6 Savvy Things To Do With An Offset And Unused Formal Living Room
If you have a formal living room in your home that’s off to the side when you enter and is only there for show, you might want to reclaim that space and turn it into a more functional area.
As examples, consider the six options listed below.
Music Space: You can use that area as a music room.
Set a gorgeous piano in one corner and an elegant harp in another. Include comfortable chairs where you can relax and listen while a family member plays. Or invite over some musician friends to play.
Library: Set up a whole wall of beautiful bookcases and fill them with leather-bound books, paperbacks, and music. Include a comfortable reading area where you can sit and enjoy some quiet time reading by yourself or with another family member.
Home School: If you educate your children at home, you can use the space for a homeschooling area. You can set up desks and chalkboards and storage for supplies. Hang a fabulous-looking barn door at the entry, so you can close off the space when needed.
Office: If you don’t have an office in your home or could use a second office, your formal living room space is an excellent option. That space will contain ample room for a desk, filing cabinets, and whatever else you’ll need. Close off the entry with French doors for a spectacular look.
Play Space: For families with younger children, you can turn that space into a play area.
You can set up tables for board games and jigsaw puzzles. You can install shelving to hold stuffed animals, comic books, and other toys. Even include fun beanbags in the room where the children can relax and watch their favorite movie or television show.
Guest Space: You can leave the area decorated as a living room but allow it to double as guest space, as long as you’ve included some sort of door at the entry. Replace an ordinary couch with a sleeper sofa. Include cabinetry where guests can store their belongings. When you don’t have company, that space can still function as a sitting area.
“If you wait until you have enough money to decorate and make your home your own, it will never happen. If you wait until you can afford to buy everything new, you are missing the point. It is the old, the new, the hand-me-down, the collected, the worn but loved things in your home that make it your own.” —Stacy Risenmay, Not Just a Housewife
Many ways exist to use an offset living room. Don’t let any square footage in your home go to waste. Instead, optimize that space in the best way possible so that it fits in with the lifestyle of your family.
15 Comments
Conny
Love your ideas and was always wondering why you would need a formal living room. What a waste of space.
Olivia Lanae
Wow! Great ideas! And such a unique post idea. 🙂
Jennifer+Van+Haitsma
Thanks for this! We have a front room that we don’t use and I don’t really know what to do with it.
Mary
Some very helpful information for those weird spaces you don’t know what to do with.
Steph
Great ideas! I love the idea of using the space as a library! I have so many books!
Lauren
Love these ideas! We’re jutlat about to redo our formal living room!
Cristina
Great tips on how to transform an offset living room. I especially like the idea of a cozy library.
Raisa Mia
Great ideas! Thank you for sharing!
Jennifer Bradley
Oh! I’ve just been thinking about replacing our old dining table in our formal dining room – maybe I will consider converting it into a music room instead for my 4 kids who play the piano! Great idea!
Ashley McCargish
I love these ideas! We went shopping for our living room this weekend and I got so discouraged! Maybe we should explore a new option!
Wiebke
These are some great ideas! We have a room just like that and I transformed it into a craft room.
Megan
I love your ideas, especially by making it a homeschooling space or play space. It would definitely be handy right now while most of us are home with our kids social distancing!
Karin
I love these ideas! It would be awesome to make a play area for my son!
Tisha Speaks
This is a great list of ideas! Works for an offset dining room as well! I will be converting ours in a homeschooling room for the year.
Gina Abernathy
Great ideas for decorating your home. I have a mixture of old and new in my home.