Thanks again everyone. I am so glad I wrote in - I read these forums everyday but I am not usually brave enough to write. Thanks again, Magnaverde. Yes, the painting is a Breughel! My husband picked it out and is pleased that you like it too. He loves it. And, I can see your point about the painting and using all the colours from it - how true. I will keep that in mind. I have already put a antique turkish urn - okay, antique is debatable, but that's what the merchant told us :)- that we got in Istanbul at the bazaar on the shelves and will dig out some other things that would look good in the room. The 2 smaller pictures above the shelf are from an antique art shop in Edinburgh. Honeybea5 - thank you - I am definately going to look for a richer colour for the sofas. We also know having window treatments would add texture and interest - that will be next on our list (window treatments seem to be ridiculously expensive). Your "room" sounds wonderful! I can also see a room in my head, I think I just went astray - it will just take more work and time, but that's okay. jjam - I hope the ottoman works for you. I thought it would for me too. I know it would be durable but I am taking it back today. I know I will find something eventually that suits my dream room better. newdawn - I have never been to an estate sale so I don't know what it is like here. We have a neighbourhood with some neat antique stores though. I will have to go more often.

My great room is laid out very similarly to yours and we have a sofa like in your sketch #1: It is 3-across but the end seat is a chaise. I have learned that the chaise was a mistake for us. When people come over, no one wants to sit on the chaise! I guess it probably has soemthing to do with people feeling like they shouldn't put their feet on the furniture? I don't know, but it's perplexing and frustrating since I really thought the chaise would be a hit. In order to make my living room more comfortable for groups, I've been shopping for a sectional like in sketch #4 (a 3x3, without the chaise end) to replace my chaise sofa so that people will actually start using it. A 3x3 should allow me to comfortably seat 4 guests on the sofa; whereas now, I can only seat 2. This thread has been incredibly helpful to me because it's making me reconsider a 3x3 sectional and instead think about whether I can fit 2 sofas in this space with an end table at the right angle. That would allow me to seat 6 guests and DH and I could still lie down to watch tv when it's just the 2 of us. Back to your dilemma - I think you need to consider how you will use this space. Does your entertaining style necessitate 2 separate conversation areas? Think about your guests' patterns. When you have guests over, do you guys watch tv or talk? Do the men watch tv while the women chat in the kitchen or dining room? If you watch tv, have you noticed that your friends/ family like to sit close to another on a sofa or do they tend to have larger "personal space" bubbles? How many people do you need to seat (comfortably) in front of your tv? I partially agree with the poster who said the corner seat in the sectional won't be used: it won't be used by guests but I bet you will sit there when you don't have guests. I love sitting in the corner and pulling my feet up underneath me. Another matter I encourage you to consider carefully is the material your sectional is covered in. My chaise sofa is a very attractive leather that's held up beautifully and is very easy to clean; however, it's freezing cold all the time and it's slippery enough that my throw pillows won't stay put - they slide down onto the seat. And lastly, it's either the leather or the sofa dimensions/fill, but everyone who sits on my sofa slides downward into a slump. It's so sad watching people continually adjust and try to sit up straight. (Another reason I'm shopping for a replacement sofa/sectional, and this time I'm leaning toward a sturdy chenille fabric, stiffer cushions, and a less-deep sofa.) One more thing - your coffee table for the sectional. Is that a padded ottoman or a hard surface table? If you think people will put their feet up, a padded ottoman is really user-friendly. Much more so than a wood or wood/glass coffee table. Regarding the game table in the back corner, remember that if you put a table lamp on that side table shown in sketch #1, it might block the view of the tv (from the game table). And another thing about sketch #1 - that single chair along the same wall as the built-ins? I have one of those, too, and it's only used when we have company but that person has to twist around to see the tv. It balances the room but isn't very functional for me. Good luck! try_hard

Your question was a bit confusing, as I couldn't tell whether you plan on using the rug that's already shown in the family room or not. So I'll explain my choices and see if those make sense. I personally love that first rug shown underneath the heading "proposed rug for family room" the best, as it has all the colors that would complement your drapery colors, and would look great in the family room. For the dining room, my preference would be the Red Panel, with the Mocha Mahal coming in second. I don't think the rug you already have shown underneath your couch and coffee table works as well with your proposed colors as do the two new rugs.

debelli, the dark cherry paneling is from a house around the corner in our neighborhood. We tried to put in a bid, but found out the bank (it was a foreclosure) had already accepted a bid less than 24 hours before. We were pretty bummed, we really loved all the built in storage in that house. We fell in love with the neighborhood, so we kept looking and found our current house about a month or so later. The yellow-y looking paneling with the table and lamp is our actual office, although it's the listing picture. We haven't taken any pictures of this (I'm sitting in it) because we have it jam packed with IKEA office furniture. It's absolutely utilitarian, so definitely wouldn't inspire. DH works from home. Since the rest of the house needs work, I'm leaving this office to last. I'm guessing that we won't do much, no paint, DH doesn't want to change the paneling at all. The houses in my neighborhood were built between the mid eighties to mid nineties and ALL of them have paneling of some type either in an office or formal living room. I believe nearly everyone's paneling is done with birch luan and molding trim. Kathe