A neighbor had her stepdown living room raised to the same level as the rest of her house and even though it made her ceiling height 8 foot loves it. I am sitting now with a sprained ankle from landing badly after stumbling down a stepdown in an unfamiliar house when I wasn't looking down. Filling in just seems the safe thing to do.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. My fiancee would really love to have the room feel like one large space if possible, and so we're trying to see if we can make it work with one large rug, if possible. We would also like to soften the space as much as possible, and provide some softer landing spots for our pups. I agree with Yaya about the couch I posted. I like the look, but comfort should be just as important. I'll keep tossing around new ideas. Thanks again!

NO NO NO. I would never buy a house with step up/step down. Even for younger able bodied folks. Too easy to fall. A long time ago, I fell down one of these small single levels at a museum in Nice. Sprained my wrist (trying to break the fall) and my ankle. Unless you have a railing along the entire stretch, including the kitchen step, and then only a narrow opening for access, it's a fall waiting to happen. If you try to install a good ramp, you will probably find that you don't have room for the length needed. Have you spoken with a structural engineer about eliminating the raised/dropped floor and put all the living space on one level?

I would want larger scale chairs for this room. If you have any friends over 50, you might not want the chairs to be too low. I'd stack the 3 pieces of art vertically in the stairwell and hang new, large art on the long wall and above fireplace firebox opening. The ones in the dining room need to be lowered (centered 5' above the floor and hung one hand's breadth apart.) Would you rather look at the back fence or the fireplace? The trees outside are lovely but the fence is humdrum and utilitarian. How about using top down/bottom up shades so you can hide the fence but still see the trees up top? I think you could use a larger rug, especially if you get leggy chairs. They should sit entirely on it, while the sofa only needs the front 1/3 to 1/2 to be on the rug.