Survey shows little prospect of a dining room revival

Modern living is continuing its migration away from formal dining, according to a new survey of 2000 UK households.

Lloyds TSB Home Insurance, who conducted the poll, found that the number of kitchen/diners has grown by 50 per cent in the past 20 years, to the point where three in ten households no longer have a separate dining room. In fact, creating an open-plan kitchen/diner accounted for around a third of all work undertaken.

And the trend is continuing. In the antiques world, the changes have been reflected in falling demand for dining room furniture and silver flatware, such as canteens of cutlery.

The survey, which also assessed planning applications across eight district councils from Scotland to the south coast, showed how domestic life is changing across the board, pointing to further areas in which the demand for antiques may be changing. Today, for example, 40 per cent of homes have a utility room and one in 50 a gym. Nearly 20 per cent have converted garages into extra rooms, while just over 20 per cent have added ensuite bathrooms.

Ten per cent of homeowners have spent more than £35,000 adapting their properties, and five per cent more than £50,000, generally with a view to more open-plan, informal living.

The survey is one of several that are published by different property-related businesses each year.