Does this sound too weird (house layout)?

[MacMacMoo]

We are moving into our new place next week and I'm musing how I where I want the furniture. It's a 3 bedroom ranch. My ideal layout sounds weird, but DH supports it. But I'm wondering what other people would think since it's very unorthodox.

The last place we lived the TV became the focal point and DS got way more screen time than I'd like him to have. So this time around I'd like to tuck it away.

I'd like to put the entertainment center, sofa, computer desk and my sewing table into the master bedroom. Use the living room as a playroom for Squeek Moo (he's 3). Make the dining room into a nursery for Hop Moo. Our bedroom would be the medium sized bedroom, and SqueekMoo's bedroom would be the smallest.

What do you think?

[Green_Tea]

Where will you entertain? Will the playroom have regular adult seating? And if you *do* want to utilize the TV (for example, if the baby gets sick and you NEED to distract your older DC for a half hour to deal with the...fallout), will you want DC1 to be unattended in your bedroom?

Ultimately I think that whatever works best for your family is fine, but those are the things that I think might make the set-up hard.

[jren]

All of the houses in our neighborhood have formal living rooms, and I'm probably the only one who actually uses it as a living room - and only b/c I own a piano so needed that room for music. Most people turn the living room into a playroom or office, and that's worked great. I would hesitate to have the nursery in the dining room because there would be no privacy, but maybe your layout is different? Mine is very open, you see the DR when you walk in the front door. But if yours is closed off, it would work fine.

The only other question is if you ever have people over, friends to chat or guests of any kind, they'd have no place to sit and have a conversation.

[amldaley]

What about doing the sewing/office/playroom in the master and keeping the living room as a living room with the TV? This way, when you are working on crafts or bills, your LO's can be with you?

I understand wanting to reduce TV exposure, but I think the answer is just to set limits.

That said, I also think people should arrange their living space however it makes sense for them. And it is only furniture - you can always just move it around if it doesn't work!!!

[WatchingThemGrow]

It does sound weird to me. I like to think about how we move about in our day and how best to use our space. Also included in that is how it works when we have other families, grandparents or other visitors in our space.

As for the tv, can't you just not turn it on during the day? Our living room IS our playroom - sofa, chairs, expedit, and TV.

[nfowife]

Honestly, yeah. It sounds strange. What if you have people over? Is your dining room completely enclosed?

[crl]

So the Master Bedroom essentially becomes a den and the dining room is a nursery? I think it depends on how these spaces are connected/separated from each other. In most houses I have been in, it would be easier to have the dining room become the den, but I have seen some where the dining room is separate and has doors so it could work.

My concerns would be whether kitchen noises would be disruptive for the dining room turned nursery--I assume they are adjacent--and the lack of a space for entertaining guests. We use our living room as a playroom, but it is definitely still a living room with a couch and chair and tables.

Catherine