Jumat, 03 Desember 2021

Switch Living Room And Dining Room

taylor89 Desember 03, 2021

Switch Living Room And Dining Room

Sometimes you need to see things from a new perspective! Consider switching the furniture between two rooms in your home to create spaces that feel refreshed and new to you. This works best with two similarly-sized spaces, but you might be surprised how your furniture works in a new room. Come see how I swapped our living room and great room!

Switching Our Dining Room and Living Room

I am continually changing and updating things in our home to suit the season, my current mood, or our family's needs. Recently, I was noticing the gorgeous winter sunlight streaming into the dining room and wishing we made better use of the space. My husband suggested getting rid of the dining room altogether and adding an additional sitting area in there instead, but my tablescape loving heart could never allow it! I suggested we instead try swapping the rooms for the winter season. Maybe it would work and maybe it wouldn't, but it's just furniture and I knew it was worth a try!

Before moving everything, I first measured our sofas to make sure they would both fit in the dining room. I then came up with a space plan for both rooms. I highly recommend thinking through the logistics of where you want everything to go before you begin moving furniture. Pre-measuring and having a space plan will decrease frustration and preempt potential marital spats!😉

The Current Dining Room

Dining Room which now resides in the Great Room:

Living Room which was previously in the Great Room:

Our open concept kitchen flows directly into the great room (or keeping room) and is an awkward space that I have openly wrestled with here on the blog for years! This space has five openings feeding into it which makes space planning a challenge. It's difficult to create a good flow in this room so simplifying the space with just dining furniture has really helped things feel lighter and airer.

We use our gas fireplace frequently during the winter, and I absolutely love having the dining table in front of the cozy fire! In the picture below, you can see the doorway to the breakfast room on the left and the living room doorway on the right. With the dining room table so close to the kitchen, we haven't been eating as much in the breakfast room.

The Current Living Room

My preferred living room furniture arrangement currently blocks our French patio doors. It is possible to rearrange the furniture so that the doors aren't completely blocked, but unfortunately I don't prefer the look and feel of those configurations. This isn't a big deal during the current winter months when the doors aren't in use. In the spring and summer; however, we do like to use the doors to access the patio table. I determined that if we find we miss opening these doors in the spring, then we will just revisit how the room arrangements are working for us!

Tip: Your rooms should work for you in beauty, form, and function. When they are no longer serving you well, it's time to rethink and strategize how to better utilize your space.

Living Room which now resides in the Previous Dining Room Space:

Dining Room Previously:

I loved this room as a dining room, and I love it still as a living room! With the bare trees and sun hanging lower in the sky, this space is continually filled with beautiful natural light. Since I struggle every winter with Seasonal Affective Disorder, sitting in this cozy space and soaking up the sunshine helps my spirits.

I've styled the room in winter whites for now but look forward to bringing some color into the space as the seasons change. I didn't buy anything to restyle the rooms and just used what I already had on hand making this "room makeover" 100% free!

Sprockets (our cat) has quickly decided that this is his new favorite room in the house! The dogs actually prefer to spend most of their time in the media room and dining room which I'm THRILLED about. They tend to dirty up my white slipcovers, so I'm glad they haven't discovered this comfy space yet.

I did create a new floral arrangement for the room using some faux florals from my stash. If you're a flower snob and turn your nose up to faux, I understand. I definitely prefer fresh florals and greenery and frequently splurge on fresh flowers for the home. However, in a pinch faux flowers can work as a fantastic substitute to brighten up your day!

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my room swap! If you're looking for product source links for items used in my rooms, you can find them below!