如何把传统餐厅改造成"生活馆"

'In Europe and also back East, we did have formal dining areas,' said Ms. Opatrny, whose family has lived in London and Greenwich, Conn. 'In this house, we wanted to have more of an open flow.'
奥帕特尔尼表示：“在欧洲和美国东海岸生活的时候，我们曾经有过正式的餐厅。在这幢房子里，我们希望拥一个更加轻松自在的空间。”她的家族曾在伦敦和康涅狄格州的格林威治(Greenwich)生活过。

Hewed from cedar, zinc and Montana sandstone, the contemporary house on a butte was completed almost two years ago; its market value was appraised at more than $10 million in 2013, according to Teton County records. The central living and dining space -- what Mr. Logan calls 'the living pavilion' -- is a 1,200-square-foot room with a 15-foot fireplace and walls of windows looking out at the Tetons and distant Yellowstone. A twisting Murano-glass light sculpture by Venini stretches down from the ceiling, and geometric abstractions by painter Sean Scully hang on opposite walls. The dining area, defined by a pair of glowing copper chandeliers over the table, is set next to a grand piano.
这幢大约两年前完工的现代风格宅邸坐落在一个小山丘上，建筑场地是从雪松、锌岩和蒙大拿砂岩中开辟出来的；提顿县的官方记录显示，这幢宅邸在2013年时的市场估价超过了1,000万美元。中央生活与就餐区──洛根称之为“生活馆“──是一个面积为1,200平方英尺（约合111平方米）的房间，带有15英尺（约合4.57米）高的壁炉和可以眺望大提顿公园和远处的黄石公园(Yellowstone)的落地窗。天花板上挂着意大利Venini品牌的、设计复杂的穆拉诺玻璃灯，对面的墙上挂着一幅由画家肖恩・斯克里(Sean Scully)创作的几何抽象画。就餐区位于一架大钢琴旁边，餐桌上方挂着一对闪闪发光的铜吊灯。

'In the summer, it's so open and airy and you're part of the view. In the winter . . . the focus really revolves around the hearth.' The room has proved equally irresistible to local moose, she said, particularly the mothers and the calves: 'They like to take naps in that corner window next to the piano.'
奥帕特尔尼说：“夏日时分，这里十分开阔、凉风习习，你就是风景的一部分。冬日里……大家都会围坐在壁炉旁。”她说，连当地的麋鹿都无法抗拒这个房间，尤其是母麋鹿和小麋鹿：“麋鹿们喜欢在钢琴旁的窗子下打盹。”

The prospect of outdoor living amid rolling hills and grape arbors drew Noreen McGuire to a two-bedroom home in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena, Calif. 'I'm completely surrounded by vineyards,' said Ms. McGuire, who paid approximately $4 million for her cottage in 2010.
置身于连绵的群山以及葡萄园中的户外生活深深地吸引了诺琳・麦圭尔(Noreen McGuire)，因此她买下了位于加利福利亚州 海伦娜(St. Helena)纳帕溪谷(Napa Valley)的一幢双卧小别墅。麦圭尔表示：“我完全被葡萄园包围了。”她于2010年花费了约400万美元购买这幢别墅。

When she's in Napa -- her main residence is in Chicago -- Ms. McGuire does almost all her eating and entertaining outside. So she turned her dining room into a relaxed reception area and sitting room that bridges the indoor and outdoor spaces.
麦圭尔主要居住在芝加哥，当她来到纳帕溪谷时，她几乎总是在室外用餐并在室外招待宾客。因此，她把别墅的餐厅改造成了连接室内室外区域的一处休闲接待区兼客厅。

The exterior wall was blown out, replaced by a set of wide French doors and windows that open onto a pergola-covered terrace. Comfortable wing chairs are grouped around a marble table heaped with books on architecture and design. The room has become Ms. McGuire's favorite place to sit with morning coffee, or to look out on her olive and lemon trees when it rains. 'I have a couple of crystals around and there's always flowers,' she said. 'It's how you are welcomed into the home, and that's why I wanted it to be special.'
别墅的一面外墙被拆除了，取而代之的是一套宽大的法式门窗，门窗正对一个架着藤架的门廊。几把舒适的翼状靠背椅摆放在一张大理石桌周围，桌上堆着建筑和设计类的书籍。这个房间已经成为了麦圭尔最中意的房间，她喜欢清晨坐在这里品咖啡，也喜欢在雨天从这里看窗外种植的橄榄树和柠檬树。她说：“我在这个房间中摆放了几件水晶饰品，而且这个房间从来不缺少鲜花。这是我用来欢迎客人的区域，这也正是我希望这个房间能够特别一些的原因。”

However infrequently a formal dining room may be used, many homeowners aren't ready to abandon it altogether. Toll Brothers, a leading luxury-home builder, sold 4,184 custom-built houses in 2013 -- all with dining rooms.
然而，尽管正式的餐厅被使用的机会越来越少，但许多业主并没准备好彻底取消餐厅。托尔兄弟公司(Toll Brothers)是一家行业领先的豪宅承建商，该公司2013年销售的4,184套定制豪宅中全部都带有餐厅。

'People are coming with dining room furniture and need a place to use it,' said Tim Gehman, director of design.
该公司设计总监提姆・格曼(Tim Gehman)说：“人们总是需要一个地方来摆放餐厅家具。”

But even formal dining rooms are becoming less stuffy. Designer Kelly Wearstler encourages clients to swap the long lacquered table for a group of smaller 'modules' in durable materials like marble or perforated bronze to create a more casual multiuse room where the kids can work on school projects. 'Propriety is so yesterday,' said home-design guru Jonathan Adler, who only began using the living room of his Manhattan apartment after he put a ping-pong table in it.
但是，即便有正式的餐厅，它的设计也正变得越来越简单。设计师凯利・威斯勒(Kelly Wearstler)建议客户舍弃涂漆长餐桌，而采用一组较小的、以大理石或黄铜等耐用材质打造的“模块”，以便打造出一种更加随意的多功能房间，在这里孩子们可以完成他们的课后项目。室内设计专家乔纳森・阿德勒(Jonathan Adler)表示：“一板一眼的设计早就过时了。”他从来没有用过自己位于曼哈顿公寓中的客厅，直到他在那儿摆了张乒乓球台。

When it comes time to sell, high-end homes that lack a dining room can pose challenges. 'If you're looking at the luxury market on [New York's] Upper East Side, 99% of the time, people are looking for a formal dining room,' said Eleonora Srugo, an agent with New York City's Skroka DE team. Were she to market an apartment with a converted dining room, 'I'd pull up the original floor plan and identify the dining room as a dining room.'
那些没有餐厅的高端住宅在出售时会面临销售压力。纽约Skroka DE团队的经纪人奥诺拉・斯拉格(Eleonora Srugo)说：“看看（纽约）上东区的豪宅市场，你就会发现99%的时候，人们还是在寻找有正式餐厅的住宅。”她说在销售餐厅经过了改造的住宅时，“我会把原始的建筑平面图摊开，给客户指出餐厅的具体位置”。

But the true beauty of a dining room conversion may be how simple it is to undo. Sotheby's agent Colette Harron cites an 1870 riverfront mansion now on the market in Essex, Conn., for $3.48 million. The owner transformed a staid dining room with river views into an inviting family room, adding a gas fireplace and built-in bookshelves and columns. 'It's bright and it's elegant . . . and it's versatile,' she said. 'It could be turned into a dining room again.'
餐厅改造真正吸引人的地方可能在于它可以轻易地被还原成传统的餐厅。苏富比(Sotheby)经纪人柯莱特・哈伦(Colette Harron)例举了目前在康涅狄格州艾塞克斯市(Essex)销售的一幢1870年建成的水岸别墅，这幢别墅要价348万美元。业主此前把一间可以看到河景的正式餐厅改造成了一间颇具特色的家庭房，并添加了天然气壁炉、嵌入式书架以及廊柱。哈伦说：“房间明亮、简洁……并且功能多样。另外，这个房间还可以再次还原为餐厅。”