If it is useful for you, then make sure the office. It would be convenient if you put a photo of your living room. What style you would like to make room? looks like the rest of the house?

Pics?

Use as an office if that fits with your lifestyle.

I did this in my home. As long as you just change the furniture it won't limit you when sell the house. Our builder suggested using the room as a den instead of a living room. Easy to do when you have built in bookcases. Good luck!

Not everything in a home should be totally practical. If you must re-purpose the lovely and old-fashioned idea of a formal living room, at least call it a study instead of a "home office", which has become passe with wifi and portable devices.

We also have a traditional Colonial (2 story w/compartmental rooms). Unfortunately we outgrew our space, and decided to renovate vs move. My elderly mother lives with us, so we turned our formal living room into a TV room for her. We kept the room the same, but dedicated the room for her things only. We (the rest of the family) use the den/family room for our gatherings. We also took down the wall between our formal dining room and den/family room to make a larger (L-shaped) den/family room, with the old dining room being an office with a game table. Our "eat-in" kitchen is big enough for all of us to eat there, and we don't have many/any dinner parties, so it worked. We added 2 outdoor storage buildings in the backyard, and turned our garage into a pool-table/TV room, and turned the attic space above the old garage into a game room for the boys. I believe you should make your house useful and functional...and ENJOY it :) We still have a long way to go (lots of upgrades still to do), but at least we are making good use out of the space we have. I say go for it! :)

We are working with a client at the moment transforming a colonial style informal lounge room into the master bedroom, and the master bedroom into a media room. What is most important when making decisions about changing a rooms purpose, it is to ensure it adds resale value to your home, and keeps in line with your lifestyle, the building heritage and how you use the space. If you are using an interior designer, they will be able to assist you assess all of the above items and create a new spacial plan to show the impact. The room symmetry also must be considered for resale value as well as the furniture and lighting plan. All the best for the project. Andrew

Glass French doors that swing into the room at the cased opening off the center hall would help define the space as a study/office. I would also consider painting the fireplace wall with a darker shade to give the room some depth and set the mood for the fireplace. Maybe add a couple nice comfy leather backed chairs with a reading lamp near FP. Desk near bookcase and window as mentioned above. Maybe read a good Dickens novel in front of the fireplace for inspiration before getting started :-)

If it's not functional, it needs to be! 1) Keep one couch and add a desk. 2) Keep both couches and add a sofa table behind the one in front of the window, to work on; you could hide your mess on the shelves in baskets or under/ in the sofa table. No desk just sofa table 3) You could also ditch both couches and add two chairs in front of the fire place and a desk by the window. Enjoy and have fun with your space! Looks like a great house :))

I always wanted a Larger dinning room. So instead of having a formal living room I made it into the Dinning room and made the smaller dinning room into a sewing/ office space.

Check out today's (11/26/14) story on Houzz ("Living Room Meets Dining Room: The New Way to Eat In") about having a dining space in your living room though the use of banquettes, benches and sofas--you could make that space a home office/den, and still have a dining function there.

How much would you use it as a home office? Any more than a formal living room? After all, you don't have one now.

I think it might be better toned down to be a comfortable family room instead with a home office nook in part of the room instead. I can't imagine having that room and not using it all the time. It's lovely!

I would LOVE to work in that room!!!!!

Make a study and library out of it. People may like a quiet place to read - whether books or ePubs

I know it's old-fashioned but I love my formal living room. No one uses it,so, in a house with six dogs, two boys, and tons of friends and family, it is quiet and tranquil and usually very neat. I can spend an afternoon with a book and maybe one little terrier. It takes everyone a while to find me there. They're busy looking in the kitchen and family room! I think your idea of a table under the window is a good one. So is keeping both sofas and putting a table behind one of them to work at. Enjoy your pretty room for its serenity and peace.