Chinese food is typically associated with festive and convivial environments and mealtimes tend to be more extrovert and boisterous than in the West. The dining space in more and more Chinese houses has been raised to become a focal point that reflects the taste, lifestyle and hospitality of the owners. There is innovation not only in the space itself but also in the furniture. A leading light of the new generation of designers for the home, Yu Yongzhong, with his Shanghai-based design brand Banmoo, is one of several who are redefining the materials of dining, drawing more on Chinese stylistic traditions than on Western. In contrast to the traditional dining space where the dinner is hosted at a round table with ornate furnishings in bold red and gold hues, the modern approach is addressed with a long table, flat cabinetwork in materials such as lighter woods, glass and stainless steel. Increasingly, the floor plan shows a tendency for the dining area to be at once separated from the kitchen but visually connected to it. This reflects a general trend in modern living towards openness. In this way, the dining area becomes a linking or transitional space between kitchen and living area. It thus serves as a gathering place for not only dining but also for communication.
The dining room furniture, created by up-and-coming design brand Banmoo, brainchild of designer Yu Yongzhong, comprises a refectory table with bench seating and coiled-rope cushions, and a high-backed slatted wood chair.
A dining room in a Pudong villa, with a serving hatch to the kitchen behind.
High-backed chairs and a spacious room help create an understated but elegant dining area.
The kitchen dining area in the same villa has a simple long table between the workspace and window.
The food preparation area in this light and airy house near the Great Wall, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, leads to the dining room beyond.
In a conversion of a terraced lane house in Jing-an, Shanghai, the rear, which has become the designated dining area, opens out to a small garden.
A light-framed table and chairs adjoin the kitchen in a Hong Kong apartment designed by Anderson Lee.
The open-plan downstairs room in artist Ai Weiwei’s home, with its long table, is both a meeting space and a dining room.