I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't figured out how to post pictures, but, in my defense, we just moved in the house a month ago and had two weeks of company right off the bat, at Thanksgiving and after. One of these days, I hope to master posting the pics. On the wall opposite the entertainment center is the fireplace. So the sitting area consists of two loveseats that face each other, two brunching tables, and two bergere (sp?) chairs that share an ottoman. The fireplace and the television are both able to be enjoyed this way. There is a brick open archway that divides the living area from the dining room. I have placed a large tree in one of the dining room corners already, which is visible from the foyer/living area. Two of the other walls are large windows, and the last wall is a smaller brick archway that leads to the kitchen. I was thinking maybe a rounder, shorter planter by the torchier. Also, there's a website I'm going to check out that was also mentioned in Traditional Homes - www.gainans.com. The have a coiled iron candlestick that looked "interesting." squirrelhaven - I agree - I really don't want to add any more furniture in the area - it's a long, and somewhat narrow room. les, I really like the idea of uplighting whatever I go with. While the torchiere is lovely, I think I misjudged - we have 11 ft ceilings, and it looks almost dwarfed in the corner. Thanks. I will try to post soon to give a better idea. As a lot of you know, we were one of the many who lost everything to Katrina, so this is an exciting time for us, to be starting over with everything. I wake up every morning so happy, just to finally be where we are right now.

10 people could have 10 "perfect" uses for the space - and none of them might work best for you. The best use of space meets a need you have. If you need a space to sit to do bills, read recipes, whatever - a desk might be great. I had a small desk in a nook in my kitchen - a beautiful ash desk that belonged to my grandparents. But because it is small, and just a few feet from the kitchen table, I always sat at the table to do "desk" work. Consequently the desk was a clutter magnet. It did serve several purposes: the drawers held file folders and office supplies; I had cabinets above that held cookbooks and larger office "stuff" (envelopes, scratch paper, phone book). The knee hole space was where I put my purse and briefcase. When I remodeled my kitchen, I chose to eliminate the desk, but incorporate all the desk functions, except seating. I built a wall of cabinets, including file drawers, shallow drawers for office supplies, shelves (behind doors) for larger office items, as well as dog supplies (food, treats, brushes, etc). I even included a couple of outlets inside a cabinet, so I don't have to charge devices on the kitchen counter! I have a calendar inside one cabinet door, and a magnetic whiteboard inside the other door. After all that - my advice to you is to carefully evaluate what you most NEED to use the space for, and design the space to fill the need.

I think a couch that has less depth would work wonders in this space. You have a very narrow field to work with, albeit still doable. It might help to mount the TV, otherwise get a thinner console. Sectionals are usually unnecessary but if you plan to keep something similar, a sectional like this would work well. It has less bulk than your current couch and the sleek lines help to divide the room from the entrance.

I like to create a whole home color palette and use the darker or brighter or more dramatic versions of the colors on bathroom or laundry room walls, but I wouldn't want a random bright or dark color. Using the accent color from your master bedroom on the walls of the master bath is a great way to tie the rooms together and add drama to the bath.