Anonymous wrote:One solution is to not buy one of these cookie-cutter awful soulless homes. Lemme guess, brick front and vinyl sides? (To clarify, my vitriol is for this layout, not you, OP.)

How is there anyone in the US who doesn't know exactly what she's describing? Everyone I know lives in one, and they all have the same layout, to the extent that I can't remember where events were held because everyone's home is identical.

Formal, unused living room on the left. Ugly cluttered office on the right. Formal dining room connected to formal living room. Kitchen and family room in the back. You couldn't pay me.

Mine's a Victorian and has this layout. It's common because it makes sense.

We moved here from a townhouse where the one living room was our playroom, TV area, relaxing area, and entertaining area. Very glad to have some separation!

We use this room for adult conversation and for when we have adult company. It's nice to have a pretty bit of space unmarred by kid messes. The family room is in the back.

Anonymous wrote:One solution is to not buy one of these cookie-cutter awful soulless homes. Lemme guess, brick front and vinyl sides? (To clarify, my vitriol is for this layout, not you, OP.)

How is there anyone in the US who doesn't know exactly what she's describing? Everyone I know lives in one, and they all have the same layout, to the extent that I can't remember where events were held because everyone's home is identical.

Formal, unused living room on the left. Ugly cluttered office on the right. Formal dining room connected to formal living room. Kitchen and family room in the back. You couldn't pay me.

What an odd thing to express vitriol over. If the house doesn't have soul and is ugly and cluttered with unused space, that is on the owners.

I've certainly been in the homes you describe and most are quite ugly but thats because I have a bunch of friends who seem convinced that having a cluttered home without any sort of design sense goes hand-in-hand with having young kids. And honestly, most friends we know in more historic homes treat their houses in the same way. I don't really care, though such a living situation wouldn't be for me, but what your home looks like is all about personal preferences and priorities. (And often budget, to state the obvious.)

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry that I wasn't clear. There is a foyer, but right to the left or right of the foyer is often this open room that has only two walls.

And each opening is super wide, so it's hard to imagine that any doors could fit that space.

You can easily make an opening smaller but not larger- larger means headers- support and beams. If there is no cased opening now to the ceiling it can be filled in with transoms. See pictures-https://transomsdirect.com/install/

Another fill in option for a really wide space is bookshelves -builtins on the room side then a smaller door opening. Dry on foyer side to smooth out the thing. Or if short on closets can built 2 ope ning to the foyer and narro the opening for a door. Takes up space in the room then add book shellves open to the room making it a square or rectangle.

Anonymous wrote:I love having two living spaces - we use the front, more formal space as an adult relaxing space ... nicer furniture, books, etc. this is where we entertain or enjoy a cocktail as adults. The family room space off the kitchen is more of a family space - that is where we watch tv, spend time as a family, etc. The decor and furniture are more casual. We also have a room that is a playroom/kid space that will transition into a kid rec room as they get older. Figure out what types of spaces work for your family, OP, and get creative. I’ve seen that front room used as a formal living room, office, library, craft room, playroom, music room...

This is what we do. I love our front room (which I really just think of as a formal living room). We made it into a library/cocktail area and it is very cozy.

I never thought it was odd or a challenge at all, tbh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution is to not buy one of these cookie-cutter awful soulless homes. Lemme guess, brick front and vinyl sides? (To clarify, my vitriol is for this layout, not you, OP.)

How is there anyone in the US who doesn't know exactly what she's describing? Everyone I know lives in one, and they all have the same layout, to the extent that I can't remember where events were held because everyone's home is identical.

Formal, unused living room on the left. Ugly cluttered office on the right. Formal dining room connected to formal living room. Kitchen and family room in the back. You couldn't pay me.

I'm going to be honest here. This is my dream.

- Mom of 2 rambunctious toddler kids whose single family room is full of cheap, 'the kids will destroy it anyway' furniture, and toys.

LOL first of all I am from the US and still can’t picture what OP is talking about (a room with two walls?) but man I’d love an extra room right about now! All the homes I’m looking at in my price range only have a living room, dining room, kitchen. What if you want a space for piano and no tv? Or for all the damn toys? Or an office? I’ll take any of those!

Anonymous wrote:One solution is to not buy one of these cookie-cutter awful soulless homes. Lemme guess, brick front and vinyl sides? (To clarify, my vitriol is for this layout, not you, OP.)

How is there anyone in the US who doesn't know exactly what she's describing? Everyone I know lives in one, and they all have the same layout, to the extent that I can't remember where events were held because everyone's home is identical.

Formal, unused living room on the left. Ugly cluttered office on the right. Formal dining room connected to formal living room. Kitchen and family room in the back. You couldn't pay me.

Studio squats are so underrated.

Anonymous wrote:One solution is to not buy one of these cookie-cutter awful soulless homes. Lemme guess, brick front and vinyl sides? (To clarify, my vitriol is for this layout, not you, OP.)

How is there anyone in the US who doesn't know exactly what she's describing? Everyone I know lives in one, and they all have the same layout, to the extent that I can't remember where events were held because everyone's home is identical.

Formal, unused living room on the left. Ugly cluttered office on the right. Formal dining room connected to formal living room. Kitchen and family room in the back. You couldn't pay me.

I'm going to be honest here. This is my dream.

- Mom of 2 rambunctious toddler kids whose single family room is full of cheap, 'the kids will destroy it anyway' furniture, and toys.

I love having two living spaces - we use the front, more formal space as an adult relaxing space ... nicer furniture, books, etc. this is where we entertain or enjoy a cocktail as adults. The family room space off the kitchen is more of a family space - that is where we watch tv, spend time as a family, etc. The decor and furniture are more casual. We also have a room that is a playroom/kid space that will transition into a kid rec room as they get older. Figure out what types of spaces work for your family, OP, and get creative. I’ve seen that front room used as a formal living room, office, library, craft room, playroom, music room...

One solution is to not buy one of these cookie-cutter awful soulless homes. Lemme guess, brick front and vinyl sides? (To clarify, my vitriol is for this layout, not you, OP.)

How is there anyone in the US who doesn't know exactly what she's describing? Everyone I know lives in one, and they all have the same layout, to the extent that I can't remember where events were held because everyone's home is identical.

Formal, unused living room on the left. Ugly cluttered office on the right. Formal dining room connected to formal living room. Kitchen and family room in the back. You couldn't pay me.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry that I wasn't clear. There is a foyer, but right to the left or right of the foyer is often this open room that has only two walls.

And each opening is super wide, so it's hard to imagine that any doors could fit that space.

Make the walls longer and the door width will be smaller. It will also give you more wall space in the “new” room.

We made that large room off the foyer a combo dining room/piano room. We already have a family room off the kitchen and repurposed a small dining room into a home office/closet space.

Double pocket doors or French doors but make sure to check the dimensions to make sure there’s plenty of wall space for your couches and furniture.

I see these in my close-in 1950’s neighborhood where the front door opens to the original living room, but owners have since added on to the back and that area is now has a living room. Most people have the front room as a nicer sitting area and the addition has the more comfortable family room.

The builder of our house built the room next to the foyer as formal dining room, yet we changed it into a living room with sofas. It is a nice and quieter place separated from the "great room" and kitchen, my son has his favorite spot, the leather arm chair that he can sit and read, my husband sometime took a nap on the long sofa.