If you look at the manufactures suggested by spolina (Baker's Milling Road Collection, Hancock And Moore, Bernhardt, Lexington Brands, Swaim) then you can definitely buy below MSRP. Check Boyles in NC and Lexington Furniture Company in Lexington, KY. I have never gotten a better price locally. The best price has always come from these two stores. You just need to find what you want by looking in your local store, then contact Boyles and Lexington for a quote. I have purchased a Kindel dining room set; Hancock & Moore sofa; chair, & ottoman; Hickory Chair sofa, chair & ottoman; EJ Victor chair; Hekman table; Baker bed; Hickory Chair nightstands; Century sofa; Stickley desk; Wildwood lamps; and a Bernhardt bed in the past 5 years. Only the Stickley desk was cheaper locally as I got it on a double sale. The price difference depends on the brand. Manufactures by law cannot dictate the 3rd party retailer's selling price. The way they get around the law is to make it clear that they will not supply a store that sells below a certain minimum. They claim doing so ensures the "value" of the product brand. One brand my tolerate a minimum of 25% below MSRP; another will tolerate 30% below MSRP. Stores like Bassett and Ethan Allen hold the line on their price. If they have a sale, you get the sale price. Otherwise, the price is the price. Bassett will probably not give you the quality and look you are after.

My Flexsteel sectional has metal clips so the two pieces hook together. It's on a wood floor but it's against two walls so it's not going anywhere (it also weighs a ton). No recliners; we plan on a cat sometime soon and I once injured a cat by trapping it under the recliner when I closed it up, so I swore I would never own a recliner again. We did choose to use a larger coffee table because we needed the surface space, and the coffee table that had fit the regular couch just fine was too small for the sectional, both visually and functionally. Regarding measurements, our sectional sits in a corner against two walls. I simply measured the two walls and allowed a bit of space for small end tables, then hunted down a sectional that fit those measurements and wasn't too bulky for the room. Small-scale sectionals that aren't just two loveseats stuck together or a couch with a chaise stuck on (I find it very difficult to get out of the chaise) are not easy to find, but they're not ALL ginormous! Ours is something like 90" on one side of the "L" and 110" on the other. If you plan to "float" your sectional, get a roll of blue painter's tape and map out where your sectional's going to go, right on the floor with the tape, until the proportion looks right and then measure that; if you have the standard sofa-loveseat combo now you can shove them together into that space and get a rough idea of scale. The biggest "pros" in our house are that it wastes no space in our small living room - when we had a couch and loveseat, there was a substantial area in the corner that was wasted (furniture arms take up a lot of space) and we couldn't both stretch out to watch TV, read or nap while now we can and still have room for the dog. :-) The main con is that it IS a little bit heavy-looking for the small room, although cut-back arms, a relatively low back, and a slightly-bland midtone sage color do reduce the visual weight somewhat.

Place the sofa & loveseat that you have now in an L shape like the sectional would be and live with it for several days. That will help you get the feel for walking around it. Are you getting a rug? Window treatments? I would lower the TV to eye level when sitting and get a wider console (at least 25% wider than the TV).

If you want a sectional, it looks like you could have one with the longest section facing the fireplace and either have a short section with its back to the window or opposite that, facing the window. But for placing the recliner so hubby can see the tv, probably back to the window would be best. I would not get a chaise sectional, if you need seating instead of lounging. If you need lounging/tv watching space, then a chaise running along the window would give prime tv view and it wouldn't block the view out the window. Then you could place the recliner (s) facing the window and view the tv - although a 2nd recliner close to the fireplace will have less than optimum view of the tv if there is even room for a 2nd one. You could put the tv on a swing mount so it could be angled more if lots of people are gathered to watch tv. It looks as if you don't have to use that doorway by the tv, since there is another in the dining area? I love a curved sectional for optimum conversation comfort, as well as lots of lounging space: picture the dining room where the painting is here: