Jeesh, I love those photos. Have never seen a kitchen like that and it is beyond beautiful. Plus the dining photo perfect in loved colors and fabric. Idie, my favorite colors are red/green. But am not cottage, more rustic. Comment on the kitchen layout. One of the things that bugs me about mine is the less than enough counter space between the stove and sink. May have mentioned that whenver my kids show up, the 3 of us end up in the corner. Plenty of other space available, but they just seem to be magnets to the corner. Most of my past kitchens have been U or L shaped with more counter space between. If I could figure out how to move stove or sink over that would be my first option. Isn't going to happen though without a ton of remodeling. You have a lot of room for so many options. You could put the stove on an angle, add counter/cupboards on both sides. This wouldn't cost much as the outlet wouldn't have to be moved. Would be fun to follow along as you change things. Great so many people are responding too. Chris, You have done so much to your yard, plus love the kitties. We are working on a cat run too, the ole cat box in the house has finally gotten to me. Can't let kitties out, too many bears, lions and cyotes. And...I live in the city, but near the base of the mountains. We actually had a bear wandering around in the middle of town this summer. Poor guy and all the other wild life, must be really short of food in the mountains.

I guess I should have mentioned there's a fireplace on the all brick wall of the living room on the far side of the living room, and the current entrance has a partial (3/4 height) wall/bookcase to separate it from the family room.

Do you own or is this a rental? The pix look a little stretched like realty ones. Since there is a rad between the doors, forget putting TV there. I'd keep the dining close to the kitchen and put the sitting/TV area to focus on the long wall. Start with the fun project of finding a knockout chandelier to hang from that pretty ceiling. Is there a fridge under the microwave? I see only one wall outlet behind the door and one above the counter, so you'll have to use extension cords and cord covers along the baseboards to have enough lighting here. Consider floating your sofa facing the long wall and TV. Then use a drop leaf table behind it for dining. You'll be able to open it all the way for entertaining. Anchor your seating area with a rug 2-3 feet wider than your sofa.

How many people do you want to sit? maybe you want to consider theater seats? we have them and love them. you can arrange them in a couch format, with arms or not for each seat. we have 4, with two of them in a love seat in the middle. of course those have a certain aesthetic so you'd need to be good with that. our 4 are about 126". good thing is they have drink holders and trays built in.