Help! Using formal dining room as a family room instead? (floor, cabinet)

[FashionablyLate]

I am building a new house, and on the bottom floor when you walk in the front door you enter into the formal dining room (the powder room and the master bedroom are to the left). Walk further into the house and you enter the living room and the kitchen/breakfast area.

Rather than having a formal dining room that I know we'll never use, I'm thinking about using it as a family room. I have two blank walls, and the other one houses two windows right next two each other - it is a very plain, basic room. I just cannot come up with a furniture design that I like that would make sense for people to walk into from the front door. Anyone have any pics of something similar that they've done?

TIA!

[chet everett]

Changes are easy at the design stage, but once you sign the contract any deviations involve expenses.

I would spend some serious time reviewing books of architectural plans and the various home design magazines to find something that will work for your needs. Typically the wall length of a formal dining room is sized for a china cabinet NOT with the thought of a place for TV watching or conversation...

[fallingwater]

What if you make that front room the living room to greet visitors and then make the "living room" in the back of the house next to the kitchen the family room for watching tv etc.

[Butterfly4u]

Fashion,
You want a small foyer.
A seperation of sorts, so that when you walk right into
your living room from outside it looks right.
There are soooo many different idea to create a visual
seperation that you want.
You can use almost anything, furniture, plants, literally anything.
HGTV has some good ideas and so does the net.
Search under small foyer ideas and see what comes up.
Some people in the "Old" days used coat racks.
I'm either right on base with this, or totally wrong. LOL!

[gigimac]

I agree with FallingWater above. Also, another thing that can separate that dining room from the front door is to put a couple French doors in the opening to that room, thus closing it off, assuming it won't cut off some sort of line of travel. That way you can open the doors if you want to go in and out of it, and when you have company over, who will I assume go into the back living room, you can close those doors. Also, you could make it a library type room, a spot that is warm with woods, books, easy chair, comfy couch, game table, attractive area rug, task lighting, built-in desk with computer, TV on the wall, fish tank, etc. That way you keep the living room as a family/company/great room ala kitchen place, and the other room becomes a retreat, perhaps, where a desk can be left all goofed up, kids can play a game and leave it strewn around, a place to watch something on TV other than what's on the regular TV, PLUS it's right across from the master bedroom, so that would be good for the adults, to be able to snug up in there sometimes and stay up and watch a late movie, and go to bed late by just walking across the hall.