VirgilCarter, This is an off-topic comment on how terms vary from place to place: What you're calling a shotgun house has another name in this area: We call it a dog-trot because a dog could trot through the two portions of the house, and middle-class farmers -- like my family -- built them. I knew of some when I was a kid (before everyone had air conditioning), but to the best of my knowledge the dog-trots have all been filled in now. They're a throwback to another era. What WE call a shotgun house is a tiny, three-room house, probably located in what we call "Mill Hill", a village of tiny houses built by the textile mills. Back in the days before minimum wage, the mill provided free housing to all its workers, and the "Mill Hill" was close enough that workers could walk to work /return home for lunch. Workers who put in X number of years received a pension and had their house free 'til the day they died. Wages were very low, but the workers didn't have many expenses either -- they had their houses, they didn't get bills for their utilities, and they didn't need to own a car . . . on the other hand, workers were essentially "trapped" by the mill. With no way to save, who could afford to walk away from the mill job? The only people who could realistically leave were men who joined the military. This system ended when minimum wage was instituted; the mill couldn't provide the houses AND a decent wage. Okay, I'm definitely off topic . . . What we call a shotgun house is probably about 600 square feet. From a small front porch, you'd enter the living room. A door would open directly to the only bedroom. On one side of the bedroom there'd be a staircase to an attic bedroom (shared by all the kids) and a tiny bath under the stairs. Another door would open directly to the eat-in kitchen. There'd be both a front and a back porch. No hallways whatsoever. All rooms had windows on both sides, which provided good breezes (this is the South). Today those old houses are snapped up /rennovated by people who rent them through HUD or other low-income rental programs. Few people would choose to live in these houses.

My dining room is 11' x11'. When I had my 58" round glass table in there, it was a little bit of a tight fit for the person pushing back from the table next to the wall (no buffet there at the time), but doable. I now have a oval table that is 42" wide, and have leaves to make it larger. With all the leaves in it, it seats 6 people comfortably. I do have a small buffet type of table (40"L x 15"deep) next to one of the walls where 2 people sit near, BUT, they have to be skinny people to push away from the table since the buffet is behind them. (In this case it is always my DD who is very slim). But at the ends of the table for the 11'x11' room there is ample room. In your case of having 15' at one end you should be fine IMO. On my blog link, in the first picture you can see how the oval table works in my room, in this shot it only has 1 leaf in it, but as I mentioned 2 leaves are fine in there too. Also, the photograph is deceiving in how close the buffet appears (due to the angle I took the pic) next to the table, there is still enough room for my DD to push away from the table. I suppose ideally, in my case, the buffet would be best removed, but her and SO's visits are only occasional. Here is a link that might be useful: DR

Thank you everyone! I am going to take some measurements this evening so you can see the actual layout of the room. The outlets are not an issue, they can be added. I have thought about putting the TV next to the fireplace, but the opening right there (which leads to the dining room, which then leads to the kitchen) is quiet large, so I'm not sure where I would put a couch if I did that. Blocking that opening doesn't seem right. If the TV was next to the fireplace, it would either be above the bricks on the wall or on a stand. I would prefer to not be looking up at the TV, but putting a stand in front of the bricks (the continuation of the fireplace) doesn't feel right either. I have thought about putting the TV between the front door and the window also. I do realize I might have to sacrifice what I would prefer for what would actually work. Part of me wants to tear down the wall in the middle of the house that the TV is on now, although that would be quite a job and I am sure there are supporting beams in there that would need to stay. Besides support, the purpose of that "floating" wall seems to be just to make a hallway, which to me doesn't seem necessary. Either way, I don't think I am ready to take the wall down at this time anyway. I will get back to you all with dimensions later on. Thank you for your help!

The wall isn't really that pretty either. LOL. It's about the color of concrete. OK, maybe it's a beige-y color and not gray but still. Boring. I'm sure with some tree trunks and some lower shrubs it would break it up. I just don't have that many options for things that come in tree form. Purple Hopseed, Photina (that's a hell no), there's a pittosporum that comes in tree form but there was a reason the people at the nursery didn't recommend it (I think full sun was not pittosporum's favorite). There is Wild Lilac Ray Hartman but it gets a bit too wide. Granted we could plant them so some of the tree extends over the wall but I'd rather not if we can avoid it. I THINK Carolina Cherry Laurel comes in some sort of tree form but isn't that kind of messy? ANYWAY, if we go the "all trees for screening" route it would likely need to be all the same one just for the lack of options. I think that's why I really like Euonymus japonicas "Chollipo"...not completely fond of it's variegated leaves, but it only gets 6' wide and tolerates pruning if it goes crazy. Gosh, if Smoke Trees were evergreen I'd plant those in a heartbeat. I fell in love with them at the nursery the other day. Maybe that's what I should plant in that corner at the bottom of the pic. Although my hubby REALLY likes the idea of a grouping of Forever Goldy there (Thuja plicata) like you suggested. :)