no, I don't think I see the opportunity for a small wall without it feeling cramped. One option could be to move the pantry to the area next to the laundry room or maybe make the pantry a little smaller to put a small counter. Another option would be to buy a drop down desk and put it in the room. I think I would consider them using a laptop until you configer a more permanent space in the basement.

Is the fireplace locked in, or can that be changed? I ask because it really seems to be a huge obstacle in the middle of the space, but yet not close enough to the LR to be enjoyed fully, and fighting with the TV and seating in the FR space.

As for moving the stairs, I don't know, but given the required rise and run for the stairway, moving it a few feet could be a huge issue.I don't see that it is a huge issue.

Sorry, that last comment was supposed to read "I don't see the end of the stairs as a huge issue in the use of the floor space".

I am also curious as to how you will seat all the family members in the FR space, with one small couch and a chair?

I guess I am thinking that for a young family and an open floor plan, having a separate LR space that doesn't get used on a daily basis for the family seating just doesn't make sense to me.

Moving the fireplace down toward the LR would give you some space in the FR that could be used to create a computer space in the top left corner, perhaps, or on a desk placed behind the couch, almost like a sofa table.

You might also think about turning the dining table the other direction which could open up some space in the corner top right of the dining area, next to the kitchen.

Moving the FP down into the LR would be my first choice, but if you can't move the FP, I'd just place a computer armoire on the backside of the angled foyer closet wall. There should be enough space to walk around it when it's opened up and in use and you can close it up when you're entertaining formally. I'd use a small, pretty side chair at the armoire that could be pulled to the corner of the LR seating arrangement for extra seating when entertaining.

In our family we found that netbooks work much better than "tethered" computers for just about every family member. The netbooks are inexpensive and work great for surfing and game playing for smaller children. The netbook can be where you are so the kids can use it without you having to stay in a specific area. If you want a printer, there are now tons of wireless ones that can be tucked into a closet, as long as there is a power cord and a wifi connection.

If the grown-ups need more sophisticated tech stuff that can't be satisfied with a netbook, I'm guessing you won't want all that cluttering up your main living area.

For Christmas I bought my son's family a netbook and it has been a huge hit. I rarely use my own "big" setup except for photoshop work or when working on projects from work.

I've purchased several Asus netbooks from Amazon and have been more than pleased with every one of them.

Anyhow it might be useful to make the technology adapt to you rather than change the configuration of your house to adapt to it. Good luck!

Thank you for your replies. Any help is so appreciated. Anything can be moved in our plans except for the exterior walls and windows.

What about this?

Without knowing the actual dimensions, I would say that your second plan could work nicely. Having pretty built-in shelving in the living room could be a real plus.

Do you live in a very cold climate where you need the french doors closing off the foyer from the living room because those doors will make both spaces seem a lot smaller I understand if you are worried about heating and cooling, however. :)

Also, I would consider putting pocket doors in those "doorways" between family room and living room. If you are going to visually cut the space with a doorway, you'd just as soon have the ability to completely close off the living room. When you have a houseful of teenagers you might appreciate the ability to close that room off from the roaming herds. :)

I think you could open up that seating and dining area a bit by building a diagonal tv cabinet l where you put the computer area. Then you could use that back window wall and long wall to create an "L" shaped seating area facing the kitchen. This would give you much better furniture placement for sofa, chairs, and occasional tables. You might also get a small secretary to put right next to the hall doorway for a laptop for the time being.

What is underneath those stairs? Can you put a built-in desk under those stairs to create a niche? That would be very cozy.

Along the lines of why Les917 said, I don't like the idea of the living area being divided into two areas, one of which shares space with the dining room. Neither area is large enough for a family of 5. And I especially don't like it divided by something as permanent as a fireplace.

But to answer your question, I wouldn't build in a computer nook. All you need to do is place a table somewhere.

If you stay with this configuration, put a floor plug near that chair that faces the TV.

>What is underneath those stairs? Can you put a built-in desk under those stairs to create a niche?

That was my first thought, too.

I don't think I would build a nook particularly. In a few years, most of us are likely to migrate to laptops anyway. If you really want a define space for it, why not just stick it in an armoire and then you can close the doors on the mess. Another similar idea is to add in a closet, specifically to use as a pc office. Google office in a closet and you will see some neat ideas.

Here's an example of what I meant by 'office in a closet'

Here is a link that might be useful: Office in a closet

I don't like the computer desk in the staircase niche because the chair would be in a major traffic path. You don't want to shimmy by the chair, see the chair in the traffic path or expect that your children will remember to put the chair or stool back.

In her first plans, if the nook is placed beneath the height of the stairs (and sharing a wall with the foyer), a desk chair wouldn't be in the way. The foyer already is bumping out into that living space. There's plenty of room for a desk chair and it wouldn't be in a pattern of traffic.

Just a quick comment about the stairs--I also thought at first of using that area, but if I read the blueprint and OP's comments correctly, they are going down, so would not have space available underneath them in the LR/FR areas.

You have some great suggestions here though for other ways to make it work.

Here's what we did, but our's was a book nook instead. When we built the new room last year we were going to add built-in bookshelves but it bothered me that they'd take up too much wall space.

In the plans was a large and deep front porch. What we did was jut out the living room on one side of the porch and used that as the book nook. It would be a perfect space for a mini-office for a computer too!

You can do this on any exterior wall. Here's some pictures to give you an idea:

Front porch, on the left side you can see the oval window to the book nook, and on the right side is where the porch is much deeper.

Sorry, I missed when you wrote that anything can be moved except the exterior walls. lol. Are you sure? It certainly wasn't in our plans but when I got the idea the builder said "sure!".

I like that move, you have another door to use into the LR so it's not that big a deal. I don't think you'llbe using your desk when company comes. I would suggest that you make it a desk inside a closet with folding doors that you can close up. I wish I could do that on mine. Too often there is messy "work in progress" on it.

Another option is to move your fridge to the end of the long "L" counter in your kitchen. That would make a snug but efficient triangle, and you have a lot of counter space on the island. The fridge would be close to the eating area. You could then have that littlle alcove as a desk that is not in immediate line of sight of the rest of the house.

I'm with oakleyok! I don't understand why you cannot move windows.

When we bought our house under construction, there were already windows and doors in place. We took out windows (made some larger,) added windows (where there were none,) took out exterior doors, moved a door, and added doors.

Moving the doors and windows would throw off the outside appearance of the house.

But Graywings, it didn't throw off the outside appearance of our house. It made it nicer IMO, more unique.

Now is the time to talk to the builder and tell him about a possible nook. They've built everything and I'm sure he can come up with something.

You might want to cross post this on the Building a Home forum.

How about a lap top on the half-moon table in the living room?

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your input. I love hearing these suggestions and have come up with a few ideas that just involve rearranging the furniture.

The stairs in the plan go into the basement so no room to put anything under there. I will post a picture of my ideas a little later today.

I can't move the outer walls or windows as the house in being built out of insulated foam blocks (foam blocks with steel and cement in the middle). It's a eco-friendly, energy efficient house.

Keep the suggestions coming! It has really helped me to feel better about this layout.

Thanks again!

Emma