19 Double-Duty Living Rooms

Rebekah Zaveloff says:

What a clever ideabook! I'm always looking for ways to use dining rooms as dual function, but love these ideas.

ssherman says:

Love this idea book. I always try to get my clients to think about how they really live and to consider re-purposing under-utilized spaces in their homes whether it's a dining room, formal living room or a bedroom that their (now grown) child used to occupy. Thanks for sharing!

Fl!p Breskin says:

I have my office in an armoire and my instruments hung on the walls. I teach guitar and use my living room as my studio and office. All the furniture is on slides for quick and easy reconfiguration for parties, house concerts, dinner parties and cozying up to the fire. The table is a little drop-leaf dark-oak antique that folds down to less than a foot deep by three feet wide. I generally keep it covered with a small oriental carpet when it's not in use. The leaves come clear down to the floor. It seats 6 - 8 for dinner but gets right out of the way when we reach for the harps, guitars, and string bass to finish the evening with songs. I think of it all as Furniture Ballet.

Ella Johnson says:

One of the best Ideabooks in awhile because it's given me an idea I never had. I've kinda hated my formal living room because it is never used. What a great idea to turn it into something else. I see a club room in my future......

danthehandyman says:

I've always found it so pretentious how people have these beautiful, ornate living rooms that are never even LIVED in. It makes no sense to have a big room right in the front of your home that nobody can use; if you can't go in there and enjoy it then it's just dead space. This is a great ideabook because it shows how you can achieve a balance between fancy and functional.

rglefko says:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I've been waiting for an ideabook just like this!! Excellent, useful suggestions!!

Debra Carrillo says:

Great to have a tea room. Why not make it a weekly ritual to meet with your friends for tea and pastries or finger foods. Round table with four or six different chairs and small buffet from pottery barn.

Veronica says:

So many of these subdivision builder homes have the formal living room that really are useless. Been to lots of parties and dinners and no one ever is in the living room. We turned ours into a nice office with two leather loveseats and now we fully utilize the space.

Peter Medvin says:

How about a fantastically comfortable, completely undetectable, Guest Bedroom? it really can be done with with Zoom-Room, the remote controlled, retractable Murphy Bed. I had a Zoom-Room in my apartment in NYC, when I was limited on space (and wanted a dining room instead of a second bedroom), and still have one now that I'm in Florida - even though I have the space to house guests (everyone want to come to Florida in the winter!). You can check it out at www.Zoom-Room.com.

Peter Medvin says:

The shot of the Zoom-Room closed did not show up (not sure what I did). Here it is again.

dancingfish says:

My sil got rid of her stuffy dining room and added a pool table. They realized once a year xmas wasn't a good utilization of the room since their kitchen/family room was large enough to seat 10.
And then my neighor decided that she entertained enough to get rid of the wall between her formal living room and dining room and make it one long space with a huge dining table. (they had a large family room off the kitchen for seating). Two great ideas in my opinion. Builders make homes without thought to how people really live. And most people don't live formal lives anymore.

Shoshana Gosselin says:

I love all these ideas! Builders should take note!!

Ricardo Tavares says:

Loved the ideabook!! You got me thinking how I may double duty my dinning room as a better work place! Congrats!!

calkelley says:

have a family room with tallll ceiling - acoustics were horrible for TV. Decided 2 years ago to move the TV into our living room no one ever went into and have games in the family room. Best decision - we use both rooms all the time and it's cosier to watch with the family.
Of course, the baseball addicted son loves the tall wall (18ft) for bouncing whatever rubber ball is handy (took out all the unbreakables ;-}