We just moved into a 100 year old house in PA. I am struggling with how to utilize this front entry room. There are two front doors which we hope to remove one and put in a window, we want to remove the carpet as there are original hardwoods underneath and get some new paint. It is the main door to the outside that we use. The space is not wide enough to put chairs or couch in front of the fireplace. We are a family with a newborn and 3 year old so don't mind the random packing paper and toys everywhere. I am looking for suggestions on how we can use this space? I feel like it is just wasted space and with the few short weeks we have been here it becomes a drop zone for random toys and furniture we have no place for.

This is a sketch of the house layout. There was an in-law suite added to the back of the house in the 80's the plan is to open this up to the original house to create one large space that includes an open kitchen, family/ living room. The orange walls are what we plan on removing. So yes we have another living space that will also include a bar area from the in-law space also having a small kitchenette. We also think we will be able to enclose a small porch off the kitchen to make it a utility room and entry to the house that will allow for us to keep coats, shoes and other stuff stays hidden. Below is the front entry room specs with placement of stairs, entry door, extra door and fireplace. The highlighted door is the one we plan on removing and replacing with a window