A Living Room that used to be a Dining Room

This is the first room you see when you come into our home. It was formerly used as a dining room, but since we are pretty casual about food, we re-purposed it as a dog-friendly living room.

Living Room RePurpose Plan

We moved the dining function to the space next to the kitchen. That freed up just enough space for a couple of love seats so we could hang out with the dogs by the fireplace. Speaking of dogs, we had to include a dog crate and toy bin. You might also note the absence of area rugs and pillows. It’s a dog thing.

Once we moved the dining function, we made some minor updates to this small space:

• Painted walls and window trim
• Replaced window treatments
• Refinished and stained floors a warm espresso brown
• Added a half wall by the stairs for safety
• Replaced the ceiling light

Living Room Before and After Shots

Because a picture is worth a thousand words…

The window treatments shown above are simply linen panels (from HomeGoods) with sheers underneath on a double rod. The love seats are from Raymour and Flanigan. The art, coffee table and fireplace screen are also from HomeGoods.

Ok, so I realize that the dog crate is not attractive, but it is a necessity. The TV fits discreetly into the bookcase without calling too much attention to itself, and I love the simplicity (and the minimal cleanup) from candles in the fireplace.

The dining space in the back of the above photo is not huge, but it works for us. I found the perfect table at Lamps Plus (yes, they have more than light fixtures). We tend to eat on the screen porch mostly (weather permitting).

We purposely did not add a lot of knick-knacks or art in this room. It’s the first room you see so we wanted to keep it as clutter free as possible. The light fixture is from Lamps Plus.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this room, is how it glows at night.

Have you ever switch room functions in your home?

This post is part of the renovation series, as introduced in the “My As-is Home, Only Better” post. I’m excited to share with you. To keep up with the journey, make sure you’re signed up!

And be sure to check out other Living Spaces posts for ideas and inspiration!