Southern Living, Oct 1999 by Joyner, Louis

The dining room is the hub of activity for Winter Park, Florida, interior designer Sandy Crawford and her family. Located in the center of the house, it isn’t just for special occasions-the Crawfords use it daily, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But the dining room wasn’t always the dining room. Originally, the space was the kitchen. An extensive remodeling by Winter Park architect Steve Feller swapped the locations of these two rooms. This gave the new kitchen an exterior location and a bit more space. But it meant the dining room would have to squeeze into the old kitchen spot. “It really is a tiny dining room; it’s only 8 x 8,” says Sandy.

The architect carved away three of the room’s walls, leaving only posts in two corners. One side of the dining room now opens to a hall, another side to the kitchen, the third side to a family room addition at the rear of the house. “It could have been one big space,” says Steve, “but we wanted a sequence of spaces.”

Removing walls on three sides allows the dining room to borrow space and light from adjoining rooms. “You don’t feel as confined,” says Sandy. To make maximum use of the space, the designer used a 48inch-diameter table. “I love a round table, especially in a tight space. You can seat more people,” she says.

For flexible seating, Sandy combined four chairs and a 4-foot-long bench, which can accommodate two comfortably. The bench, chairs, and round table are all of plantation– grown teak from Indonesia. Down– filled tufted cushions provide extra comfort for the chairs and bench
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