Thank you Lil S and Lorrie H - I will try that and post updated photos:)

Thank you decoenthusiaste - yes I know - we can't seem to get it quite right. The angled fireplace is throwing us off. I will try your arrangement and post updated photos!!

Is there something wrong with having the sofa face the fireplace and the chairs face the windows?

I don't think any of the angled arrangements work.

Hi Lori H and Lil S - thank you for the suggestion. Here is the arrangement flipped- with the chairs by the fireplace - the chairs are quite large and seem to "block off" the fireplace a bit more....but what do you think?

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Thank you decoenthusiaste !!!!! Here is your arrangement --what do you think??? We are liking it...we did it with angled chairs--as well as them straight on,...

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Hi groveraxle:) Thank you for your help. We tried the arrangement - what do you think?

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In the last arrangement (the one I suggested), the chairs are too far from the sofa. I think I like deco's arrangement best. Of course, it sort of makes the area in front of the fireplace a no-man's-land, but maybe that's OK.

Which one feels the best to you?

I think my suggestion works best, but you can tweak it. In order to get maximum use of the room, center the sofa on that wall and move the chairs opposite it. Then center the console on its wall. Now add a family game table in the area between the fireplace and console OR an upholstered bench or chaise under the window. Horizontal art above the sofa and vertical art over the console, a new floor lamp and a larger patterned rug will bring the room to life.

I like groveraxle's best, the one where char has arranged the furniture with the sofa facing the fireplace, keeps the fireplace as the focal point, for me makes the room look more cohesive

following

still like groveraxles idea with the sofa facing the fireplace best, see char's arrangment

One more possibility. In the arrangement I suggested (that doods likes best)...

...notice how the right chair is almost behind the arm of the sofa? Imagine trying to talk to someone on the sofa from that chair. Now, what if the sideboard were removed and the chairs moved left and closer to the sofa? That might work.

Maybe like this:

And, you know, I can't remember the last time we saw the big yellow canary. Probably way past time to hang him in somebody's room:

Your coffee table has been bothering me--it's a little clunky and no one can reach it--so I replaced it with something lighter and round.

groveraxle love the coffee table and rug you added

looks great with groveraxel's addtions

Wow groveraxel AMAZING! Thank-you so much for taking the time to share! We love your additions to the first way we arranged the furniture - and also love the way you suggested to arrange the furniture with the changes to the chairs. I will put the furniture as you suggested and post a photo. Also LOVE the yellow bird. Do you know where I could get it in a print!???!

decoenthusiaste thank you for your arrangement. We wouldn't of thought to put it this way at all and really like how it leaves the window and fireplace open as focal points. Love the upholstered bench idea (it is all trees in the backyard so we spend a lot of time looking at the birds out that window). Would you have it go the length of the window?

groveraxle here are the updated photos - what do you think? The only thing is it leave a really large empty space on the other side of the chairs connecting to the hallway....I tucked in the chairs closer to the wall- but that leaves a larger space to the couch.

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What would it look like to angle those two chairs ever so slightly, angled facing the sofa with the outer chair placed a little more back toward the railing, kind of on this angle: /. Or could your sideboard go against the railing to fill in a bit of that space behind the chairs then I wouldn't angle the chairs

Thank-you doods - what do you think?

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Hi char, I like the sideboard there, with the chairs straight, looks good. The sideboard to me just seems to complete the room, I like your plants on the sideboard adds a bit of softness and ties in with the bigger plant in the corner. My you are patient trying all these arrangements, good for you!

Thank-you doods! I just want to make sure we have exhausted all options before we start decorating with all the "pretty" stuff. It has been a lot of moving while my two boys have their naps!!:S lol I wouldn't of thought to put the sideboard there - so thank you!

Your sideboard is a nice piece of furniture!

Wow! You two could probably rent yourselves out as movers at this point with the amount of furniture you've been hefting lately.

There have been some exciting developments. For example, I really like doods suggestion for the sideboard placement. It puts it in a location closer to the dining room AND gives a little more ease in the placement of the chairs, which it has already been noted, are bigger than they appear.

I also really like the layout groveraxle did with the carpet and the great suggestion of a round coffee table. It takes the overall feeling of heaviness out of the room and makes the angles less of an issue. You could stop right there with that arrangement and the sideboard by the railing.

Then again, when I see the photo that shows the sofa on that short wall, it looks like it just barely fits. There doesn't appear to be room for an end table between it and the window. Also, some of your shots show the angle of the fireplace as more of a thing. So, my final suggestion (to exhaust all possibilities and possibly the two of you!) is to take that whole final arrangement and shift its axis so the sofa is exactly parallel to the angle of the fireplace and the chairs, perpendicular to the sofa. This would have leave a gap from the wall at the dining room end of the sofa where you could tuck in a floor lamp and the house plant shown in some of the shots. This would allow the end of the sofa to project a bit beyond the wall without it looking like a fail. (The carpet would have to follow this angle as well.) The wall now essentially behind the chairs would still have room for a largish piece of art and you could add a section of metal shelving for display towards the hallway. I say metal because it is not visually bulky and will provide texture and interest on that large expanse of wall. Up-lighting to wash the wall with light at night would be easy to integrate into this arrangement.

I think you are going to need/want a slim end table between your two chairs for convenience because, let's face it, one coffee table to address all those seats is probably not realistic. The other pieces of furniture that might complete this set up would be a couple of square cube ottomans (maybe in something practical like wipe-able leather or faux leather) that could be in front of the fireplace or window, but moveable to where ever extra seating might be needed.

Char, I haven't been ignoring you. I'm on a road trip with two more weeks to go, so I haven't been attending to duties on Houzz. It looks like you're getting lots of support though, plus you have good instincts, so I'm not too worried about you and your space. I'll be back in full force after Easter. Carry on.

Thank you so much Elizabeth Minish Design! I think if we had a round table it would make the angles less harsh. We tried the layout tonight - what do you think? When we put the couch on that angle it ends up being pretty close to the chairs. The chairs are a bit too close together for a table. Is this ok? Do you like this arrangement the best? Thank-you again for the suggestion. We appreciate your time:)

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Thank-you groveraxle for reaching out. I hope you have a wonderful vacation:) Happy easter!

Man, that is a tricky room. Depending on the angle of the shot, things look quite spacious, then all of a sudden - not. How far off the window wall is your sofa in this last arrangement? It's hard to tell. It doesn't need to be too far off. The objective is to make it look like you didn't need to use a crowbar to get the furniture to fit. I see the chairs are actually touching the big wall, so a bit squeezy, but only at one back corner. How wide are each of those chairs, by the way? I always like to work with what people have first and only change if it will really help. Bottom line: I like it, but it's hard to tell if we've struck gold.

Which of all the arrangements felt most 1) spacious and 2) inviting to the two of you? We are not on the ground and as groveraxle said, you seem to have good instincts despite your protestations.

Hi Elizabeth Minish Design. In order to make it an exactly parallel angle to the fireplace - it ends up being quite far from the window. Here is a picture. Unfortunately I can't move it closer to the window because it ends up hitting the wall.

The chairs are about 34 inches wide (a chair and a half each).

To be honest there isn't one that feels %100 great - but aspects I like about all of them.

1.

+This feels the most spacious and we like that it leaves the fireplace and window open.

- A bit of an awkward space beside the window (is the room cohesive?) - but we could put a bench in or some cube seats which move around (not sure if this would be enough to bring the room together)

-doesn't really leave an option for putting a tv in (not a huge deal) if we decide to later on

Not sure about keeping the sideboard on the short wall or to move it back to our dining room.

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2.

+leaves the possibility to put in an open white built in to display some decorations

- blocks off part of the window and fireplace

- could put a tv over the sideboard or in the built in if we wanted to eventually -but chairs would be facing the wrong way

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3.

+I like that the window and fireplace are open and the room is cohesive - no awkward empty spaces

-this feels a bit crammed

-when we put the couch on the same angle of the fireplace there is a large space to the window and when we put it straight on the wall it feels really tight (there is no space between the couch and the window).

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I know you started out at #2, but could you try that one again only angle the sofa to that it is as close to perpendicular to the fireplace as possible, then match the angle with the chairs across from it. Move the chairs close enough to the sofa so people can speak without shouting or leaning in (5' is the max. distance for conversation), then put the side board behind the chairs, flat against the wall. If there isn't enough room for it there for its drawers to be functional, move it to the dining room.

This backs the sofa off the fireplace a bit, opens up some of the window, and makes all the furniture quite approachable.

For the record, I'd be reluctant to build in anything until you have truly defined the function for this room and even then, your stone needs cream, not white so since the rest of the house trim is white, I would look at other colours either painted wood or stained. In the meantime, something in metal and wood like these I found on Houzz might be an answer.

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Thanks so much Elizabeth. We tried the arrangement last night that you suggested and like it much better than when the couch is square to the window. We also tried one additional arrangement. What do you think of them both? Thank-you also for your bookcase suggestions - love the metal idea. Also thank-you for helping us slow down and not commit to a built in until we are sure of the function of the room - smart;)

1.

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I like number #1 best by far. It seems to have solved the tightness issues and it leaves the room feeling open and approachable. Your coffee table also works in this scenario AND there is still room for a couple of cubes by the fireplace or a low fire bench if you need extra seating. You can undoubtedly put your floor lamp in the wee triangle that will be created behind the sofa.

Every time I see a shot of the windows at night (dark panes of glass) i think about how the room would be softened and feel more finished if there were some drapery panels flanking the windows. They don't actually have to cover the window. Just look like the might. Of course, it may be the case that the drapery panel would end up being dangerously close to your gas fireplace. Sigh.

I am wondering if you now might have room for a sliver of a table between your two chairs. Somewhere to set a beverage.

Whohoo!!! Thank you Elizabeth!! SO glad you like it:) Would you go with drapes? Would it be strange to have a stack so close to the angled fireplace? Or would you go with Faux roman shades?

I'm back after a little hiatus. As for your ?? about the bench, I would go as much as 75% of the window's length, but it shouldn't interfere with accessing the buffet storage. Now that you've shown us the doorway and how small the actual area is for arranging, I still think my idea works best. With 1.5 chairs, you have to keep the two visually heavier items (sofa and buffet) on the walls, IMO. It can't all float; just too much bulk out in the center of the space. And please don't block the stair railing; it adds good architectural detail on the opposite side to all the action on the other. How much wall is between it and the doorway? Might be a spot for something else like art of a slim piece of casegoods.Once you have the bench in place, big art hung, and fabric or fiber roman shades inside mounted, it will look very different. No room for drapes that close to the FP. Don't forget lighting; perhaps a lamp on one end of the buffet and a floor lamp in the corner by the sofa would do nicely.

I think you should try the curtain panels; gas with a glass door might not get that hot and be a fire danger.......and a pretty fabric roman shade in each window or some of the newer hunter douglas designs might look lovely too.

Love the first floor plan too! The room is nice and welcoming.

Thank-you so much decoenthusiaste! Its so nice to have your guidance with the lighting as well. It can seem overwhelming with all the choices. Your arrangement makes the room feel the most spacious to us. What did you think of the arrangement where the couch is facing the window and the chairs facing the fireplace? We agree with the curtains - roman shades. Also for an area rug for this design - what space would we want it to cover? For the area in front of the fireplace that would kind of be empty (besides the bench) - would we want the rug to cover here as well?

Susan Davis - thank you! We agree with the curtains being too close to the fireplace. We have so many furniture arrangements - when you say you like "the first floor plan" - which floor plan are you referring to!:)?

I like #1 with the sofa and chairs parallel to each other and aligned on an angle with the fireplace orientation.

Thank you Susan-- so this one?

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I like this one and deco's arrangement.

Thank you groveraxle - do you have a favourite? What do you think of this one?

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Yes agree with deco? sofa and chair facing each other on an angle that aligns with angle of fireplace. The one showing axles photo shop of the modern painting over the console.....I like that one. Two pictures above this post......lol.

Char, sorry for the late answer to your question three days ago (still on the road). I don't want to be more definitive about your furniture layout because I'm not in the room. None of the 326 layouts you've tried is perfect aesthetically, so I think you need to choose the one that works best and feels most comfortable to you.

Thank you groveraxle- I completely agree - super indecisive - so its nice to have someone spell it out for me:) ps = I laughed out loud at the 326 layouts!!!! My back will have a bit of a break now from moving all that furniture!!! - Thank you again!!