If you are like most homeowners, your formal living room is useful for one primary thing: accumulating dust. Originally, formal living rooms were spaces in which special guests were entertained. However, as modern-day life has become more casual, so have our living spaces. Friends come in through the front door and are escorted to the family room, bypassing the formal living room all together.

That leaves you with a wasted space that can cost a mint to decorate. There are an endless number of ways to use this room that would increase its value to your family - and your home’s value overall. Your options depend primarily on this room’s location in your home.

If the living room is directly in front of the front door, the formal living room would be well suited to convert into a library or a reading den. In addition to reclaiming the functionality of the room, you would have a place to store your family’s books that tend to accumulate and clutter shelves all over the house. You might also consider turning it into a music lounge, where residents and guests alike might go to listen to, and play, music. In each of these situations, the room’s aesthetic and functionality would still be suitable for its prominent location in the house, while also increasing its utility.