If I were building a new home...I would have a kitchen/keeping room with dining space...and a separate living room. The main TV would be in the living room, but there could be a smaller one in the kitchen, for the kids to watch cartoons in the morning, you to watch news while you cook, etc.

Just to have the option of eating 'out of the kitchen' occasionally, it would be nice to have a table on one end of the living room (maybe a bay window) that is a game table 90% of the time, but expands to a really comfortable dining table, when needed.

I don't have kids, but I have a lot of kids out to visit...so we like to do things in the kitchen (baking, washing garden produce, starting seeds, etc.) but it's nice to have a place for the adults to talk or watch TV, if they don't want to be in the kitchen. Just my two cents :)

what is a keeping room? would you have the kitchen/keeping room with dining space together as one larger room? would it be separated somehow?

Keeping room is just an old-fashioned term for a small seating area off the kitchen, usually with a fireplace. Some people have a kitchen table, as well as a few comfy chairs, maybe an ottoman. I'd like the table by a window, personally...and the little seating area by the fireplace.

It really depends on your lifestyle. Do you entertain a lot of people, on the holidays? If there's not enough room for everyone in the kitchen (with all the cooking/baking, etc.) it might be nice to have the separate game table/dining table in the living room, for extra dining space.

The keeping room is smaller than a family room or great room. Usually it's just a space to sit by the fire and visit with people in the kitchen. The main living area would not be in the kitchen...but many people with small children like to have all those functions in one big space. That explains the popularity of the 'great room' concept. Again, it all depends on how you live and what works best for you and your family :)

When you mention a game table....it makes me doubt my original decision of having just one large eating area off the kitchen.....ughhghg this is so frustrating. I have too many options...that is the problem. (I wont even mention my kitchen layout dilemmas!!!!

A keeping room sound nice, a place where a child can read a book, etc.

While we don't have a family, our "great room" of kitchen FR and breakfast nook works well and people with families say it would work well for them. The entire space is reasonably small, and yet we have seating for 17-19 in the total space.

Family room...see start of breakfast nook on the right

Breakfast nook...kitchen to the right

Kitchen...bar/desk/MW off to the right

Bar/desk/MW....family room to the right

Back to family room...desk area on left

From kitchen looking across to the TV and the family room (I know...I need to get baskets or something for that messy but useful bookshelf)

Here's our eating area. The table expands to seat 6, and a couple more can sit at the island. Hmm, little bit of post-breakfast mess showing, I guess it is family friendly :-)

Link to the floorplan is below if you want to check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Meant to say the table seats 6 and expands to seat 8.

We reno'd a center hall colonial. Basically replaced all first floor walls with archways. Every room is open to others. Kitchen is hub with other rooms as spokes. It works very well. There are two of us.

DD2 has 3 under 6 and different floor plan but combo kitchen and dining with futon sofa with low table for little ones, their play area on floor near that.

What's in common is non specialized seating and rooms that are open to each other but not completely so no weird walls.

I can see tv in next room from kit. Thet don't have tv in that area. But with cable tv on iPad it's portable.

I think some type of sofa (small) and sizable table is more workable than specialized eating bars or breakfasts seating. But it depends a lot on the house. I much prefer the open space to separate rooms.