Who knew so many people had pianos?

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 is my goal, too. We are looking at houses and I really want "the nice living room" where I get to choose pretty decor and have coffee or drinks with my friends!! The kids can use the "family room". We would also put the piano in the nicer living room and possibly a small desk for me if there is not another option. And sometimes you or a couple of family members don't want to watch the game or show that is on TV in the family room so it can be a place you can read or relax.

Some people do turn it into a kid study room or playroom. Even if you have a basement, it's nice to have the kids in close range depending on age.

Anonymous wrote:Add French doors and make it into an office.

Library with a bat cart.

Piano with a couple chairs.

My thought exactly. Use French doors

My home growing up was like this and it was our "formal living room" -> my parents entertained a lot, so it's where they sat with their friends after dinner and talked and had a drink. People are different now, they don't entertain as much in their homes, so they don't really need that room anymore. Most newer homes I've seen have closed the space in (frequently with french doors) and turned this space into either an office or a playroom.

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.

This is the weirdest post ever. Do you need some help? I've never heard anyone have so much vitriol for a house layout, LOL!

I can't read the whole thing, but I understood immediately what you mean! I have this set up now, and I had it even before.

Anonymous wrote:In my childhood home, that space was the music (piano) and reading room (bookcases and comfortable chairs). No TV, which was in the family room. I wish I had this space in my house now.

That is what it is in my house now!
Piano and bookcases and there is now a trophy case for kids trophies from youth events! I sit there all the time!

Reading nook/office space, maybe some nice house plants.

Add Bi-fold paned folding glass doors. My former 1920's house in 16th Street Heights had those separating living room from dining room and I loved them.

We love ours. I think maybe you just aren't entertaining enough now with Covid. We have friends over and have drinks and appetizers in the living room. I love that the seating is so conducive to having a lot of adults sit. My favorite time of year is Christmas when we put the tree in the front window. Our family room is more for lounging while watching TV with our family.

You also could make it into an office, library, playroom (we made our office on our your layout into our playroom) or anything you want. Don't have a room you don't use!

Anonymous wrote:I can't tell what you are describing -- are these McMansions (which tend to have random useless rooms that make no sense) or traditional 1940s colonials (which often have a traditional living room with a porch/sun room off of it).

Virtually all of surburbia has the layout: LR, DR, Family room.

For us, we transformed the DR into a play room (with french doors). We made the living room into a really nice sitting area and I find myself taking some zoom calls from there, my wife takes all her zoom calls from there and it's really a nice sancutary room.

We have one of those, with a sunroom/conservatory on the other side of it that is currently my kids’ playroom.

Right now it has a piano and a loveseat in there but mostly just gets walked through a lot. I’m digging some of these ideas. Bring on the bar cart, lol. I have also debated adding a small table and chair set for doing puzzles, lego builds, family board games, etc.

OP, I think there are pros and cons to adding doors, but it can be done, you would likely have to add some wall framing as well so you’d lose some of the openness.

You will love it as a second living space when kids are older!

In my childhood home, that space was the music (piano) and reading room (bookcases and comfortable chairs). No TV, which was in the family room. I wish I had this space in my house now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ours was wide. They added glass panels to create a wall on either end, and then French doors in the middle.

Who are they? What company did you use?

We used a local carpenter to do it. He suggested some glass that would work well. The glass wall part is the same as the glass in the doors. Kind of translucent but not see-through. We also got soundproofed glass since we have kids.

See the picture at 12:26 https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/0/974141.page#20026157

Ours are white to match our wood work and the glass is more frosted