Oh my goodness!!!! I can't believe I'm reading this! I just converted my living room to my sewing studio last weekend. My husband even helped (he got the room I was in as his and the kids TV room).
It is also the very first thing people see when they walk in the house and I do not have another entrance to the house. I was concerned and having some regrets about moving to the living room, worrying about what people might think. It kind of kept me up at night, thinking about how much work I put my husband through, moving everything. (I have a tri-level house so there were two levels to climb up and down). Then I said, who cares what people might think, its my house and we never used the living room except once a year at Christmas.
I will take pictures tomorrow and post. Thanks everyone for confirming that its okay!! Sarah in CA