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

Okay, let me see.......where did I file those pics of the pics.....duhhhh. Yaya, I will put my peabrain into gear and see what I can find. I did upload an album for the HouseMA, which means Massachusetts, which I'll link to below, but there are tons of IN PROCESS photos of the various rooms. But of the small parlor/living room, with that row of pics....which I love, BTW, for the subject matter as well as the frames.... I'll look for the best one and insert it HERE. Look for the albums about the Massachusetts Cape @ Webshots. I took the pictures with my digital camera the day we went to Mystic Seaport CT. It was in December, and the place was almost deserted, so there were no folks in the shots. As a boat captain, I knew of Mystic Seaport for many years, and I was in hog heaven being there. So the pictures meant a lot to me. The second image from the right is a bow shot of the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, before it went on the ways/weighs to be restored/rebuilt. Fantastic and beautiful, a work of art. Then I saw the end of every bowsprit (pointy end of the ship) had a star carved into it and usually painted gold or sometimes blue. This is a tradition with old sailing vessels, a good luck sign, which meant "follow your lucky star," and I'd always, on every boat I worked on, painted a blue star (5 point) on the bow of the boat. It is a sailor tradition. I just love the traditions of the sea. Seeing one from the "old days" was awesome. That is why I love the last picture to the right. And, of course, I took some figurehead shots. You know of course the ancient mariners would strap a live virgin to the bow, as a sacrifice to the sea gods for their safe return. Eventually, they carved and painted wooden figureheads, not all female, as figureheads. I guess they ran out of virgins? If you have a chance to visit the Mystic Seaport, it is a real treat. Here is a link that might be useful: Moccasin's Webshots albums

Congrats on your new house! It looks like your layout is similar to mine. I wouldn’t put the couch against the stairs even though it gives you more room. If you do, then you have to walk through the living room to get to the stairs and other rooms and it’s usually better to have a defined path if you can. I really wanted a sectional but couldn’t make it work. We’re getting new furniture and this is the layout we will probably have - no loveseat but two chairs at an angle. We walk from the kitchen into the living room all the time, so we wanted to keep an entry between the chairs and the sofa.

Keep in mind that you are thinking of starting a family in the next year. You may want to consider holding off on a coffee table and having several end tables so you can place a play mat down in the center of the room and have a place to set bottles etc. and baby monitor next to you. Leave space for a baby swing and a play pen to be later exchanged for cube storage for toys. I may consider placing the TV on the wall flanking the chaise portion of your sofa with something under it that can be later used for toy storage. A TV over the fireplace is pretty high for toddlers to watch. Just thinking of the baby shark video and my niece interacting with it - dancing, running and hiding, celebrating when she is safe . . . and all the other learning programs that she loves watching and interacting with while watching. Maybe visit a few friends with babies and toddlers and find out what works for them before making any final decisions. I like the idea of a sofa and two chairs because it is more flexible.