To ask how you’d use this space?

[Goosethemoose]

We’re moving into a house with this double room. It is adjacent to the kitchen-diner (so we don’t want to use the non-bay room as a dining room). We have two young DC, but they will have a separate playroom elsewhere for their toys.

I’m at a loss as to how to organise the space and arrange furniture?! Especially as we are planning to mostly use the door in the non-bay room, which means the route to the kitchen cuts right across that space…

Any thoughts please? Am lost.

Separate TV area to sitting / reading area.

I'd keep half for a gaming/TV room, the other half for a reading/people round room.

Did you not think of what to do with it before buying it though? I always picture what I'd do with a house before buying it, no point paying for extra rooms you won't need or use often. Just added expense for no reason.

Best option for you is probably what @BMIbum said. If you can't think of what to do with it, anything you decorate it for may not be used a lot. A bigger living room may be better really.

its bigger then my flat, if you dont need it, make it a self accessed flat if possible and rent it out.

I'd actually make it the kids play area. Kids always want to be near mum/dad.

Knock it through to create a larger family sitting area, the bay room looks quite compact, and sounds like you already have separate rooms for everything else (playroom, study).

I agree.The area with the bay window looks very small for family use.

I have a modern house but with a similar sort of set up. I use the bigger more square part of my room ( the equivalent of your bay room) as my sitting room. The other end has some attractive storage, a small writing desk and my reading nook, which has a comfortable chair with a gorgeous lamp positioned behind it. The television is in the other area, so it means my husband can watch his (crappy) television shows and I can read down the other end of the room, whilst still being in the same room.

@Goosethemoose if you have pocket doors they
slide completely into the wall so are hidden until you slide them shut.
If I was renovating again I’d look at:

building a secret door/magical compartment and use multipurpose furniture and fittings.

Modular seating that can be moved to create intimate areas and more social spaces.

Fit a hidden projector screen to a bookcase wall that can roll up and down. With modular seating I could transform a more traditional sitting/reading room into a cinema room without much hassle. Furniture on castors makes this easier.

Think I’m getting a bit carried away with ideas here

Have one side set up as a TV room with a big enough sofa facing the TV so that all the family can watch TV facing forwards rather than have to crick their necks. Use the other side as a socialising space/library with chairs/sofas arranged facing each other for conversation and bookshelves around the walls.

Alternatively, it could be library/reading space with a cosy armchair and a drop leaf dining table that can be used as a desk and a formal dining space for dinner parties. Like this:

www.ohsoretrovintage.co.uk/store/p957/Mid_Century_Teak_Drop_Leaf_Dining_Table_.html

You could make it an adult playroom if there is room for a pool table etc. Its tacky as can be but you could use it as a bar space or have a retro cocktail cabinet.

If you like Stath's idea of modular furniture, these Togo sofas from Ligne Roset are a design classic, light and easy to move, comfortable (especially for lounging) and don't have legs so won't damage/mark the floors/rugs if they are moved around all the time. They aren't cheap though...

www.heals.com/brand/ligne-roset/ligne-roset-sofas.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&keyword=ligne%20roset%20sofas&ftcategory=supplierbrandsearch&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyMmLw6Dh9QIV3oBQBh0lGwg9EAAYAyAAEgL2OPD_BwE

I don't think upstairs playrooms work terribly well when so young they want to be near you.

Thanks! Just to be clear, we’re not doing any building works- this is purely about how to arrange furniture. Installing a bookcase (or maybe pocket doors…?) is the further we’ll go. We’re also not going to portion off our main living space and sell/rent it out…

I think I’m torn between making it a TV space, maybe wall mounted TV and big squishy sofa? And book case in the niche? Or else a reading area with child sized furniture- because I agree the playroom elsewhere will often be pointless as they’ll be near us, so keen to leave an open space where they can bring toys and puzzle.

I’d have it as a family room with a seating area and tv and play area. Kids will follow you and you will just end up moving toys back to the playroom. Make the planned play room into a grown up snug / cosy living room.
Definitely live in it for a bit and see how it all works out.
All the best in your new home 🙂

As children grow, they like their own space.

For their playroom, buy the most comfortable, deep sofa you can get.

Cord is very soft.

Buying two large 3 seater cord sofa's made our den the favourite room in the house and is still used all the time.

We decorated more as a very comfortable sitting room with their toys.

The sofas were very important to make it comfortable to watch a movievand have friends hang out.

DH wants to keep the downstairs as a tidier, more adult space.
So you’re going to try to make the kids and their toys stay upstairs??? No way would that work here without endless stress.

I’d furnish with bookshelves that have cupboards in the bottom for toy boxes as the reality is kids need to play where the adults are.

Yes, tell me about it… I think we do need toys-by-stealth, as DH is adamant and I see his point, but also… it’s totally unrealistic!

Trying to think through how the space will actually be used. DH suggested piano room, but none of us play Reading room, but then we’ll have space in other area? We typically don’t watch TV, but would love to have a high quality comfortable space to watch the odd film.

OP we have the same layout as you....

Eventually after living here a while, using it as a playroom but hating it (and the toy creep into lounge) we decided on a formal dining table for the space, along with built in cabinets in alcoves. Do those double doors lead out into garden?

In reality the table is often used for homework/wfh, or for when we have big meals or people over.

I'd have loved the reading room and maybe in time will do that, but the dining table felt the best use of space.

This was ours before we moved in (needed some serious renovation!) but you'll see the layout is pretty similar and works nicely!

Our living/dining room is almost identical to this. For us, the bay end is the living area and the rear end is the dining area. How I would do it, in an ideal world, and what works well, is as follows:

• We currently have an armchair in the bay with radiators either side of the armchair under the window, and a sofa along the non-fireplace wall. I personally think a corner sofa would be nice if the corner didn’t jut out too far and was at the non-bay end of that part of the room.

We have our TV in the alcove nearest the bay window, shelving in the next two alcoves as you work down the room, and an enormous Kallax unit in the last alcove on the fireplace side of the room (ie at what we use as the dining end).

• TV on the wall in the spot we have it would maximise the space to allow for more shelving or storage underneath.

Much depends on radiator and door placement, and what you want to use it for. In our case it would be a play area but with versatile storage/shelving to enable us to move towards a home workspace or library area as the kids grew.

• At the non-bay end, if I had a free choice I’d probably have a piano on the non-fireplace side of the room. At the moment, we would be maximising toy storage and having a dedicated nook for a kiddie table and chairs set, and toy kitchen/easel.

• If we didn’t need to use it for toy storage (Kallax) and dining, I might set up a desk somewhere if there is no home office space and this would be useful.

• If this wasn’t needed, I would maximise shelving for books in both alcoves (possibly also storage at the lower levels) and have a love seat or armchair in the rear corner (imagine behind and to the right of where you’d stand to take this photo).

• Definitely consider this end of the room as the playroom.

• If you can afford it, invest in some decent carpentry to make the most of the alcoves.

Think about plug sockets and lighting. It’s a room which I wish we had put some wall lights into when we rewired. Ours definitely benefits from a variety of lamps in corners.

With the bay window, you need a really decent curtain pole to ensure you can maximise the light and pull the curtains right back, if you don’t go for blinds. Don’t have the TV at the south facing end of the room unless you also have a blind on the window!

I've got a similar layout and to be honest there aren't that many options for furniture placement, particularly in the front room. Every wall either has a door, window or fireplace doesn't it! Some lovely ideas on here for the back room. Another option would be to use the diner end of your kitchen diner as a more casual seating area with a small sofa and coffee table maybe and then use the back room for a proper dining area.

We have a similar space and similarly age children - it is the playroom and the bay window bit is the adult sitting room. As you know, upstairs playroom is unrealistic!

When they get older, I am considering making it a study/games room to avoid them using the dining table for everything

@JustWonderingIfYou

How young are your children? They never seem to stay in the playroom when small, they just want to be wherever you are.

Otherwise I'd do tv down one end and other sitting/reading area down others. Contrasted seating- so slouchy tv sofas and then a more solid sofa or chairs down the other end.

Definitely, if young ( under school age) make this the play room/ kids den.

We have a similar layout in our new house. We are using the second room to hold a piano, library, reading chair, cocktail area.

Not v high resolution but here’s the floor plan- I’ve drawn blue lines for where the radiators are.

Wondering about having a TV wall-mounted on the chimney breast at a lower height, opposite a v comfy sofa, and then some small child-sized table and chairs… as well as a bit bookcase. Then DH and I could use it to watch films, the DC could use it for gaming when older, and for now there would be a little space for drawing/homework etc?

Bookcases and a table specifically for jigsaws and board games with good lighting above it.

Playroom now and then kids tv room later. Bear in mind the toys bit will only last another five years ish.

Playroom/ book storage. Upstairs playrooms with young kids are a disaster for the parents (read mum) because you’re forever having to deal with toys being dragged (or chucked) downstairs and take them back up again. Or you’re having to hare up there because there’s a massive crash/ someone’s crying/ it’s suspiciously quiet. And in the summer kids want to be in and out if the garden. Finally if they are happy to be up there they will then demand that you go up there to play with them and you can’t even get a cup of coffee and/ or answer the door! If you’re determined to humour your DP just furnish it with some nondescript furniture, like a bookcase, chest, comfy sofa, small table and chairs which will incidentally work really well in a playroom!