I understand what people are saying about not putting all furniture against the walls. But try telling my husband that. He thinks moving it away from the wall is wasting space and wonders you do with the space behind the sofas! I have the same hesitations myself. We actually have a beautiful cherry writing desk that we could us in the space of the entertainment center. My husband thought we would move it to the basement room. but honestly if we do that I dont know where all the toys are going to go! Plus I think it would be nice to leave it upstairs and have it in the family room instead. I also really like the idea of putting the LCD TV on the 1/2 wall and building some storage there. Does anyone have any pictures I can look at for ideas? My husband likes to do woodworking so I am envisioning some nice maple or cherry shelving and having the TV sitting on top or mounted over it. The room is 11'8" wide from the wall with the windows to the stairs dropping down into the room. I'm not quite sure that is wide enough to position 2 couches facing each other with the fireplace on one end and future TV on the other. I NEED more than 1 couch. As it is now 3 of us pile on it and the loveseat NEVER gets used. I think loveseats are a bit pointless. Usually only 1 person sits on it at a time. Also, I dont know about having to turn my head to look at the TV. Seems like it would get uncomfortable. Now I am thinking what may be feasible is to get the sectional, but pull the short side out from the 1/2 wall. Then I could potentially put our writing desk there (if we pull out the couch enough). Put the TV in the corner like we originally planned, and then have room for a chair and maybe automan to the right of the TV. Thanks everyone for all of the feedback (keep it coming). Its really making me look at things a bit differently. IF I went ahead with a sectional but pulled it out from the wall, what do you do with the space behind the couches? It seems like a waste.

How about facing your two couches and put the chair facing the TV? Then you could have a play area behind one of the couches with a rug to play on. The couch would sort of separate the play area from the TV area and easy to put the toys away. I remember when we had two little boys and how they "helped" me put their things away. An end table or two with lamps and you home will look nice. I do agree that your TV is high but maybe that is the best place for it.

I'm not clear on why you don't like this placement? To me, this looks ideal - kids zone at the end of the room with shelving and baskets for storage, TV on wall by windows with couch facing it. You have a nice set up for ease of conversation and looks warm and inviting.

I think that overall, you are on the right track with the layout. For the age of your kids, it makes a ton of sense to have a table at one end for games, puzzles, crafts, projects, and school work. There are a few things I’d recommend changing, as well. Here is an idea I drew up for you: I’d sell/get rid of the tv cabinet and get a console or dresser that fits in the niche. Consider putting the tv on an articulating arm so that it can be adjusted for viewing. You could probably get a smaller tv, if desired, which might help with the tv feeling “too close.” Put the full size sofa under the window on the long wall, with nothing behind it. Since it is shorter, put the loveseat in the walkway so that you can easily walk past it to get from one side of the room to the other. On the wall where the tv cabinet was, you could put in approximately 6’ of bookshelves. This will give you a spot to contain the books and random items that life throws at a busy family. You can store a mixture of pictures, books, and the globe. Baskets can be gathered to hold fabric swatches and legos, puzzles (I like removing these from their boxes and storing them in zippered bags inside a basket, if possible.) I recommend getting a circular end table for the end of the couch nearest the doorway. It will make that walkway/doorway feel more spacious and the furniture like less of a hip banger. At the table end, I like the idea of the storage unit with the fabric bins. I know that for our family, the bins need to be labeled in order for them to be used properly and not become catchalls. You could tie tags on the handles, or hot glue labels on the sides of the bins. Then it’s just a matter of training the household to regularly put things away in them. : ) Your windows are gorgeous, but I can understand why you want to obscure the view. How about some top down shades or sheers instead of what is there now? Then you would have quite a bit more light coming into the space while still retaining a sense of privacy. The windows would be pretty with curtains hung high and outside the window frames. I like your couches, and the rugs and pillows all work very well with each other in addition to the furniture. You might like to check out the YouTube channel by Clutterbug. Her organizing solutions are very realistic and down to earth, doable without breaking the bank. “At Home with Nikki” and “Alejandra” have some great organizing ideas on YouTube, too. These have been helpful for our family when our things started to feel like they were taking over our home. I love Josh Becker’s Minimalist blog posts and the blog “Nourishing Minimalism,” too. I couldn’t really make our house any bigger, so I found I had to simplify our stuff instead....well, still working on it. Hope this helps!