Sort of like this?

Yes! That's my room. Thanks!

The foyer, btw, is 8' wide, with a 6' double door + full length side lights on either side, and there are 6'6" between the bottom stair and the door.

Now what furniture do I put where (assuming the TV is on the exterior wall)?

With the restrictions as you've described, it sounds like the only possible thing to do is to replace sectional with a non-sectional sofa that faces TV. Basically, you'll have TV viewing near the foyer, and reading/other activities near the fireplace.

I like the way your room has implied divisions based on the fireplace wall and windows. If you were starting from scratch, I'd consider floating the TV inside a low cabinet lined up with the fireplace opening, four feet inside the room near the foyer. That would square up the room and allow you to have a more traditional furniture arrangement aligned with both the fireplace and the TV. The TV could be on a hydraulic lift within the low cabinet, for a sleeker appearance.

B-T-W, love the painting in the foyer!

Well, harumph.

Wonder if I could get away with one of those sectionals with a chaise on one end. If it's open, perhaps it would give the feeling of a bench in front of the fp, while still providing extra room at the TV when needed.

If you plan on a reading chair in corner near catwalk, it might be tight. Maybe your ottoman instead?

Sorry to make you harumph -- hopefully someone else will weigh in with more ideas.

What are the dimensions of your current sectional? What is the measurement currently between the sectional and the fireplace wall?

BTW, your home is coming along great...I'm enjoying all the updates!

Current sectional is 9' long on the 4-seat leg and 7' long on the protruding leg.

Currently, we have our 40'' long demilune cabinet next to the sectional, so there is about 7' between fireplace wall and the sectional. I can look for a smaller side table to go next to the sofa (assuming I can find a place for my demilune) so that there would be more space between sofa and fireplace wall.

I like the chaise sectional idea or what about something like this in front of the fp that allows you to cozy up to the fire and/or watch tv?

Here is a link that might be useful: daybed from C&B

Bumping in hopes that someone might be able to show me a couple of furniture solutions.

Well I was thinking about two sitting areas...your current sectional for TV viewing with another sofa backed up to it facing the fireplace and your chair in the corner to the right of the fireplace. However, it may be a little tight with the demilune table in its' current location. Perhaps it could be moved over next to the chair? Of course, this doesn't solve your problem of having the view of the fireplace blocked from the TV viewing area. Having children myself, though, that is likely what I would do, because I can understand the benefit the sectional offers for the way your family lives on a daily basis.

sarschlos: I can see you have a challenging room layout to work with. It sounds like you'd like comfortable seating for your family around the TV/fireplace with a view to the outdoors. I was toying around with relocating the TV to the right of the fireplace and putting the sectional in the lower left corner; but that seems a bit too restrictive for your TV--esp. as you would be sitting 20' away from it. When we moved our ent. console and sectional the way it is now they are 17' apart and that spacing seems about right. Would it be possible to put your sectional so that one section backs up to the catwalk as it does now and the other section goes along side of the stairs or does it intrude too much into the foyer? If that does not work, I think I would change out the sectional for a either a long sofa and a couple of recliner chairs--where one goes where the demilune is now and the other to the right of the fireplace with some end tables intetspersed between. There are also the sectionals where one end does not have a back and is more like a chase--that may work better and still yield good seating.

From my experience already with trying to decorate my FR with a sectional and an ottoman, you need some tables--either on the sides of the sectional or a coffee table. If I want to usean ottoman in lieu of the coffee table then having end tables are more important.

Another thing I can see working well in your space is one of the curved sectionals which allows for more seating around the curve.

Would you consider sheetrocking the catwalk area with a half-height wall? It'd really open up other options to have more full height wall space in the LR and would most likely allow for more quiet and privacy between the different levels. I know the open railing can be a very attractive decorating option, but as a parent I always felt more comfortable in homes where the stairway area was a bit more closed in.

Thanks for the ideas, Val.

The sectional is the wrong direction to fit the way you describe. I've toyed with the idea of sheetrocking the catwalk, but it really makes the design of the house, so we've decided not to do that. We have covered the railing with plexiglass to the floor so the kids can't climb through or under the bars. The worst they can do as they get older is leap over, which they could do with the sheetrock anyway.

The fireplace wall is a really bad location for TV because of the giant windows -- huge glare. Also, the catwalk makes a great stage for Guitar Hero, LOL.

I'm not married to the sectional at all. We intend to replace the sofa since it doesn't fit in this house anyway.