There is no reason why you cannot swap spaces, as long as it works.

Devil’s Advocated here. You are having a dinner party with the new arrangement. Will it be an almost impossible scenario when you set the table in the new space; serve dinner in the new space; clean up in new space.

If this still works for you, then do it. And then close up the doorway between the new living room and kitchen.

Your house can look as odd as you like! Just kidding, I don't think it would look add at all. Switch the rooms and enjoy them. I turned a formal dining room into a library/den and we pulled several tables together in there to make a large table for holidays. Transformed; it was a fun and lived in space, with many uses: card games, reading, and conversation room. I only used it few times a year when it was a formal dining room.

Do it! It will look perfectly normal and anyone entering your home will think that’s the way it was originally designed. You will most likely have to pare down on your living room furniture/accessories once you make the switch. My daughters home had a similar setup to yours with a large den/living room to the left of the entrance. She changed it to be the dining room and it looks spacious and beautiful.... it has a fireplace as well which was an added plus.

NO, I wouldn't, unless u do the den as a dining room.

I think it will be a pain in the tuckus to go from the kitchen through the living room then through the foyer to the dining room.....or......from the kitchen through the den through the foyer to the dining room. Why not make the den into the dining room?

Ditto, LOl I said that too!

swapping the dining and den seems to make the most sense. Our dining is on the other side of the living room and it is annoying to have to walk through another room and to get everything you to the table but there is no harm in trying it out.

It wouldn't look odd at all and if it did who cares it's your house! Only concern is what would be more comfortable for you. If you don't need the large den, and it has passage to kitchen, that might be more convenient. Then maybe use current dining as den/porch type of setup.

In your case it would be very inconvenient to use the living room as a dining room, as there is no direct access from the kitchen to your present living room. I did exactly this for a client a few years ago, but we opened up a wall to provide a direct line from the kitchen to the new dining room (the old living room). This was possible since the old living room spanned the length of the house from front to back, something your configuration does not. I agree with the others who said to use the den as the new dining room, and the living room as the new den. Then your old living room can become a library, study or music room.

The ideas that "who cares it's your house," "Do it! it will look perfectly normal" is short-sighted. Of course you CAN do anything you like to your home. Turn your living room into your master bath, and your dining room into a guest bedroom if you like--hey it's your house! BUT it would be ridiculous and inconvenient.

I am the first one to shake things up. BUT, for your home if your drawing shows the relative room sizes and you need larger dining room it seems the den would make more sense. Doesn’t cost anything to try but be sure before you make electrical changes.

It's not odd to swap dining room and living room, but in your case it wouldn't function properly. Guests would also likely be a little confused by the layout. I agree with the others that swapping the dining room and den makes much more sense.

what a lovely home!

it wouldnt look odd but it would make a long walk. thats fine if you dont use it often, but i'd worry you'd stop using the new dining room if you have an eat in kitchen, just because its a long walk.

i agree the opening from kitchen to living room would be problematic. closing it up could make the room feel quite small for a living room, its another thing to consider. mask it over with paper, whatever, while you work on a living room floor plan, and see how it feels.

We do that. It is a longer walk, but not a long walk. It's still a compact home and it will work well.

Hi all! Thank you so much for your feedback! The den is by far the largest room downstairs, and we need it to remain the den. Our family needs a large room in order to be together all at once in the same room. It is large enough for all of us, but also has a cozy feel. So, turning the den into a dining room is not an option.

I have posted a picture of access to our current dining room and current living room. The walk to the "new" dining room would only be five more steps.

Also, I am actually thinking I would widen the opening from the kitchen to the "new living room" (which would actually just become another "nice casual" den) in order to be able to see out of the front window and have a little more open concept feel.

Left side of the picture is entrance into the current dining room from the kitchen.

Right side of the picture is a very narrow view of the entrance into what would become the new dining room.

Hope the picture helps !

I think you will enjoy any changes you make and love the new feeling you give your home. Looks very inviting!!

I think it's a great idea.

And don't worry, if your guests get "confused by the layout" tell them it's the room with the big table lol

woodteam5 hahaha!!!

if you don't use the dining room everyday could you remove the wall between den and new living room and then expand the den out and then squish it back in when you have big family meals.

I just opened up the wall/entry between my diningroom and kitchen and love it! By simply doing that you may find that the current diningroom space is fine. My diningroom feels so much bigger and we use it all the time now. Or if you chose to open it, and use it as additional living space it will provide additional space for guests to gather , rather than everyone in the current family room. Make sense?

Consider converting the current Den into the new Dining Room, especially if it has a fireplace.

Hi Charaj00! We love our current den set up! It's the perfect family room for us and we don't want to disturb that :) So converting the current den into a dining room is not an option for us

Well... we've decided to go for it! We're going to tackle the swap after the holidays...pics to come at some point in January/February :)

Thanks for your input!!!

Pictures, please!

Will do! Will definitely be after the holidays :)

Gearing up and de-cluttering for the big swap! I'll post pics around the end of the month! SO EXCITED!!! :)

Very exciting! Going to be great!

Oh my goodness! We did it! I. Am. In. Love!!

I’ve stumbled upon a designer (Eric Ross) and his design concepts are to die for! So... I’ve perused MANY of his photos, and am attempting to replicate his “feel”.

We have a good bit of tweaking to do: moving chandelier, drapes for dining room, sconces to be hung in dining room, etc. but the bulk of the work is complete!

We weren't sure what our family would call the new "den" since we already have a "den". So we decided on "the keeping room" since it is right off of the kitchen.

I’m getting ready to organize the photos and will post soon...

Set 1 of 4
Sorry for so many pictures... I’m just so excited!

View from dining room into foyer

View from foyer into keeping room

View from dining room into foyer

View of staircase from dining room

Set 2 of 4
Sorry for so many pictures, I’m just so excited!

View when leaving kitchen into foyer. Dining room is to the right.

View from kitchen into keeping room

View as you walk into the foyer from front door

Set 3 of 4
Sorry for so many pictures, I’m just so excited!

One of my favorite views! from the foyer in the keeping room

Full view from foyer into keeping room

Set 4 of 4

Sorry for so many pictures, I'm just so excited!

View from dining room into foyer and keeping room

View from kitchen into keeping room

View from foyer into dining room

Brava! Glad to read you did what made you happy. Looks charming. When is dinner?

Next projects: paint bamboo chest of drawers in foyer, replace font door.

I love how spacious the dining room feels, and how cozy the keeping room is! Nice job.

It's beautiful, I love looking again! Thanks.

Wow! What beautiful rooms and so spacious. Glad you made the switch, it looks perfect.

A note of affirmation, here.... in many 19th century homes the dining room was usually the largest room. We owned a Queen Anne “Victorian” for many years that had two parlors and a dining room....and the dining room was huge. Our table was big enough (5 leaves) to seat 14! Your home is gorgeous. Enjoy!

You have transformed your home for good! Keep us posted on your tweaks. I can see why you are so excited. It just “feels” right!

Lovely!!! I love the period furniture used.