Kellienoelle, Re. the sofa, while we don't allow the dog on the furniture (we have a yellow lab) since the fur goes everywhere, I can say that it vacuums up nicely and for doggie drool spots we've had good luck with just warm water and a sponge. We do have a cleaning solution we got when we purchased it, and we were able to use it to get some pen ink off with no problem. The sofa was pricier than we'd been used to, but we have had it for almost 5 years and sit on it every single day and the shape has held up beautifully. I rotate the seat cushions occasionally since DH and I tend to sit on either end. I can also vouch that it is extremely comfy to sleep on, as have several of our guests! We ended up with a dark brown color, but the variety of colors available was amazing. If we allowed Chloe on the couch I may have chosen something that 'matched' her fur ;-) Re. the house: my heart will always be with older homes. I grew up in one, and owned a 1905 American Foursquare on my own for years before meeting DH. What drove us to make the move was the fact that we did not have (or have space for) a garage, and our driveway was one car wide. We also had looked into doing some kitchen/bath upgrades and realized that for what we wanted to spend we would price ourselves out of our neighborhood and still have no garage. So I guess it depends on locale and the lot. While our new home lacks some of the character we loved in our older home, I do tell everyone that my favorite room is the 2 car garage- well, before our new kitchen went in that is! And the more open floor plan and extra baths/guest rooms make hosting our large families (all of whom are out of town) much more comfortable. As we go through and update we are making an effort to bring some character into our "tract" home, but if it were the right house and the right location I would not hesitate to own an old beauty again.

Thanks for your suggestions! Yes the fireplace is working and unfortunately I think the TV is too big to put on the fireplace (it sticks out at the end, is that okay?). As for the dining table, there is no real space behind the bar stools. That is the entrance to our home and it's just a narrow hallway. The other thing I'm worried about with putting the TV where it is now is that the space behind the couch feels under-utilized... I was thinking of getting this TV stand, is this too high up do you think?: [https://www.houzz.com/products/tv-stand-milano-200-black-body-modern-90-tv-stand-led-gray-black-prvw-vr~104115228[(https://www.houzz.com/products/tv-stand-milano-200-black-body-modern-90-tv-stand-led-gray-black-prvw-vr~104115228)

Here is my concept. I am making an assumption that there is a walkway on left so you loose 3’ from seating space. I numbered items in order of importance so you can purchase as budget allows. Sofa, 2 chairs facing sofa and coffee table. You can add other chairs as needed. I think a 9 x 12’ rug will anchor the room. A narrow, long coffee table serves main seating area. A large plant in corner to right of fireplace would soften space. Do plain fabrics and leathers and use rug and pillows and art over fireplace to add colors desired. I would find a way to add an arc lamp probably next to chairs over toward coffee table. You will have plenty of light during the day but at night will need ambient lighting. Can lights are not good best lighting on skin. So see if this reflects your desires. I am going to pull some other ideas together to realize this concept. In this sketch, each square equals one square foot. Bbl

If you need more seating, you may be able to use a sectional without a back on the side portion, so your views are still open from the kitchen, similar to this: Another option would be to use a smaller round coffee table, and add one or two small bench type seats on the side of the sofa opposite the two chairs, or one longer one like this example: For the shoe area by the door, try to utilize all the vertical space that you can.