Can you store sofa, and get another chair? Keep TV where it is and two chairs where sofa is. If sofa is a futon and somebody sleeps in it regularly, I'm afraid you must make amends w/current layout.

Try flipping couch and tv/bookcases. Move dining table and chairs across to the side where couch is now. Put chair and ottoman by couch down at end where dining table is now. How many do you seat at table to eat most of the time? Could you put table against wall and just use three chairs for now or put 2 chairs on long side with the other long side aginst the wall?

You will possibly need to eliminate the coffee table you have and instead use a small coffee table or two very small bunching tables or ...you may have to also eliminate the leaning wall stands and do some wall mount shelves (look at IKEA).

Also, there are a few inexpensive area rugs with good reviews on overstock that will help define the living area but but importantly tie in the light dining table.

I also think you need some reflecting objects somewhere to break it up.

Does the table have a leaf in it? If it does take the leaf out and store under your bed.

Thanks for the suggestions;

I haven't even considered blocking off the side door to the left of the window (looking at window) it leads to a guest bed, but they could also enter it through the bathroom...?

I think we could live without the bookshelves, but i'm unsure of how to "fill" up the big blank wall it would leave. Out dining table is actually an antique butchers block table. It's the table my boyfriend was raised on and given to him by his mother so it has to stay...but we could take out the leaf

Our only ikea is 6 hours away :) We live in the OBX of NC. Nearest big city would be Raleigh, NC

Normally it's just the 2 of us, so taking out the leaf is definitely doable. I thought keeping the leaf might make it look better because without the leaf it's one giant square. However, I see now where I may be wrong.

I also was considering hanging a mirror above the wall in our dining room or where the fish picture is currently hanging by the window

I ditto what justerrilyn said about the coffee table. Is it functional for you, or could you use an occasional tray on that ottoman to serve the same purpose.

The first house I owned had a long narrow living room but without quite the same complication as your doors. The decorator that helped me with drapes, some furniture told me 'never try to place a coffee table in this room' and I never did ;0)

I like the bookcases and the table. Do you like the white beach vibe or do you like the black painted look. Agree about coffee table. It is just too big for room.

Definitely prefer white, airy tones and a more natural feel

morz8 never considered using the ottoman as a coffee table! would you leave the set up as is or try to float furniture?

With the leaf out of the table (or the table rotated 90 degrees, if that doesn't block traffic), I think you could float the striped chair between the dining and living area, facing (what I think is) the front door. The thing that looks most awkward to me in the current layout is the wall will the striped chair. It looks like it blocks traffic, besides being visually unbalanced.

I agree that bookshelves would look better than the ladder shelves you have not, and second the Craigslist suggestion. Or Freecycle. Some things don't have a lot of value on the second hand market, and Ikea bookshelves definitely fall in that category.

Paint the bookcases white it will make them stand out less until you find something you like better. You can also paint the end tables white. The chair is what is in the way the most. If it can move to beside the couch (at the kitchen end) at an angle and remove the coffee table? By float, do you mean pull the couch away from the wall, so you walk behind it? I don't think there is enough room for that. I know I can't do that in my house.

OK, table has to stay but see how it works with the leaf out.

Personally, I don't believe in stuff just to fill the wall. Can you use the bookshelves somewhere else and see what it looks like without them? You can fill the wall with something like this:

How far are you from Norfolk or VA Beach?

Try something like this on futon. The blue on the futon is making the chair look more pink. If you pull the beige out of the stripe, it will tone down the pink.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/sure-fit-reg-soft-suede-futon-slipcover/3242831?Keyword=futon+cover

You have the start to a really cute room.

I see a cute room full of potential

I'd start thinking:

-what can I live without?

so I'd see whether I can take out that table leaf(great suggestion, just check how works irl)..take the ladder bookshelves into a different room(maybe later sell/trade for more useful shelving). let go of the coffee table that's too big..see whether two side tables are really needed or one is enough; try to put a chair ottoman close to the sofa so it becomes your coffee table(with tray of course for these occasions you want to eat or drink there..)

you don't need to do anything with all this right away. just take it out of the room and reevaluate.

It's hard to reevaluate when everything on its place..your eyes are too used to it. (or mine..diesn't matter. such is the way we humans are wired)

then you'll see a room that will be half empty in comparison to what it's now

and you'll see:

-maybe that red chair can be now floated a bit, towards the sofa? say, even with the back to the dining table if enough clearance, or just move closer to where the sofa is?

-maybe you need a lower side table, since yours look too high..and maybe one is enough?

-maybe you'll see what connects between all the pieces and whether you like it and want to work with it as is, bringing just throws/blankets/pillows?

you don't need to fill wall just to fill it. you want to keep it functional or at least balanced. you can use Freecycle, CL, Nextdoor, yard sales (very much in agreement here with previous posters..as somebody who rented, and lived with hand me downs..and as somebody who owns and still Craigslits stuff..)..and find much bigger console for your TV with more storage etc. You can also sind there smaller side table. Lots of things actually.

But. I wouldn't buy furniture unless I'm very sure it's more functional and versatile than what I have now.

And first I'll see what do I have now. Or what I might use from other rooms maybe.

and after you decide what stays what goes..you can see what else you have to get ..whether it's about function or just something that will make your room happier for you.

Don't hurry with the accents yet..you're still building your layout. Doesn't have to take ages. Can take a day or two:) Depends on how inspired one becomes..

Before painting anything, I would play with the layout by removing: both shelves, coffee table, umbrella holder, plant stand & table leaf. You may have to remove one end table or the console below the window. Relocate two dining chairs to the guest room or elsewhere & bring them out if you have guests. Box up all your small decor. Try reversing walls for your sofa & TV. Add more photos to your next comment, just bring back in the essential pieces to form a basic layout paying attention to traffic patterns.

Consider adding a hidden wall support under one half of the dining table, see photos.

Sell your shelves, console table and coffee table? Look for a sideboard/buffet or even a vintage low/longish dresser to place under your TV for some hidden storage. Not too high for tv viewing. It needs to be at least 25% wider than your TV for balance. See photos. Your stereo pieces could sit on the lower shelves of your end tables.

Don't let the dining table or any family donated furniture dictate your future. Furniture handed down can be a burden if it does not work well in your space. Consider asking a family member to store items for future use if it does not work well in this home.

When you do buy a sofa, in the future, be sure to measure. I recommend a 6ft sofa. Not a love seat (that is 5ft) and not a three seat sofa (those are at least 7ft). A 6ft sofa has two cushions and is large enough to seat two and to stretch out on.

Would back dining table to sofa and float both in middle of the space.

DIning table is neither antique nor butcherblock--it wouldn't have a "leaf". It is a nice repro adequate for young couple, w/ or w/o leaf, as circumstances dictate. However I do understand being extremely sentimental about mom gifts and one must be gentle when explaining this isn't the investment he believes it to be. Gentle, g-e-n-t-l-e. Soccermom's suggestion of placing sofa under window is great but if TV viewing is the main activity, I can't imagine it being comfortable to look at TV sideways. So tv on one wall and seating on the other side. Floating dining room is fantastic, but again, if TV viewing is main purpose....

Prefer seating to face window and positioning TV to avoid glare from windows. Discourage buying furniture to fit a temporary rental space.

I haven't read all the responses, so maybe someone else suggested this, but since most of your walls without doors are toward the kitchen, I'd think about flipping the spaces and put the table (downsized without the leaf) under the window, maybe with one side up against the wall under the window. Then arrange your living room furniture at the opposite end.

I haven't read all the reply's in detail so forgive me if the chair can't be moved if the leaf in the table is taken out.

I mentioned above that the coffee table and leaning shelves can not be used due to the size. I think also the huge ottoman to the chair can not be used. I think since your budget is small try to get an idea on how you would like the room to look. Then, go to thrifts, garage sales, CL and such. Over time you can get stuff but first have a vision of the overall.

Change out any of these ideas for your own.

If you flip the couch and TV (and put the stereo on something as thin as possible, underneath) then you can walk straight in the front door and along that wall, without walking "through" the living room (although you will be). You'll have created a hallway along the wall that just happens to have a TV on the wall. Then all the furniture and rug is on the other side of your walkway.

And, in a room where you're cramped for space, those slanted shelf units take a lot of space but add no functionality. I'd get rid of them in favor of one bookcase. To my eye, those kinds of shelves always look forced and jerry-rigged and flimsy, no matter where they are.

I agree with Tatts on the sofa wall flip. I kept it as is in my rendering above because you said the butcher blocked stand had meaning to your boyfriend but its only ''stuff'',

If you sold the butcherblock, coffee table and ottoman you have some cash to work with.

If your electronics allow you to move TV on wall with window and front door, then mdln's layout posted above is the best.

Lots of good ideas....here is what I think you could do. Take away the ladder shelves, they just take up too much space. Take the leaf out of your table and move it to the middle of the kitchen opening...using only 2 chairs. Use your ottoman for a coffee table. Take out the chest (while very nice) near the chair and use one of the end tables and lamps beside it. If you need another lamp near the couch, get a floor lamp (inexpensive at Walmart) for there. The nice chest could be used on the dining end of your TV wall if you scoot the TV down toward the door more. Pretty artwork over the chest and something over your couch would be nice. Your room is small so you don't need a lot of furniture. I do like mdin's drawing.

You live in such a fantastic location! One of my kids recently moved to OBX, is also in a kind of small place, has some mismatched hand-me-down furniture and a tight budget.

You might try the Ikea in Virginia or College Park, Maryland. Perhaps one of those is closer to you.

If I were you I would remove the bookcases, get a few of those ikea fiskbo photo frames and hang those alongside and/or above the tv. I think you might like a few larger pieces of art on that wall rather than a lot of little things on the bookshelves. It would give the visual appearance of less *stuff* in the room. You should have lots of opportunities to take some gorgeous photos to go in the frames. Or you could frame fabric you love, get some kind of downloadable art from etsy, calendar pages if they're the right size, all kinds of things. If you like watercolors that Waterlogue app is pretty cheap. You could get some paper and colored pencils and color in some geometric shapes and frame that.

I'd maybe put a large tile or something on top of the umbrella stand and use it as a makeshift table beside the pink chair, handy to put a drink on it or something. I'd get rid of the table currently beside the pink chair (move the chair further from the front door) and get rid of the end table between the futon and the front door. Or I'd get rid of the two end tables and move the table currently beside the pink chair to a spot alongside the futon.

I'd get rid of one or two of the lamps and either the coffee table or the ottoman.

You can get some pretty cheap floor lamps at ikea, and one of those would take up a lot less space probably than the end table.

I think my home is cute, my furniture matches, I have window treatments and art I love on the walls. At this point in my life I think I could trade it for a small place on the OBX full of mismatched hand-me-down furniture........and paddleboards, kayaks, surfboards, kiteboards and bicycles.

Good luck and have fun whatever you decide!

You have some great suggestions already. I think we've all been where you are (or still are where you are) and that's how we learned to be creative.

I think your leaning bookshelves are simply not needed. Sell them. At least list them and see if you get any nibbles. Nothing to lose, right? Along the same vein, when time comes to sell your futon, you may be surprised how many people are interested in it. Mine went really fast. In the meantime, get some of that rubbery shelf liner and put it it between the cushion and the frame. It will help keep it in place.

I happen to like your console table. Obviously something else would be a better fit as far as purpose and looks. However, that's just something to keep your eye open for.

I also agree about switching the sofa and the TV.

Don't worry! Loads of talented people here.