Check out the container store's elfa line for lots of ideas on building a custom nook. We have an elfa office nook in a previously unused part of our basement.

Do you live in Olney? Walked through a house like that and wondered what you would use that space for. I think they had a piano and bookcases in it when I walked through.

Lego room.

OP, you explained it just fine. I think you need to think of it less as a "room" and more as a "nook."

It's FINE if a couch faces a closet.

Anonymous wrote:I'd toss a couch there with a few ottomans, put in a bookcase and let it be a homework/reading nook. That way the kids can do homework there and they are nearby you while making dinner. When you're having parties, people can sit in there to chat during cocktail hours.

I agree, but instead of a couch I would put a long, narrow desk along one wall, supported by file cabinets. Kids could do homework or color/draw etc. while leaving plenty of space for people to get through. The file cabinets could be used both for filing (kids' artwork, stories) and homework supplies. Kind of like the one in this blog:

http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/09/attack-of-the-13-foot-counter/

If there is enough room, I'd add a couple of small-scale armchairs and maybe a pouf for sitting, at the other side of the room.

Do you already have a nice entryway? You could do cubbies and hooks. It might be a kind of weird space to have it but it sounds like it is hidden a little and right next to the kitchen/back door. I know everybody always throws their coats/books/mail all over my kitchen so I would try to do something to organize all that. It sounds like it is too small to sit in/play in. I might even add a nice door or pocket door. It's hard to be specific without a picture or floor plan.

http://www.houzz.com/desk-nook


http://jewelpie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/JewelPie-ReadingNook9.jpg

OP here. These are great ideas, keep them coming! Reading them is making me realize that I did not explain the layout of this space very well. Due to its size and the location of doorways, etc., it is more of a very wide pass through area than a sitting room. Bookshelves along the longest solid wall would work very nicely, but there would be no additional space in the "room" for a couch or even a chair. A desk/bookshelf combo along the wall could work, but it is so open that it eould really only provide work space for my kids, since it is not private enough for spouse or I to use as an office. I like the sitting room ideas, but a couch or settee along the main wall would provide seating to view essentially a closet (the length of the parallel wall), and any people walking by to get from dining room to kitchen - so not an appealing place to sit. I like the butler's pantry idea, too, but we just don't entertain enough to justify building one. Originally when we bought the house, I assumed we would use part of the space to add a powder room on the main floor, and the rest of the space would officially become a hallway from the din room to the kitchen. But it is not in the cards for the immediate future.

Anonymous wrote:I'd toss a couch there with a few ottomans, put in a bookcase and let it be a homework/reading nook. That way the kids can do homework there and they are nearby you while making dinner. When you're having parties, people can sit in there to chat during cocktail hours.

This. A great place to store cookbooks too!

If not this, I'd do a butler's pantry and/or bar area.

Which if the three I'd choose depends on your lifestyle.

I am guessing that you don't have kids. That space would make a perfect small play area -- you have great visuals to it from the kitchen. As the kids get older, I would definitely go with the office/reading nook idea. You want a desk space with a computer that is visible to you as you walk by it if you have kids, so that you can monitor what they are doing online. If you don't plan on having kids, I might add some built in shelves to act as a pantry of sorts or storage for games, media equipment and then open shelves for books with one nice comfy chair and ottoman.

Pantry cabinets sort of like a butler's pantry area? Storage built-ins?

I'd toss a couch there with a few ottomans, put in a bookcase and let it be a homework/reading nook. That way the kids can do homework there and they are nearby you while making dinner. When you're having parties, people can sit in there to chat during cocktail hours.

i would dress it up with tall plants in nice planters, with a garden style bench along the wall. I've done both the expensive route for plants (johnsons) but also the home depot route. pier one has really nice wicker furniture. it looks gardeny and sun roomy to me.

Library - lots of bookshelves? Reading nook? Put espresso bar in there?

The prior owners of our house added on a kitchen to the back of the 1600 sf home, and I do not know what to do with the room that was the original kitchen space. Here is the layout - first is our dining room, which is adjacent to the former kitchen room that is the problem, which is adjacent to the new kitchen. So the former kitchen room is almost used as a hallway because we need to pass through it to get to the kitchen, but it is wider than a hallway so we need to put something in the room. The former kitchen room space is about 8' x 9'. It is not wide enough that furniture can be placed anywhere in the room except along an 8' wall running the length of the space (the parallel wall is a closet) or a perpendicular 6' wall (the rest of that wall is a doorway from the dining room, and the parallel area to that 6' wall is a doorway to the kitchen and entrance to the basement, so no furniture can go there). Any ideas for what I can do with this space? I have a small house and this space feels so wasted. I have thought about making it into an office area, but it does not have any doors or privacy. I'd love links to any specific furniture suggestions, too. Thanks!