The Dining Room

Exploring the Design of Twelve Iconic Rooms in Search of the Perfect Dining Experience

By: John Ota

Narrated by: John Ota

Explore the stories behind twelve iconic dining rooms in homes around the world—from a Japanese samurai house to Jackie Kennedy’s White House—and travel through time in pursuit of the ultimate design.

Dive into history's most captivating dining rooms as bestselling author and architectural writer John Ota takes a fascinating journey across the globe, investigating the architecture, interior design, and dining experience of twelve remarkable spaces. John’s charming observations of the surprising impact of dining rooms on our lives and the cherished moments we share within them will delight armchair travelers, history fanatics, and interior design enthusiasts alike.

• Firsthand accounts of iconic spaces: Tour Claude Monet’s garden-view dining roomin Giverny, France; visit Highclere Castle (the real Downton Abbey) in England; take part in a present-day farm-to-table feast in a Canadian forest; and enter Martin Luther King Jr.’s inspiring Atlanta, Georgia childhood home.
• A spectrum of cultures and time periods: Travel from George Washington’s 1790 cabinet dinner to the historic Nomura Samurai House in Japan, and from Frida Kahlo’s vibrant Casa Azul in Mexico City to the countryside manse of legendary Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery.
• Brilliant (and useful!) design tips: Get inspired by Frank Sinatra’s mid-century modern Palm Springs patio for outdoor entertaining, the contemporary open concept of a modern-day architect’s home, Jackie Kennedy’s trendsetting take on the White House’s State Dining Room, and Edith Wharton’s subtle Gilded Age anomaly.

Each chapter features one unique dining room and bursts with expert architectural and interior descriptions along with John’s illustrations of the rooms and insight into the food served within—you can even recreate one era-accurate recipe for each location. Heartwarming and informative, The Dining Room is more than just a fun read—it’s an enlightening and joyous celebration of history, culture, and the art of dining.

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR THE DINING ROOM

“Ota is making a case for the return of the dining room, with The Dining Room, and it’s a pretty convincing one.”
—Vancouver Sun

“[The Dining Room] is a rally cry, with recipes, for a space that is vanishing from modern homes: the dining room.”
—Chatelaine


PRAISE FOR THE KITCHEN

“The Kitchen is a literary feast and our hero, Mr. Ota, through his breezy writing style, oozes charm and likability.”
—The Globe & Mail

“Impeccably researched and beautifully written, there is no other book I know of that is quite like it.”
—BONNIE STERN

“The Kitchen...was a runaway hit—food and home decor obsessives loved its deep dive into the history of kitchen design, and advice for planning your own.”
—Chatelaine