You asked: I hate it. The bottom one looks like someone took a traditional, wicker sofa and wrapped it in leather. Those very formal, old fashioned arms, and bun feet, don't go with the eclectic, casual style of the upholstery. The shape of the red sofas is much more appropriate, but it would be better in all leather. Leather is great with kids so long as they don't have sharp things in their pockets and can be trusted not to poke pencils into it. It cleans up with water and saddle soap. But it does stick to bare skin, and can get hot. It's nature's vinyl. Which is why they combine it with fabric. Bad move. Either be fabric or be leather. The weight and texture are too different and they rarely come out looking great, especially after some living happens. The red bench is cool! Less imposing than a sofa table (console), but with a lot of the same function. And it's folky and funky. My Aunt had the two sofas flanking the fireplace in her living room. It's a great conversation grouping, but not so much for TV watching. For that, especially for the kids who probably look at the screen more, you want a straight on view. You can do a big square, though. An L of couch and settee or second couch or loveseat, and a couple of small easy chairs that are easy to get around on the opposite side. You have your red chairs. I'm not sure if they're too big to allow people to walk by easily if you close up the square, but even so, you can always pull them over for company, and keep them by the piano for family time with running kids. Re Larry, have your other family members sit tested him? I totally agree about the shape. It's very tired. But that LOVE thing is important. Your family room couch should feel Ahhh to sit on. I'm sure it'll still be there though. Maybe you can find a similarly comfy couch in a more classic shape that will give you more breadth of possibilities. Comfort comes first, but it can be done with a little more style than poor Larry. ;-)

With beautiful windows like that I can't help but think of bringing a color of the outdoors in. Have you seen BM's Baby Turtle? Bit of tan with a hint of green to it. Or what about BM's Wilmington Tan - it is a really nice color (I have this in my bedroom). Or another nice color is BM Desert Tan - this one is on the lighter side but it is very pretty (I just purchased a can yesterday). It is hard to say really without seeing your furnishings or an area rug if you are planning on having one. Good luck it really is a beautiful area. Have you seen the color threads in the gallery section? Super helpful. Cheers. Haley

I think your first task is to find a rug to set the tone for the room. You could have carpet bound in the size you need if you want to stay mono-chromatic. A tone on tone rug in cream, tan and chocolate might add a neutral but interesting touch. It only needs to be a couple of feet wider than the sofa unless you add new end tables that you want to sit on it too. I would keep it 12" away from the hearth though. Once the rug is found, if it has a variety of tones in it, use the darkest shade for your chairs. Be sure and take your tape measure with you so you can determine the right height on them. I don't think they should be taller than the sofa. I don't think the two chairs have to match, and it would be nice if one of them had a pattern to the fabric. Here is a mono-chromatic room, but with a touch of pattern and texture.

I lived in a split level once with a similar space -- narrow and with doors leading to basement, garage, and outside, as well as steps leading up. We ended up with a very small TV area at one end and a desk/office area at the other. It worked. We even managed to fit in a small coat closet. Ptreckel is right.....I missed that what I thought was a shelf was actually the wall. So, that has to stay. But I suspect you have the TV at the right end of the room, as that appears to be the area with the fewest doors. After I commented earlier, I thought back to our split level and realized that there is only so much you can cram into that size of space. As mentioned above, how many do you need to seat? I suspect a very small sectional is all you can manage. Are they all teens? Could some great colorful floor cushions serve as overflow seating? Do you really need the pub table? Would you prefer to figure out a way to maximize storage, perhaps with an armoire sort of piece for some of the equipment, or just hooks on the wall and a storage bench beneath.