The dining room: place of expression and function

The houses of Puebla are visual documents of the diversity and richness of the city's architecture, and in particular, they function as the space where their inhabitants place their life to create a home, the hub of social life.

Of the different rooms in the house, the dining room was the place for socialization, so it was a large room that received natural light from the patio or the street.

Its walls were papered or painted, some were decorated with colorful borders as decoration and were decorated with frames that had hunting scenes or still life. The artificial lighting came from lamps or oil lamps.

Its furniture could be European or American in style, and it consisted of a dresser (for displaying crockery and glassware), a carver (for carving meat), a sideboard (for serving coffee and dessert), the table (with several extensions) and finally chairs that were used in the room when they were receiving visits.

In many of these dining rooms, floor or wall clocks were essential.

Initially it was said that dining sets could be European or American in style, more over the years, the styles diversified toward art deco, Spanish, American fifties or modernist style furniture.

The tableware also changed, which could be in response to tastes and fashions, or, to financial means.

Thus, the table could be a blank canvas for all kinds of set-ups, whether they were very luxurious or very simple, with tablecloths and crockery being the main protagonists.

For some people, the dining room was a favorite place to have a portrait taken, as its space and furniture gave it background and shape.

This photograph represents a Spanish-style dining room. The crockery is displayed on the sideboard. The table is adorned with a crocheted tablecloth, a ceramic vase with tuberose with a strong scent, a glass fruit bowl with flowers and ceramic crockery.

The previous dining room now changes during the holiday season. We can see the paxtle plant and a bell on the lamp and ornaments on the wall. On the table are the dishes and cutlery, the oval fruit bowls overflowing with fruits, the aluminum pan with guiso (stew), serving dishes with vegetables and bread.

This table, although different from the previous one, has some elements in common: the paxtle plant and the lamp on the table, a traditional decorative element in the houses. On the table, the services with the plates, glasses and napkins in a ring. Also, the classic Christmas Eve beer, produced and marketed only for the holiday season.

The dining rooms have also been places to meet family. Here are three generations of women posing, who are staring at the camera. In the careful composition, flowers were placed in front of them. In the background, the cabinet displays crockery and glassware.

In this picture we can see an <i>art deco</i> dining room with a carver, sideboard, table and chairs. On the table we can see a tablecloth in the corner, a jug and glasses. The people are looking at the photographer.

In the dining room we can also notice changes from the era. In this 1950s dining room, the table and chairs have a chrome-plated tube structure. While the table is covered in formica, the chairs are lined with vinyl.<br>

The classic decoration of this dining room (papered walls, chandelier hanging from the ceiling, floor clock, picture of the Last Supper and mat on the floor) shows that these elements were current at the time. Today they prevail as testimony to the traditions that used to be in the dining room.