Need Opinions on Formal Living Room or Dining Room!

We are buying a splanch style house, when you walk in the first floor is your kitchen, small dining area and a formal living room. Down a few steps is a large den where our TV will be and large sofa.

We are debating about turning the formal living room into a dining room and the small dining area into an extension of the kitchen with an island and bar stools. In a few years we will be redoing the kitchen to make a large eat in kitchen.

What is everyones opinions? Is it funny to walk into a dining room when you enter a house?

Help I am so confused!!!

Re: Need Opinions on Formal Living Room or Dining Room!

It's not a bad idea, except your LR and DR are far away from each other.

I would also not do an EIK. I would do bar stools on the island.

Re: Need Opinions on Formal Living Room or Dining Room!

I think it depends on how you live... some people think a formal living room is a waste of space and are fine with just a den/family room for hanging out/watching TV. Personally, I like to have a formal living room AND a den/family room.

Will you use your formal dining room often? And do you entertain large crowds, such that the current dining area isn't big enough?

Is there a finished basement, or would the den be the only non-dining common living space where people can hang out/gather?

Also - is it a splanch or a split? Usually in a splanch, the living room is "floating" -- it's on it's own level (up a few steps from kitchen, dining room, and den, but down a few steps from the bedrooms. In a split, the den is usually a half a level down from the kitchen/living room/dining room. So I am triying to picture the layout you describe as a splanch.