Congratulations on your new house! It looks lovely and we're all going to have such fun watching you decorate it. I'm with the others here... I'd get a big rug and put the front feet of your sofa and stuffed chairs on it, pulling them out away from walls. This will give you a nice conversational space in front of the fireplace. I also think your current rug is way too light for your furniture. Maybe it can go in your kitchen or a bedroom? I don't know your budget, but I got my huge rug for $50 through Craigslist, by watching it like a hawk and replying to the ad about 10 minutes after it was posted (he got tons of responses at that price but luckily mine was first). The rug turned out to be perfect and in brand new shape except it just needed a shampooing, which I gave it the minute I got home. I think if you have animals or a young family you might not want to put too much $$ into a rug you have to worry over constantly. That's how I feel about it, anyway. But if you've got lots of dough to burn I'm sure you'll be able to find something that makes your heart swoon. When it comes to accessorizing that big space with the tall ceilings, I'd look at inspiration pictures. The Living Rooms thread in our Gallery contains several hundred beautiful pictures. I like to browse it with a specific question on my mind, such as "what should I put on my coffee table?" or "what's a good way to arrange pictures on the wall?" I will get good ideas and know just what to do in 5-10 minutes of browsing the pictures for ideas. We've got threads for just about any kind of room in the Gallery. Close this thread and click on the Gallery links... one is top-ish right, and one is at the bottom. If you see pictures you love, you can save copies to your computer.

@betsy Cain I tend to have a traditional/transitional style. They don’t have to be super formal rooms, as the rest of the house has a more relaxed feel, and of course the farmhouse style dining table isn’t “formal”. for now, I think the chaise needs to stay in this room. The only other place it could go is the also empty sun room and I don’t really think it fits there Any better. My husband actually likes the thing and enjoys laying on occasionally. Additionally I have no other furniture to put In its place! We moved into this house last fall and added about 1500-1800 sq ft of “growing space” so we knew we’d have to furnish slowly and with some hand me downs.

Candid! The first thing I saw in both rooms were the window treatments. The living room valances, although formal in design, are a dated look even for kitchens. The dining room drapes and swag should be framing the stage in a theater; they're just too heavy and dark. The red art in the dining room and the blue art in the living room are "off" elements in contrast to you furniture. The red ones might work in your kitchen, and the blue could theme another space. Dried floral arrangements and sticks as decor faded a long time ago. The living room rug should be as large as the one in the dining room. What to do... Here's a favorite house of mine and you have the furniture to pull off a similar look if you just simplify and get a larger rug and some side tables and a coffee table that are in scale with your other pieces. Click through the link with the photo to see other rooms in this lovely home. Brighten up your space by painting both rooms as below (believed to be Navajo White walls and White Dove Trim.) Consider wainscot for the dining room and a new chandelier. Updated window treatments that match in both rooms, larger rugs and less clutter would improve things. If you do paint, then removing all the tchotkes will happen anyway. Pack them up and only put them back judiciously.

I'd wait on the rug and put your money into end tables, a coffee table, lamps, and artwork.