Angie's List: Dining rooms continue to disappear in homes across the country

According to a survey from Angie's List, only 23 percent of us are spending our evening meal gathered around a proper dinner table. Seven percent of us still have dining room furniture in the room, but rarely actually use the room.

"Formal dining rooms seem to be disappearing. Kitchen tables are still around … generally … but dining rooms, are, wow, you know, those are, those are becoming studios. It's an office. It's a work-out room. It's anything but a dining room," a home remodel expert, Randy Sorrell said.

Whether or not the dining rooms is used, sixty-two percent of survey respondents said they still have dinner with the family almost every night. Angie Hicks is one of them.

"We're a family that eats right in the kitchen so our dining room goes unused. When our kids were younger, we used it for homework and now we only go in there to change the thermostat," Hicks said.

Two-thirds of homeowners surveyed keep their dining room as it is but instead of using the table for its intended purpose, they use it for office or homework space, a storage area or even space for the dog. But 13 percent are so sure they won't ever eat there again, they've thrown out the table and chairs and use the open space for other activities. The Vielees are one example.

"The first thing that happened when the table left was it became our storage unit. But really, my kids love yoga. So having that floor space, most nights you can find them there, doing yoga," Lisa Vielee said.

Vielee says when all the kids are out of the house and the yoga stops, she wants to redecorate the space into a quiet, restful reading room.