I guess I question of prevalence of these large dining rooms that are only used for large dinner parties a few times a year and gather dust unused the rest of the time as opposed to somewhere the owners eat day to day and possibly use the surface for various hobbies.
Most people I know don't eat day to day in the dining room. They do probably use it for various hobbies, which kind of shows how little it is used for its intended purpose. They would be better off making it primarily the hobby room.
