Guess I'm not fully versed in a tri-level layout, but it sounds like I might choose a wall. That noise bouncing around always bothers me and I'd personally try to avoid it if possible. Never been a big fan of the totally open concept. Always like a place to 'get away' visually if not physically. Tough call. Good luck!

The scale of your furniture will be immensely important. Loft/apartment sized pieces will save you a lot of space and heartache. Personally, I would try to use the kitchen as the formal dining space, making use of the long wall for a settee, a trestle table and chairs. A round dining table is going to require 36" of space all around for chairs to scoot out and to navigate around. Taking advantage of the wall and a slim table will make a big difference. Then you'll have all the rest of the space in the front to make two seating areas; one for TV up front where there is a wall for the TV on a credenza, a 3-seat sofa and a chair. The middle area by the stairs would be for cocktails, conversation, reading with a nice pair of chairs, floor lamp and area rug.

@ dan1888 Thank you for the feedback. I will keep that in mind. @ jck910 I need the space because I do expect to have grand-children in the next five years (son and DIL). Also, I work from home. Thus, a home office. is needed and I have a literal gym (pretty much anything you can find at a chain gym (Lifetime Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, etc....), I have in various rooms now and in my garage. I couldn't find a home that could accommodate the exact space I wanted and the homes are skyrocketing here. When I say in my budget. I just meant the price of the home. Not counting the budget I have for making modifications. @ mama goose_gw zn6OH Great idea as well. Thank you for the image. Works better since I'm a visual person! @ herbflavor Yes. There are amenities. One it's a gated master planned community (pools, parks, biking trails, amenity center, splash pad, etc) in a fantastic part of town. It's also a Smart Home. I was specifically looking for a gated community. My original intention was to put my office in the "formal dining room" area. However, that is the location of my current home office and with Amazon Prime deliveries and barking dogs. I had to rethink. Hence, getting rid of the breakfast nook. I have never planned to have two tables in the home. I do like your suggestion. Since I personally have two contractors friends, I knew if I didn't find the exact house I wanted, I modify and ensured I had cash reserves. @Helen Very good feedback. Thank you. @bry911 Wow....more great ideas and feedback. @Chess-yeah that's me The idea was to put an island there instead of a breakfast nook. I don't feel I need it now. From the front door you actually see the formal dining because of the wall that separates the kitchen from the formal dining room. So if you were at the front door. To the immediate right is a 1.5' - 2' wall, where I could perhaps put a plant or something (don't know). Then you take about 2 - 3 steps and you see whatever is in the formal dining room. Once you take another 2 - 3 you can maybe seen the kitchen. But, because there is a column there, it isn't a clear sight line. @functionthenlook Your comments do resonate with me. @benjesbride And the great feedback keeps coming. Thank you so much! @Sophie Wheeler Couldn't agree more. Especially, if the "budget" didn't include modification money. I hope I didn't miss replying back to anyone. It was my first post and I didn't see a reply button with any of your post. This has been the most amazing feedback. Truly thought provoking, which is appreciated.

I think you have some good ideas. When you pop off the corbels you may be able to touch up with spackle and paint. If the gap is too wide to fill with spackle you can use a small trim piece to fill it. I would do the same thing with the fireplace surround. Just pop it off and see what you have to work with. Installing a single mantlepiece is not that complicated. I would take off the frou-frou over the top of the dining room entry as well. And paint your vent the same color as the wall color so it will recede. Are you painting the room gray? Do you plan on changing the carpet as well? On my monitor, the cool paint and the warm carpet aren't playing well together.