Traditionally, a living room was located near the entrance of the home and was intended to be a space to entertain guests, host casual business discussions, or just relax and enjoy the company of one another. Nowadays it’s common to walk into the front entrance and be greeted with a TV, entertainment center, toys, a couch that barely fits in the room, and a big ole ottoman instead of a coffee table. Think about it – wouldn’t it be nice to walk through your front door after a busy day at work and actually feel relaxed instead of being hit with screens, noise, and stuff everywhere? Imagine a nice space in your home where you could be present with your family without the TV playing in the background. Or at the end of the day, you could just sit and relax on the couch without the temptation of turning on the TV.
Arrange The Perfect Space
Simply heading over to Pinterest will give you a great head start on some design inspiration for your formal living room, but we definitely recommend hiring a professional interior designer to help you with your spatial planning! An interior designer can guide you through the whole process to make sure that you’re not only making the best use of your formal living room space, but also that the tone of the room blends well with the rest of your home!
Where Do I Put My TV and Stuff?
Everybody’s burning question. Building an addition is a great option for some people, but for many others the easy answer is converting an attached garage or finishing the basement. Finishing your basement is probably the most fun home renovation that you could undertake. Below are some photos of homes that we have completed with formal living rooms and their respective “family room” basements!
Give it a Try!
All 3 of the houses shown have inviting living rooms and fun basements, both of which are essential for entertaining guests! The best part? None of the houses pictured here are large… Two of them are 1,800sqft brick colonials and the other is a 1,000sqft cape cod. The second best part? Doing a simple basement remodel for the purpose of it being a family room is fairly inexpensive.
Remember: Properly planning your spaces can make your home feel larger, more inviting, and more relaxing!