The formal living room is an elegant room for entertainment, often filled with high-end furniture, works of art and lighting to achieve an inviting first impression. The house of her grandmother with plastic sofa and fragile frills can come to mind. While the family room serves for a casual daily use (remember to watch films or play board games with the children), the formal living room is usually only reserved for meetings or special holidays for adults.
The formal design of the living room has developed – many have become more flexible and multifunctional to accommodate modern lifestyles, but interior designers still advise customers to rethink this outdated space. I recently asked over 15 interior designers to share their honest attitudes towards the most overvalued rooms, and the majority of them agree: Formal entertainment rooms are rarely used.
“Formal living rooms are at the top of the list – beautifully furnished, hardly touched,” says Olivia Botrie from Dartio. “In most houses, they become museum rooms that collect dust.”
“The space that is often the most expensive to decorate – and mostly not busy – is the formal living room,” says Nancy Davilman, the main designer of ND interior. “The formal living room is a remnant from the era of our parents when it was the valued and protected room in the house.”
While formal entertainment rooms may look beautiful, they are used very little unless they often organize large events. Even in public holidays or small family meetings, people tend to avoid these excess formal setups. “Most families gather in kitchens to get islands or in more casual great rooms, ”says Cathleen Gruver from Gruver Cooley.
Nevertheless, interior designers often receive inquiries for formal living room. “Customers with young children often say that they want 'an adult room', but when it comes to, they rarely leave the kitchen or family room to use them,” says Davilman. “After we live in a more casual society, the days of the formal living room are largely behind us, unless the space offers something special, like a great bar or a pool table that actually leads people to gather there.”
Just because the formal living room is outdated does not mean that you cannot design two different living areas. Rethink these formal spaces. Instead, look at practical rooms that can be used regularly.
Emily Rand von Emily Rand Interiors tries to control customers in a different direction. “To convert these additional rooms into more functional areas such as a bar room, a cozy cave or a play room.”
Think of multifunctional rooms that are arranged taking flexibility into account. “Spaces that can develop further – like a media lounge that serves as a guest room – help to get the most real use,” says Botrie.
Alyssa Gautieri (you/she) is the associated lifestyle editor for Good housekeepingwhere she covers all things home and interior design. Before she came to GH in 2022, she wrote for publications, including Elle DecorPresent ChairPresent Bobvila.comPresent Unique housing magazine And Lodging magazinesIn addition to the production of product copies for home brands such as Brylanehome and Vigo Industries.