Not Wasting the Living Room

[Anonymous]

We are moving into a house with a traditional colonial layout and I want to try to make better use of our living room space than we do in the current house. It is open to the front foyer area and the dining room. Anyone have ways they use their formal living room that makes it not be a waste of space, but keeps it neat and formal enough the people don't immediately see ckutter/mess when try walk in?

[Anonymous]

How old are your kids? Turn it into a family office/library. Install pocket door or use Japanese screens to shield it off from other parts of the house.

If they're older, how about a pool table? Friends did this for their teens and became the most popular house in the neighborhood. There wasn't room for anything else, so it wasn't a mess, but it gave them visibility into their kids' lives since they hung out there.

[Anonymous]

Op here- we have a 2 year old with plans to have another eventually. And I should mention that it is a design that is more open than a doorway at both the entrance and the dining room. Screens might work, but doors probably wouldn't unless walls were also put up.

[Anonymous]

That's what we have and I like formal living rooms so I hate that it is also the mud room. What I do is have a coat tree by the front door and a rug for shoes. Bags and other stuff get put in an area by our kitchen. This keeps down on the clutter in the living and dining rooms. Also, my kids are allowed to play in the living room, but toys are not allowed to live there. Hth!

[Anonymous]

We have a living room and a family room. The living room is actually more of a music room. I have formal living room furniture, but also the piano, a music stand, a guitar, a mandaline, a flute, and a couple of other instruments depending on who is playing what at the time. The kids are not allowed in the living room expect to play the piano or one of the instruments. No toys ever. We use it a lot because everyone plays some kind of instrument, but it is not a play room. It stays immaculate all the time.

[Anonymous]

I'm thinking of turning ours into a homework area with some chairs so we can all be in the room together. Me reading, my kids doing homework.

[Anonymous]

I know folks who made that room their family room with nice couches, upholstered chairs , cushy ottomans, a flat screen above the mantle, etc. invest in new furniture and it will look nice near your foyer and dining room. Then you can use the room off your kitchen (assuming you have a room that would have been the family room) as a den/playroom with a couch, desk, tv, toy shelves, etc.

[Anonymous]

Hm. I'm writing this from my living room, where I am (obviously) on the laptop, listening to music, sitting on a very comfortable chair and looking up every once in a while at my Christmas tree and beautiful fireplace. My young son's plastic train GeoTrax crap is on the floor, under the baby grand piano, but that's probably OK since we aren't expecting the Secretary of State to show up this week.

I sincerely don't understand the question. Why does anyone risk "wasting the living room"? Just ... use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hm. I'm writing this from my living room, where I am (obviously) on the laptop, listening to music, sitting on a very comfortable chair and looking up every once in a while at my Christmas tree and beautiful fireplace. My young son's plastic train GeoTrax crap is on the floor, under the baby grand piano, but that's probably OK since we aren't expecting the Secretary of State to show up this week.

I sincerely don't understand the question. Why does anyone risk "wasting the living room"? Just ... use it.

Do you have a family room also? I see the living room as wasted space when there is also a family room. In theory, both rooms serve the same purpose, so why do you need two '(assuming everyone can fit in one room)?

[Anonymous]

Living room in front should hold the piano and have conversational seating around the fireplace. The family room is the playroom with the TV, either on the wall or hidden in an armoire.

[Anonymous]

Our living room is off the front entrance but does not open to the dining room (one on either side of entryway). We also have a family room, but the living room is twice the size of the family room. LR is the actual family room (couches, TV, etc) and family room is the kids' playroom. The living room doesn't get too bad because it doesn't have toys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hm. I'm writing this from my living room, where I am (obviously) on the laptop, listening to music, sitting on a very comfortable chair and looking up every once in a while at my Christmas tree and beautiful fireplace. My young son's plastic train GeoTrax crap is on the floor, under the baby grand piano, but that's probably OK since we aren't expecting the Secretary of State to show up this week.

I sincerely don't understand the question. Why does anyone risk "wasting the living room"? Just ... use it.

Everybody Loves Raymond.

[Anonymous]

For us it is not wasting the dining room...
We have a nook between our family room which is open to the kitchen with a table that seats eight
We have no need for a dining room
We have converted it to a playroom as it is a great location that can be monitored from the living room, kitchen or family room with our layout