Houses designed this way ARE "wasted space"! That room is not one anyone will ever want to sit in and that makes it pretty much useless, unless, as you say, one has a piano - would be perfect for that.

Ah, the plan that lets you display never-used dining room furniture in a little tableau, just like in a furniture store! This plan Has been popular in retirement communities, where Mama can't part with her DR suite.

Absolutely, make it part of the living room! It *could* be a 'music room' -- provided that's an actual part of your life, and not like the DR furniture showroom. "Reading room"? Extension of the foyer? (A place for you and a caller to sit down for five minutes?)

I actually use my formal dining room and living room quite a lot. My dining room doubles as my office, and I stash my paperwork in the buffet. We use it when we have people over. Just because it’s a “formal dining room” doesn’t mean the dining table has to be formal. As for the living room, it’s my little quiet area where I curl up with a good book and a glass of wine!

We converted our dining room into an office. We love it. We centered the desk in the middle of the room. In your case, that may not work, since your back would be to the windows. Do you use your dining room? Can it be turned into a den? If you do want to keep your dining room, how about turning the front room where the tree is into a bar area with a couple of club chairs? There is a lot of potential here. Do you read? A library? Are you into plants? You could kind of turn it into a sunroom (sorta). A hobby room?

I have a formal dining room and living room, but they are actual rooms of proper proportions. I don't use them all that often as an elderly widow, but I enjoy them none the same. My LR has a fireplace and that makes it a desirable room in which to sit. My Christmas tree is also in it.

It's these subdivision houses with a couple of featureless boxes that they call "formal" LR/DR that are impossible. They're just waste space - utterly unappealing in any way.

I agree with possibly an office space, and a buffet with booze and drink ware since who doesn’t need a drink after a day at work!! I love how you have your tree in the window, very cheerful and traditional. Looks like a lovely house.

following

sitting room, piano, pet room, playroom, or you can close it off and convert to an office or whatever

I would close it off on the one side, add french doors on the other and make it an office. We did that in our home and it is used 100% more often. Coziest room in the house :)

You should ask a contractor or structural engineer whether the partial wall between the two rooms is load-bearing. If it isn't, take down that whole opening and make it one room. Not sure why they felt the need to separate those areas; it just makes two small non-functional spaces.

I already have a separate office room so I can't have another office. I'm thinking of making it a bar area and doing a couple of nice chairs with an ottoman and then a bar area to make drinks.

Turn front area into the dining room...

I have this, also off the entry. I’m not into “formal” rooms in houses considering I actually live there! I’ve designated mine as the “casual room”. My house is still being painted right now but this room will have a daybed, some casual chairs, all of my plants and possibly a bar car or cabinet when finished. My style is more boho/eclectic though so my dining room furniture is not formal whatsoever.

Your room looks like a good candidate for a sitting/conversation area. You could put a large bookshelf or bar cabinet on that back wall. Depends on your lifestyle. Do you have another eating area? Will you actually be using the dining room? If not, I would eliminate the idea that a dining table has to go there and look at the two spaces as one big space and find a purpose for it that way.

Of course, this is lifestyle dependent and needs to function the best for your family. I will say, however, that carpet in a dining room is not ideal in the slightest.

Perhaps a sitting room?

Or an office?

Depends on your lifestyle. We eat almost all of our meals in our "formal" dining room and use our sitting room for visiting with guests and as a reading room. Its a place to get away to peace and quiet ad it has no tv. At first I didn't use the dining room but then I realized I enjoyed eating in there surrounded by nice things. However if you don't entertain you could use that space for anything you like. Heck with that big window you could grow all kinds of plants there.

I am hoping to eventually find a tea cart to serve my afternoon tea or drinks in there. Well a gal can dream can't she??

Is the room with the tree part of the living room and do you have a dining room at the other end? Hard to tell, but it looks quite small. What is the size?

In soft color, a library unit on a non-sunny wall. A lounge or set of chairs....

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/willow-glen-residence-contemporary-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~339686[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/willow-glen-residence-contemporary-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~339686)

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/amoroso-design-contemporary-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~38405[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/amoroso-design-contemporary-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~38405)

Anything you like, color or style, feminine or not... in an attention-getting way, maybe. Large art on wall, or spectacular curtains.... expanding look of dining room..

Could like a room with abstract art and fun curtains [from DR colors]- suzani and more:

https://www.housefabric.com/Search.aspx?s=Price%20ASC&ps=48&k=suzani*

Many burnout fabrics, and can become drapes - you like rose gold fixtures? from houzz: "If you’re a fan of warm metal tones such as brass, bronze and especially copper, rose gold might be the right look for you. It introduces more than just a metallic sheen to your decor — its pinkish hue adds a soft touch that works equally well in modern and traditional settings."

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/if-you-like-copper-you-might-love-rose-gold-stsetivw-vs~76152776[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/if-you-like-copper-you-might-love-rose-gold-stsetivw-vs~76152776)

[https://www.houzz.com/products/mayfair-burnout-velvet-drapery-and-upholstery-fabric-yard-rose-prvw-vr~66477269[(https://www.houzz.com/products/mayfair-burnout-velvet-drapery-and-upholstery-fabric-yard-rose-prvw-vr~66477269)

If you like copper lighting, if you like leather - buy a sumptuous leather chair... not nec. black.

[https://www.houzz.com/products/westfield-burnout-velvet-upholstery-fabric-yard-salmon-prvw-vr~66482873[(https://www.houzz.com/products/westfield-burnout-velvet-upholstery-fabric-yard-salmon-prvw-vr~66482873)