I think your idea of putting the sofa facing the fireplace and having the play area behind it is a good one. I'd go with a low bookcase behind it, with baskets or bins to hold toys and books. Is this room your prime tv watching area? If the tv can be put in one of the built-ins, then you would have one major focal point, with the tv and the fireplace next to each other, and the sofa facing them. Keeping the media cabinet where it is will really limit your seating arrangement possibilities--it will be difficult to watch tv from the sofa if the sofa is facing the fireplace. And if the media cabinet takes up most of that wall, it is also taking up a lot of the space where you could add in new chairs. Moving the tv to the built-ins might cost some money--you'd need to have the cable hook-up moved and maybe hire a carpenter to make changes to the built-ins. But you will be spending money anyway on new furniture. I wouldn't let the fact that you currently own the media cabinet influence your plans for this room too much, as it could be as much a liabilty as an asset. If it keeps you from creating an attractive room with the amount of seating that you want--why keep it? My thought is to put the sofa where you plan. Then you could put two upholstered chairs, one on either side of the fireplace, angled a bit, but facing the sofa. That would be a nice spot to curl up with a book. That would give you seating for at least 5 people. Then get a couple of side chairs and put them on the wall currently occupied by the media cabinet, with a small side table between them. If you make the table and chairs in the play area into a game table, then you will have 4 more chairs for guests. Now you are seating at least 11 people in the room without having to move in chairs. If you absolutely have to keep the media cabinet and keep it where it is, then I'd suggest a sofa against the window wall, facing the tv, and a second sofa or a loveseat (depending on how large your room is) at right angles to it, facing the fireplace. You could still put a bookcase against the back of the sofa facing the fireplace. Then an upholstered chair in that lower right-hand corner between the built-in and the media cabinet. That should give you seating for 6-7 people, although only 3 of them will be able to view the tv comfortably. If the media cabinet fits the style of the house, could it be repurposed in the play area of the room, holding toys? This post was edited by camlan on Tue, Mar 11, 14 at 8:53

Do a floor plan and make the smaller angled end of the room the dining area. As is now the table and chairs are wasting a lot of precious space. You can leave the t v where it is. With an app, have the screen become art work, or a simulated fireplace…. Put a sofa on the solid wall with floor lamps, sleek coffee table, with a colorful rug under, and two small swivel chairs to complete the vignette. Swivel chairs are valuable to your space, as they can turn toward both the sofa and the t v.

@housegal200 - I agree! I love everything about how this house was staged and would have been totally happy buying all their furniture. I wanted to hire a designer/decorator for at least the living room but I couldn't get my husband on-board with that idea and now I'm terrified about how bad this room might potentially look. Unfortunately getting a smaller TV in here is not an option - he is dead set on keeping this TV and making this the family room. There is another room in between the dining room and kitchen that is being used as a formal sitting room but it's not as nice as this room.

You'll get the best help if you can please provide us with a hand drawn floor plan and measurements. Please label where the living room and dining room is on the floor plan. A couch and chairs are easier to decorate than a sectional. Bland is not bad - it gives you a lot of options - it doesn't limit you. If you want to pick out your style, put in top HOUZZ search box (one at a time) different styles. Here are just a few - transitional, modern, traditional, eclectic, casual. Regarding your mirror - just keep in mind that mirrors are best when they have an interesting reflection.