Good morning all: Well, we went with two 100" Madison leather sofas in Brompton Cocoa from Casco Bay Furniture and they arrived last Thursday, several weeks before expected. We LOVE them! Our sofas were estimated to take about 16 weeks as the size was custom so frames had to be built from new pattern. In addition, Rob was kind enough to send us several hide samples from amongst the numerous they have at the warehouse so we could choose the color we liked. This too was supposed to add to the time and we were thinking a delivery time in May but last Thursday they arrived right on time. My family and I could not be happier. They look EXACTLY like RH Maxwell sofas. I understand that the ones from CB are superior in construction to the ones currently made in China by RH, but since we have only had them one week I can only tell you what they look and feel like. They are beautiful now and we are looking forward to seeing how they "weather" over time. My husband literally started on one end of one sofa, got up, moved down a little, all the way to the end of the second sofa to see if there was any sagging or lifting of cushions: there was none. When we went to the RH Outlet in Wrentham in December/January we sat on several 96"and 108" Lancaster and Maxwell sofas and found the sagging, and if one person sat on the end of one cushion with no one else in the middle, it would lift like a see-saw. The sofas on the floors of RH retail showrooms are most often over 5 years old from when they were constructed in the US: the ones at the Outlets are more consistent with quality of product if ordered today as they are typically customer returns. In the end, we could not be happier and I look forward to doing more business with Casco Bay in the future. /Users/christine/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2012/04/10/20120410-112846/IMG_1678.jpg /Users/christine/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2012/04/10/20120410-112808/IMG_1677.jpg /Users/christine/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2012/04/10/20120410-112846/IMG_1681.jpg

Your space is plenty big -- and it could easily accommodate two sofas and two chairs [Modern Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2105) by Miami Interior Designer Jorge Castillo Design Inc. By placing the chairs directly opposite the fireplace, it gives the room a "lighter" feel upon viewing from the hallway, both upstairs and down. Unlike the photo, I would place a small table in between the two chairs to space them apart. For the sectional option, this would be a good set up: (long part of sectional placed in front of your windows -- two chairs opposite, in front of archways; you can consider swivel chairs for this placement) [Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Seattle Architect knowles ps ***Whatever way you go - please consider moving your furniture out from the wall. You would be surprised by the sense of space when you do this. It also creates a great conversation area.

I love a two story room with a wall of windows. I designed my current home with ten foot ceilings on the main floor, and I would like them higher. I would have gone two story but couldn’t swing it because I was unable to free up space on the second story due to constraints with stretching out the first floor (creek in the way). I think though that 15 or 16 feet might give you the feel you’re looking for if you made sure to add lots of windows. We custom built one house where the family room had 15 foot ceilings and it totally satisfied my need for a two story. Loved that room....it had floor to ceiling windows. Many say they don’t like tall ceilings due to a lack of coziness and intimacy . Tall ceilings never strike me that way. I LOVE the space and open feeling....especially with lots of windows. What I don’t care for is a two story room with large swaths of sheetrock where windows could have been installed. That, to me is a total waste....tall ceilings need tall windows.

I very much like Beverly's 2nd photo of the mantle that extends perhaps 6 feet on either side of the FP opening, with shelving below on each side. It's dramatic and lovely. Back to landrstein's question about the 5.5' and 12'height dimensions that I suggested might be possibilities for the double mantles I was envisioning, those dimensions were for how far above the floor they would be, not how wide they would be. It would be good if you could get a designer to draw to scale what you want it to look like. It's important that you and the contractor are on the same page, and drawings will help you get there.