For various reasons, such as a desire to be ecologically responsible and an aging population, new houses in the United States are often being built smaller than their older counterparts. If you want to build a new home but are worried about initial costs as well as energy and maintenance costs after the home is built, you may be thinking of ways that you can design a more compact home without sacrificing the functionality and beauty of your home. One way to cut out quite a bit of space is to do away with your living room. You may think building a home without a living room sounds a bit drastic, but here are a few reasons that you can have a comfortable life without a living room. 

A Large Dining Area Can Double as a Living Area 

Instead of adding a whole other room to your floor plan, you can slightly expand your dining room to include a small sitting area for your family. This open design allows you to gather more people in a single room without giving up the functionality of a living room or dining room. However, you will take less space than you would need if you build two separate rooms. Your space needs decrease even more if the dining room bleeds into the kitchen without any walls. 

Skipping the Living Room Can Allow You to Focus Your Efforts On Creating an Outdoor Space 

A covered porch or a sun room can allow you to access your yard as a living space during most times of the year. Instead of splitting your money and time between designing your living room and creating an attractive outdoor space, you can focus all of your money on creating an outdoor space that your family and friends will want to use as a gathering place. 

Convertible Furniture Has Become Functional and Fashionable 

You can make your home office double as a small living room if you use convertible furniture, such as a coffee table that transforms into a computer desk. This way, a room you may use during the day for work can become a family-friendly space in the evening and you are not wasting any space in your new home. 

When you are thinking of ways to scale down your new home, instead of reducing the room you need in critical areas, such as the kitchen or bathroom, consider which rooms are simply no longer necessary, such as a formal living room. 

Talk to your builder or real estate agent for more ways that you can create a more space-efficient home for your family.