All the reasons why a formal lounge might be the right fit for your new home…

The re-invention of the formal lounge

When you hear the words formal lounge, your mind is probably drawn to the old-fashioned sitting or drawing rooms within older homes of generations past.

The space where the furniture was rigid and uncomfortable, and all of the good crockery, family photos and heirlooms were out on display. It was the space known as the good room, and anyone who entered was scared to leave a pillow out of place.

Since then, contemporary homes in Australia have well and truly embraced open plan living, where the walls between the kitchen, living and dining have come down, and special occasion, entertaining and day-to-day spaces have come together as one.

But that isn’t to say that formal lounges don’t have their place within modern homes today. There’s something to be said for coming together with a group of close friends in a more intimate, closed-off setting. Or just having a place where the adults in the home can retreat to, in order to get some much needed me time, away from the children. Especially if you have multiple generations living under the one roof.

Luckily for you, with contemporary floor plans, you really can have the best of both worlds. After all, it’s your house, so you get to play by your rules. And at the end of the day, the golden rule when deciding on a home design, is finding a floor plan that speaks to you and how you like to celebrate festive occasions, entertain friends and spend your spare time.

If you’re still toying with the idea of a formal lounge, here are our top 3 tips for ensuring that you make the most of a separate living space...

Our top 3 ways to make the most of your formal lounge

1. Make the Space Welcoming

In many of our floor plans, the formal lounge or separate living area is located at the front of the home. It’s a convenient spot to shepherd guests to when they step through the front door, while also providing you with a quiet space tucked away from the busy kitchen and living areas.

Because of this, it’s so important to create an inviting space, filled with lots of natural light. Take advantage of the view out to the street with big windows and billowing, floor-length sheer curtains from Lovelight for a touch of romanticism and elegance.

If you do want to be a bit adventurous and give your front lounge a darker, moodier look and feel, explore the Haymes Paint Artisan Collection. The range of different textured finishes and modern colours will create interest and intrigue, and pull those passing by into the room.

2. Make the Space Comfortable

Gone are the days of the rigid couch and thick, heavy drapes in the formal lounge.

While you might like to still save your modular sofa for the open plan family area, play around with structured furniture and pillows in different textures and colours to ensure that your formal lounge remains comfy and inviting, but still has an air of sophistication about it.

While we’re talking about keeping the space comfortable, you can’t forget about the carpet. The Grains of Earth and Tones of Stone ranges from Carpet Call are both great options that speak to current trends towards natural tones, yet will still remain a timeless choice for any home or design style. They’re both durable ranges that will still give the softness under foot that we all look for when deciding on carpet.

3. Make the Space Multi-Purpose

The key to making the most out of your front lounge is thinking about your hobbies and how you live your day-to-day life, as well as how you celebrate all of those special, festive occasions.

To ensure that your space is versatile and flexible over the coming years, it might come down to including a desk space for when you need to work from home, or built-in joinery for storing all of your arts and crafts. Back in Living and Dining Week we talked about fitting your living spaces with a built-in bar, which is perfect for those aspiring mixologists who love to spend dinner parties shaking cocktails and serving drinks.

Plus, if you ask us, at the end of the day, you’re never going to regret a second living space that provides you with a quiet retreat to hide out in, away from all of the clutter and chaos of the open plan family areas. It’ll also mean, when hosting guests, you can cook up a storm, without having to stress about piles of dirty dishes taking over your entertaining space.