There are lots of options.

Set it up as a traditional living room to host guests without kid stuff

Set it up as a music room with a large piano and a couple of chairs

Set it up as a library with comfy reading chairs and a table for puzzles or chess

Set it up as a homework room for kids or office with a good work surface and closed storage so it stays looking nice.

Set it up with a turntable and record collection for musical enjoyment

Set it up as a billard room

Anonymous wrote:I love our formal living room. I don't want to watch TV with my teens. They stay in the Family Room, crap it up, and I have my little sanctuary in the front living room. When we have friends over, the adults all migrate to the front living room and the kids stay in the Family Room. The front living room is also where we set up the main Christmas tree and have the best art.

YES! When the kids are teens that space becomes a sanctuary.

Anonymous wrote:This is a pretty traditional set up? Would just Pinterest.

Totally agree. I’m confused by OP’s confusion.

Anonymous wrote:I have two living spaces- one clean adult space (piano, books, comfy chairs, fireplace) and a family room with the couch, tv and toys. I love walking into the house and seeing the clean adult space first. And I can entertain there while daughter is in family room.

This! OP- do you have kids? When they are teens, it's great to have a separate living space away from the kids, away from your bedroom tv, not in the middle of the kitchen if you have open concept. Now that my kids are late teens/early 20's this room is Mom's room/office disguised as a living room where I work, pay bills, watch my "shows".

I love our formal living room. I don't want to watch TV with my teens. They stay in the Family Room, crap it up, and I have my little sanctuary in the front living room. When we have friends over, the adults all migrate to the front living room and the kids stay in the Family Room. The front living room is also where we set up the main Christmas tree and have the best art.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I didn't realize that so many wouldn't understand what I meant. I feel like most houses in this area are set up this way.

This is what I mean, found this by googling:



The formal living room is completely open and only has two full walls. The open sides both have very wide cased openings, so it's difficult to close off with a full wall of room dividers, and french doors will be too narrow even the widest ones available. I guess we could put in some dry wall but then that would mean removing the cased opening?

The kids will have their own play room right off the family room in the back, so no need for a separate adult space. Currently we're thinking to use it as an office, but would need to add dry wall on both cased openings.

Link didn't work: http://merion-homes.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=downloadModal&imgGalP=davenport-floor-plan-image-gallery/DAVENPORT-MARKETING-8TH-SCALES-1-2-FULL.jpg

I used to live in a house like that, except it was open living room to open dining room to open family room all in one straight shot. It was great for entertaining, because you could put in a REALLY long table. But for every day use? We never figured out how to optimize the space.

Thats a tough floor plan. I agree with others not to do anything dramatic with the space until you've lived there for a while.

If you NEED it as an office, close off the dining room and try to use as wide of doors as possible to keep it and the foyer airy

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who keeps a TV in there. I would not close it off, you will end up with a narrow closed hallway and awkward layout. The large cased openings are graceful, even though I totally understand how they diminish the utility of the room. Your floorplan needs breathing room.

I grew up with a formal living room and it is nice to have somewhere for guests to sit, although we decided it would be a waste if we did not do family activities in there also. If you don't need it for anything obvious, I would live with it a while and see what happens organically. There's no rush to furnish or remodel it.

I agree with not doing anything dramatic with it for a while. See how it feels. Worst case it's not used a ton, but why waste a lot of money for something you don't know what to do with.

I'm the PP who keeps a TV in there. I would not close it off, you will end up with a narrow closed hallway and awkward layout. The large cased openings are graceful, even though I totally understand how they diminish the utility of the room. Your floorplan needs breathing room.

I grew up with a formal living room and it is nice to have somewhere for guests to sit, although we decided it would be a waste if we did not do family activities in there also. If you don't need it for anything obvious, I would live with it a while and see what happens organically. There's no rush to furnish or remodel it.

FWIW, we use ours ALL the time.

Weekend coffee and newspapers, cocktail while dinner is in the over, etc

If the kids are playing a board game in the kitchen, or nintendo in the family room, its a nice spot for my spouse and I to chill for a bit.

And the fact that's generally cozy (ie small), it means the kids arent that interested in ever hanging out there

I know exactly what you mean OP!!!! When I first encountered this I was like, "why are there two living rooms?" For our current house we basically made one room into a playroom for the kids with no tv (it has toys, arts and crafts supplies, a little sofa, a play kitchen, etc.) and then our "living room" is the family room where the tv is and where we all mostly hang out together. If I'm reading a book I'm either in my bedroom for the peace and quiet, or just in the living room with the rest of the family. Interestingly, most of our friends like to hang out in the dining room because it is closer to the kitchen (and we're always making some kind of food LOL) and we have a big table we can all sit around and have drinks at and whatnot. We're moving soon to a house with an open floor plan that doesn't have two living rooms. There's just a nice entryway and foyer area that makes a lot more sense to me. Our kids will have a playroom in the basement and upstairs, which is plenty. And they're old enough now that I don't actually need to see them every minute (whoo hoo!). I never felt like we really needed that extra space and I didn't think it was used much at all.

I think for people who grew up in the city and/or in neighborhoods with apartments and smaller houses the two living room setup wasn't a thing. My husband grew up in the midwest and his family has this setup (they are not rich) and the "living room" is 90% unused (just a pretty room where people take a nap sometimes) and everyone only hangs out in the "family room" or dining room.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I didn't realize that so many wouldn't understand what I meant. I feel like most houses in this area are set up this way.

This is what I mean, found this by googling:



The formal living room is completely open and only has two full walls. The open sides both have very wide cased openings, so it's difficult to close off with a full wall of room dividers, and french doors will be too narrow even the widest ones available. I guess we could put in some dry wall but then that would mean removing the cased opening?

The kids will have their own play room right off the family room in the back, so no need for a separate adult space. Currently we're thinking to use it as an office, but would need to add dry wall on both cased openings.

Link didn't work: http://merion-homes.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=downloadModal&imgGalP=davenport-floor-plan-image-gallery/DAVENPORT-MARKETING-8TH-SCALES-1-2-FULL.jpg

OP here. I didn't realize that so many wouldn't understand what I meant. I feel like most houses in this area are set up this way.

This is what I mean, found this by googling:



The formal living room is completely open and only has two full walls. The open sides both have very wide cased openings, so it's difficult to close off with a full wall of room dividers, and french doors will be too narrow even the widest ones available. I guess we could put in some dry wall but then that would mean removing the cased opening?

The kids will have their own play room right off the family room in the back, so no need for a separate adult space. Currently we're thinking to use it as an office, but would need to add dry wall on both cased openings.

Turntable. Bar cart. Two chairs.

Kids not allowed. Place for mom and dad to chill.

Anonymous wrote:

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!

+1000. My front room is currently my entry room + "formal" living room + lego building zone + puzzle doing area ++++. I just bought a house with a separate, off to the side front room and I am so thrilled that maybe, just maybe, it can stay pretty and useful for the grown ups.