It's my only living room, and I'd like a sofa :(

I am assuming you can't put the sofa on the window wall because of the heating in the floor so it's most likely where it needs to be. As long as you have enough room to enter the house and walk around it to get to the dining room, it's a reality of living in a small space (I'm right there with you) unless you go with a smaller sofa. The sofa has tags on it so I'm assuming you just got it? Does it seem bigger than you expected?

The chair that's behind the sofa, just has to find a place in another room unless you can fit it to the right of the fireplace? Can't really get a feel for it's size.

For me, the key is how much space is there between the side edge of the sofa and the dining room wall? If you having to come around that corner all the time from the stairs and there's not enough space, that will get old really quickly.

Your house has some lovely and unique features, you just have to figure out how to marry them with your design style!

Irene, I like your suggestions! Thank you.

Joe, I don't want to cover that vent for the reasons you stated, and I also don't like how the curtains look with something right up next to it! The sectional is actually about a year and a half old, but we just never took the tags of of it because they were hidden. What you're seeing behind the sofa is the small love seat size part of the sectional. I just pushed it back there to get a feel for what a floating safe may be like. There's about 27 inches between the dining room wall and where the sofa arm would be. The only "person" that may not like the corner turning is the crazy pup lol!

Now I understand better. Yes, I would get a smaller sofa vs the sectional and a couple of C-tables and maybe a narrow, rectangular coffee table vs the round.

Then, you still might be able to get a small chair for the corner - a place to curl up with a book!

I've been thinking about that wall and how dark it is (the wood one) and I think I would consider white washing it and hanging great piece of art possibly a horse picture. Here are some ideas.

I think some of my own inspiration may help with the advice! & I tried to white wash the wood wall before staining it not sure what kind of wood it is, but it would not white wash. Debating asking my husband to help me take that wall down... I don't really like it.

Also, when I say a modest budget I mean ikea & target finds! I'm still young and can't afford things like a $1000 rug, but I can afford some new pieces up to about $200 a piece. The living room is really getting a whole overhaul, so I'm leaving the dining room how it is. This room is a clean slate, but I know I want neutrals that I can throw color in with plants, books, and photos of my little family!

When I'm home between school and work, I'll tape out the ikea sofa to get a feel for it.

Talk to the folks at Sherwin Williams and they can help you determine what "primer" to put on the wood wall, and then what paint to lighten things up. Taking it down will probably leave you with a mess. There will be nail holes galore and I suspect this is lath (wood slats) and plaster (plaster on top of wood slats) and you could get into something that will be costly to fix. So paint for now. I think you could incorporate some navy blue into your living and dining room to tie your rug in the dining room into the living room, but keep the living room lighter. A gray sofa, with blue and white pillows, your wood coffee table, possibly white washed? The on the fireplace wall, you could find a tall wood and metal bookcase for both sides that would create a more cohesive overall look and balance the size of the TV. A live plant in the far right corner would be lovely. Something tall and thin.

Flo, there would be some nail holes, but look at how it was done.

Here's a few angles with tape outlines of the sofa and a 5x7'5 rug. The coffee table has 18 inches, and the wall way between the sofa arm and wall is 30 inches.

Skip the shoe cabinet on that back wall. It's the wrong proportions and it's gonna feel cramped. Just do big art instead.

If you. move the dining rug into the living area and leave the dining room rugless, it will feel larger (and be easier to clean).

We really need the storage though. There's one that is shorter and weird. Do you think that would work better?

The is going to stay in the dining room because our floors weren't finished properly. The stain chips off easily.

In my mind, I'm envisioning the sofa back being what will create a sort of "wall" the will break apart a small entrance like this photo.

I think it's going to crowd the space and really stick out on that dark wall. Before you buy anything, have you figured out what you're going to do with the wall itself?

Also, this photo is about using small entry spaces well. You don't really have a proper entry, so by trying to create an entry with additional furnishings, you'll actually be taking away space/openness from your living room.

And for the record, I've seen that piece in Ikea. It's so cute and clever, I've wanted to buy it myself. If you're currently flipping off your shoes and leaving them in the entry, furniture is not going to stop this behavior. And now I sound like my Mom. LOL

Good luck!

I am not recommending that you try to take that wood down by yourself. I know nothing about how it should be done but you may want to see how much it would cost to have a professional do it. The $100 you will save on the shoe storage and mirror might defray the cost and you'd get a regular wall you could paint (which I think you said you wanted).

How thick it is? An inch or two more of floor space is an inch or two more of floor space. ;-)

I think you may be confused, Flo! I'm selling the sectional, it's just separated because I was testing the bigger piece alone where I want to place the new sofa. I'm sorry my photos are all over the place and may be confusing.

Oh, I missed that you have made a decision on the sofa. I have been hoping you would do a slightly smaller sofa? That Ikea one is quite large. Now I see what you mean.

Have you sat in the Ikea sofa? I wonder how the so-called pocket springs in the cushions will feel?? I know the pricing is attractive, but make sure this is going to work for you. I think I noticed open grate registers where some type of heat comes into the home and that would be under the sofa if you put it along the window wall. Might be OK in warmer weather, but not sure about winter? Or where you are. Lot's to consider. That wood is what is called "tongue and groove" which means the border interlock with a lip that runs the length of the wood and a groove that lip fits into on the next board. So, when removing, you will probably mess that up. I wonder why you started sanding in the most visible part of the wall? I know you want to get things arranged and fixed, but sometimes you have to be patient so you indeed get a good end result. The Ikea sofa is also pretty deep, which makes it come out further than a condo size unit. But, if you are satisfied with the Ikea sofa, wishing you good luck.

I'm sanding the wood smooth and will decide to paint or leave as is. I don't mind to have this left undone for awhile. Making a home takes time, and that's okay. I don't really like the sofa that was suggested, and I didn't really like horse canvas either. They're not my style. The IKEA sofa had good reviews, as well as a ten year limited warranty. I appreciate all of the help, but I feel like people are forgetting that people live here and want comfort and function with comfort being first.

The ikea sofa is actually only 3/8 of an inch bigger in depth than the apartment sofa.

Allison, I appreciate the fact that you're working on a budget. When my family was younger, I knew that I would have to sacrifice quality for price and possibly replace things a bit more often. I still to this day use Craigslist and Target and feel that you can make a room as comfortable and good looking going that way as using more expensive pieces. If you like the IKEA sofa, and feel that it will fit comfortably in your space, go ahead and sell your sectional and get it. The fact that the covers are removable and washable is great with a young family! With the heavy texture on the walls, sanding and painting the wood wall, rather than trying to remove the wood and patching, is probably a good idea. Be sure to use a good oil based primer to keep the knots from bleeding through. Then something like BM Advanced acrylic for a top coat for durability. The wall is small enough that a quart of each should be all you need. Perhaps a storage ottoman with a tray instead of a wood coffee table could help solve some of your storage issues. Adding a storage cabinet to the wall will really depend on how much walk space you have. You don't want to crowd the space too much. A floor lamp between the door and window will let you slide the sofa down just a few more inches to increase your walk space the left of the sofa. Good luck selling your sectional and with your project!

Thank you, katinparadise! I appreciate it.

You're welcome Allison. I hope you'll post pics of your progress along the way!

Still searching for a sofa. Upped the budget a bit to $1000. Size is still #1. Any ideas?