebee45@reddit

I've noticed people in the UK watch TV with their fiber on their lap sometimes.

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Unusual-Thing-7149@reddit

Always been fortunate to have had the space. Used to have friends around for meals and ate at the table. Friends did the same.

Now I'm in the US we still have a dining table although the island gets used for more casual stuff.

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Emotional-Brief3666@reddit

I never, never, ever eat from my lap in front of the TV. I put it on the floor in front of the TV and nosh it like a dog. No seriously I've got a nice TV in the dining room (well kitchen diner really, I hate dining rooms)

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pelpops@reddit

We have one. We eat all meals there so the children learn table manners and patience. If it’s just my husband and I, he will eat at his desk whilst working and I might eat on the sofa. That’s only ever light lunches though.

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Sweaty_Sheepherder27@reddit

Yes, we eat most of our meals at it as well, except for dinner in the garden in nice weather, and lunches while working (mostly at the desk).

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Tea_Ve@reddit

We have a dining table, as does everyone on both sides of our family. We use it as the family dumping ground though, and it gets cleared every couple of days, to be filled with new items, or the same old stuff. We usually eat in the front room - but no tv is a rule, it’s time together, with a meal, not the tv

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JamandMarma@reddit

We have a dining table and eat all our meals there and have done the whole time we’ve been together. Now have a 1 year old and do the same but with added mess.

We’re both from families who are together and hung out at the dining table after work/school so it was important to us to make sure we had a dining room/space to do that when we had a family.

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geeoharee@reddit

I am very proud of my dining room but it only exists because the previous owner built an extension. Our houses are tiny.

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hallerz87@reddit

Always had a dining table. We don’t always use it, will regularly eat in front of the TV. However, definitely gets used if we’re eating something more elaborate/messy or if guests are over.

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DrFabulous0@reddit

Yeah! We can't use it for dining though because it's forever covered in my wife's shite.

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NotSmarterThanA8YO@reddit

Yes, but it's in the conservatory, so I've not seen it in 2 days, and it may have caught fire.

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julesharvey1@reddit

Yes we have a dining table and eat most of our evening meals at it

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mrskristmas@reddit

Yes we do. Have had one since our first child could use a highchair, and we wanted to eat together as a family. We now have 3 kids and a bigger table. We eat all our meals there together, apart from breakfast when only the kids eat together.

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fezzuk@reddit

Flats to small for one

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Playful-Extent-942@reddit

Yes we have a dining table and it’s used every day. Always for breakfast and lunch and almost every dinner (the odd occasion if my husband and I eat after our baby is asleep then we eat on the sofa with tv). I really enjoy sitting at the table to eat - I used to always eat on the sofa as a teenager but don’t really miss that at all now. Although most evenings we eat chocolate on the sofa!

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SoggyWotsits@reddit

I do. It’s just the two of us usually though so we sit at the breakfast bar. The dining table is slightly too high and chairs too low, so I feel like I’m eating with my arms around my head!

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Cupid_Stunt17@reddit

I have a dining table but i eat on the sofa

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smileystarfish@reddit

I used to have a folding one in my flat but I didn't always use it when I was single.

Now I have a house, it gets used everyday. My partner much prefers eating at the table.

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Ataralas@reddit

We have a dining table but we don’t use it for eating. We eat off laps on sofa, my parents in law eat at the table when they visit us. (Me, husband and 2 kids - toddler eats in her high chair in the kitchen or at her little table and chair in lounge, baby isn’t weaning yet)

My parents have a dining table in dining room and one in kitchen, we use both for different meals, but also eat off laps on sofas.

In laws have a dining table and we always eat at it there - I’ve never eaten a meal in any other room there 😂

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theweirdogoth@reddit

We have one in the living room but don't normally eat there (partner and myself) and mostly eat on the sofa

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ThaiFoodThaiFood@reddit

Yes I have a dining table.

It rarely gets used, I usually use the TV table so I can eat while watching TV.

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qualityvote2@reddit

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