Will you be hosting holiday gatherings this year? Do you host intimate weekend meals for friends and family? Eat meals daily at a table with your family or roommates? Heck, where do you eat when you’re at home?

I spoke with three San Diego-based designers for my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home and Garden section who have created beautiful and imaginative solutions for dining spaces — some defined and others that are part of great rooms — to get ideas and some general rules for outfitting a dining area.