I like the sofa and rug a lot. Can you move the rug so it's centered with the couch? Then I think I'd look for some new chairs that aren't white (or get new slipcovers) and center with the couch, even though one would be floating.

I mean this kindly, maybe it is the visual cluutter of your refrigerator that bothers you?

Indygo... thank you I didn't think about allowing one of the chairs to float. The rug is taped with carpet tape so before I pry it up I wanted to settle on an arrangement.

Clairebuoyant1 so true. LOL! That's a never ending battle with my husband. Sometimes I wish we had a refrigerator that didn't allow magnets.

Have you considered swapping the functions of the dining room and the living room? TV on the wall where all the photos are, sectional backed up to the twin columns/bookcase, white chairs with their backs to what looks to be the entryway.

I agree with Jakabedy. Take some measurements to be sure, but it looks like your current dining area is larger. Even if it isn't, it may accommodate your furniture better based on the length.

could we point main body of sectional towards tv and pull chairs in closer, so that it was all pretty close with a beeline to escape on one side?

Possibly a graphed floor plan of the open concept area you have would be most helpful. I too wonder about the possibility of flipping your spaces. How many people live in your home? How much seating do you need in the living room? Maybe deleting a few items is part of the solution.

Thanks for everyone's comments! I appreciate the thought of flipping the rooms. It's not a room ready for cable but I know that's an easy fix. Also we actually live by a lake which when sitting on the couch now you can see out the double doors. Lastly that room is always the darkest room cause light doesn't come in well so we would have lights on basically all day. I will get the measurements if that will help cause I desperately need the help.

I also have a dark living/family room. I have 6 lamps circling the room, 1 of which is a lighted cabinet and another lighted artwork near other lamps. I also have a central light but only use it for cleaning or close work. I don't love overhead lighting. I also use a huge mirror directly across from one of my (north-facing) windows, which bounces some more light around.

I appreciate wanting to maximize views from the living area but the current layout looks stuffed. Also, it looks like only one person will get a good view of the lake, anyway. Will the table take up the entire area or do you have room for a couple of chairs and table to place in line with the doors for a reading/drinking spot?

Raise the blinds and open the drapes to reacquaint yourself with how the light changes through the day. You can figure out a good lighting plan based on that.

I think that the all the things on your horizontal surfaces and around the fridge adds to the feeling that the rooms look incomplete and cramped. I would take everything down and just add back the things that are completely necessary or that you love.

Is the stars and stripes bunting always in the window or is it displayed during holidays only? It blocks a lot of light. Love the idea of flipping the rooms!

If you're not looking to buy anything, then rotate the sofa and chaise to face the wall where the TV is. Then I would move both bookshelves against the wall on the right of the window. I'd would hang the TV higher and tilt down and put a floating shelf beneath for the electronics. I'd also get rid of the chairs or relocate to another room and find some stools or high standing chairs for people to sit on. I'd also center the rug or rotate 90 degrees. Its hard to tell dimensions and size. Maybe you can next time use the phone horizontally and capture more of the room in one picture. Corner tables won't work too well here, so I would put your lamps away corner tables as well and get recessed lighting if lighting is an issue. basically we would be clearing the space but closing off the room with the sofas. you may need downsize the sofas or for with an L shaped sofa where the 3 seats are against the window and 2 seats face the TV. Hope this helps!

My first instinct was switching rooms as well. The view to the outdoors is cut off by the chairs and the peninsula anyway (it seems). Makes more sense for the dining to be next to the kitchen and end up with a better layout for living room - the benefits are greater in my mind than an obstructed view from the couch. It will take no time to move things around to see what you think. If switching, try the tv on the back wall where the cabinet is and the couch on the long wall. Play around with the single chairs. You can now take down the swag light, as lighting won't have to be centered..it will look much better. I'd also suggest removing all of the accessories/tables and add slowly and deliberately based on needs and usage. It will make the space feel more spacious - you don't need to fill blank spaces or surfaces and I would also suggesting editing the collage. In regards to the bookcases, keep them in the dining area and you could fill with pottery and practical items - stack plates, add candles, bowls, etc.. You storage seems limited, so might as well use the shelving from a practical sense. In regards to lighting, if you raise the blinds on all of the windows and open up the drapes, the light should filter to both sides of the room.

Wow! ok there are a lot of takers of switching the rooms. I guess I know what I will be doing this weekend. I'm sorry the pictures are skewed where you can't tell dimensions but if you click on the photo it provides a more accurate view of the dimensions. Not that I'm expecting anyone to click on each photo and thoroughly review. Again many thanks!

Here's the best I could come up with for dimensions. The red box is the current living room and the black box is the current dining room. Even though the current dining room may in the end wind up with 2 extra feet...it's not really. I actually need more than 2 feet of the space near the bottom of the picture to enter a laundry room that is on the other side of the wall to the current dining room. I'm sorry if I am making this more difficult. I am obviously the problem why the room is so hard to decorate. I will still be trying to see if swapping the rooms will work though.

Removing the round coffee table with the glass top would add space to the room - literally. In its place you could use small tables that can be moved around easily. You have a lot of tchotchkes in your house. If you like that look, keep them, but they may be contributing to your sense of being crowded.

If you decide not to change rooms...here is what I see....shelves, shelves and more shelves....two on each side of the TV, one by the columns and one in the corner with a plant on it. And a chest with drawers between your two chairs. I think maybe with all those, you are feeling that the room is too full and cluttered. You mentioned seating....those shelves do not add to the seating issue...you have three ottomans, that I can see also. Are there any of the shelves/bookcases you can eliminate? I think you could put one of your chairs where it is and turn the other to face the TV with either the chest or an end table with a lamp on it between them....sort of "L" shaped..... I think paring down on your bookcases/shelves will help with the "full" look.

Please try to remove as much as possible from the refrigerator, sides and top. Also, although the America flag half-round in the window is nice, I recommend removing it and putting in a better place for display. Before any negative comments start, I want to say that I am a military retired wife and devoted to our great USA and our wonderful flag and all it represents. My recommendation for removing it from the window has nothing to do with loyalty to the USA. Just wanted to let you know.

The thing that sticks out to me in your current living room is that the traffic path is right in front of the chairs. If possible, you want to route traffic around the seating area. You'll be able to achieve that in the other room. It looks like the entry, backdoors, and traffic are on the edges of the room. Since the dining table is set in the middle, the traffic will be routed around the furniture.

It's worth a shot. Sometimes you have to play around with your spaces and live with the "new" to really get a feel for what's the most comfortable for your family.

Thanks everyone! Walnut Creek thank you for the patriotic comment. I've served in the military myself but I must be honest the red, white and blue bunting is only a Memorial Day to Labor Day decoration. Regarding the fridge I will have to play a game of take everything down and see how quickly my husband puts everything back up LOL! I've gotten used to it and when people come over they love seeing the random old memories we have up there. As you might have noticed already we are picture people.

That half wall between the dining room and living room/kitchen, can it be completely removed? If not, I think it would move out that little bookshelf. I feel like it just is adding to the cluttered look.

Have you considered removing the rug? Maybe there's someplace else you could use it? It's pretty but looks too small for the room. A good general guideline for size is it should be large enough to accommodate at least the front feet of all the furniture. If under a table it should be large enough that the chairs are still on it when pulled out. I think the current size only helps draw attention to everything not being centered. Where everything is right now I can't tell if a larger rug (at least an 8x10. Looks like you have a 3x5?) will interfere with the walkway. At this point though until you figure out the furniture placement I wouldn't worry about getting a new one but would remove the one you have.

I'm assuming you probably use the ottomans in the living room but if you can, I'd consider removing them and just having the glass table. That and the removal of the rug would help open things up visually.

I also think the room would look better if the dining room and living room could be flipped. I'm curious to see if this works for you. And sometimes a new change will look really strange for a while until you get used to it. Try and live with something for a week or so because that really can make all the difference.

If you were going to pair down one thing I would choose the whole refrigerator. It would help it blend in with your cabinets and create a nice visual flow there without a break in the cabinet run if that makes sense. I think pictures look best when displayed in frames (says important) and you have those in the bookshelves and on the wall of the dining area. Maybe use just the right side (not front) of the fridge for items. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Thanks again of course for all the comments. Please help again. The TV is our main TV and the family doesn't want to seem to part with it for a week so I can test swapping the rooms. So basically I need to get someone out to make a cable outlet in the current dining room. Where should the outlet go?

My first instinct is to center the outlet on the long wall where the picture gallery is. The short wall, where the cabinet and door are, looks like a traffic lane. The opposite side has a door, so more traffic.

Have you sketched out your floor plan, including the other rooms, so that you can get a good feel for the overall flow? Make it to scale and draw in your furniture to see how it will all fit together.

I would measure all of the furniture that you absolutely need to use and make templates. Use graph paper and place the "furniture" in both rooms to see which one works best for your family.

Without knowing placement of doors and windows in your dining room, it is really difficult to suggest a layout for your furnishings. Your cable company will usually charge about $40 to add each outlet (at least that was our experience in two different states, two different service providers).

I was just wondering whether the structure dividing the living room from the dining room is load-bearing and therefore necessary. If it were removed it would make the whole space seem much more open and larger. I completely agree about the rug, it needs to be much larger to cover the whole space or be removed. It also makes the space look smaller, especially with the busy pattern.

I really don't mean to offend, and you're being so nice about all the suggestions that have been made, but I also have to say that the visual clutter overwhelms your relatively small space. I would remove the slipcovers from the chairs, take off everything from the top of the bookcases, definitely take everything off the fridge, and remove about half the pictures from the wall in the dining room and hang the remaining favorite pictures in a more thoughtful, organized fashion. The flag decoration in the window too, please. When I look at the first picture of your room that's practically all I can see. I know I always feel a great sense of relief when I declutter my rooms; it just makes the house seem move livable and spacious.

Justerrilynn I really like that idea. And I think my husband will really like the idea of having a bigger TV so this option may be an easier sell lol! Thank you very much! And thanks for the visual it really helps me.

I love that idea and , with the center made wider, it will block the view of the fridge maybe. lol Good thinking Terri!

Thanks Ant and Yaya!

Ant I took some of your accessories away (hope you don't mind : ) You have some very nice things though.

Just a bit of update. Thanks justerrilyn! Husband went for your idea :-) bigger TV wins every time. But I didn't marry a Mr. Fix it let alone a builder so that's a TBD project. For now I've taken a bit of advice from all...I've spaced out the chairs, taken everything off the top of the bookshelves, took away the bookshelf on the half wall and was able to clear only one side of the refrigerator. A marriage is comprise so I let him keep the front of the fridge. It's night time so a good photo means turning on every light but I will post one soon if anyone is interested. Thanks again to all!

we are!

I'm interested lol.

Ok here's my work in progress. Still need to move the taped down rug. Disregard the dining room it's currently hosting some of the overflow. Please feel free to comment.

Looks really great Ant! You are a little over half way there! I really like the chair moved as well.

This is so much better, Ant, really very nice. Just taking the magnets off the side of the fridge is already a great improvement, and the bookcases look very much better with the items removed from the tops. Chair placement also helps a great deal, as does having some sort of door on that central cabinet. Everything looks more spacious and more coherent. The uncluttering you've done has made a big difference.

Much better. Next step, move both white chairs to face the TV, side by side, without a table in between. The chairs should touch the corner of the sofa.

Your natural traffic path in the room is across the front of the peninsula, leading from the hallway. Remove all furniture where you now have the baby seat, white chair and small white cabinet. That are should be your clear traffic path.

With your seating in an L shape, and a traffic path outside the seating area, your room will feel much more comfortable. Move your rug closer to the white chairs, so their front feet sit on the rug. That will define your seating area even better, and make it inviting. Right now, the traffic path goes through the seating area which is not a peaceful feeling.

If you aren't switching living/dining, I agree with Partim. You need to acknowledge and accommodate traffic.

You've done a lot of work and it has made a BIG difference.

Thanks to you guys! Ok so put the chairs literally side by side touching each other? Once the chairs are gone won't that make the pathway seem bare?

Yes, side by side. Maybe leave a few inches between - see what feels right. But no furniture in between the chairs and no pathways in between. You're going for an L shaped conversation area, as if you had a sectional.

You said in your first post that it's not easy to move around. That's because you have no path way yet. It won't look bare. Be sure to move the rug so that the front feet of the white chairs sit on it.

Oh forgot to add...I would remove the blinds in that beautiful window and use tie backs to the curtains. In that way, your view is not obstructed

Ant, you are doing just great. Keep it up. Slowly, but surely, you will get all the way there with the kitchen and dining room and make it all look so very cohesive.

I like the idea of trying the two chairs side by side to clear up that walkway if possible. I'm thinking they probably need the blinds for privacy at night.