oops, Denita, no pics. here are a few from the Houzz store, just for brainstorming. there are lots of consoles that combine housing for the cable box et al with lots of extra cupboard space, so you should have plenty of options. Ikea makes a lot of great pieces in this particular category too, so you could look there. You could maybe even go superlong to take as much advantage of that wall as possible, especially if you go with white or something else that blends into the background a bit.

If you want useful -- I highly recommend a small table with two chairs in the one end. Also, bookcases with glass fronts, or, like I did -- one bookcase and one secretary that closes up to hide the paper and computer monitor. I use my 36" square table for so many purposes -- morning coffee, afternoon tea with a friend, making jewelry, drawing, computer, solving jigsaws. Mine has two leaves that pull out, so I can also bring chairs in from the dining room if I want to have four people in the space. My space isn't crowded. There's at least 4' of space between my table and the rug. You're fortunate to have fewer doors and windows, and a 15' width. My 1939 living room is 12' x 21', so it's divided into three spaces instead of two. My secretary and bookcase had to be on the other end of the room.

Thanks so much for the input RL!

Is the living room fireplace a wood burning fireplace that you will actually use? Is the cover in front of it a solid fit that will keep any warm/cool air from heat/AC system from going up the chimney? Since the living room is open to much of the rest of the house, consider having the living room fireplace converted to a gas log fireplace. No "smoking up" the more formal living space. Put your more formal living room seating area in the front half of your living room. You could put a (round) table with chairs (that could be part of indoor/outdoor living and entertaining including the patio or, since it adjoins the kitchen, even be used as a family breakfast table) on the patio end of the living room between the fireplace and the door to the patio. Rather than create built ins in the formal living room, you might consider enlarging your door to your patio and centering it. Alternately, on the exterior wall nearest the kitchen, you could create a home office area for your computer for communicating and meal planning -- even to be able to hear the news while you're prepping a meal and, instead of built ins, add furnishings suitable to how you will use that space -- perhaps including a barrister bookcase. Is the family room fireplace is a wood burning fireplace that you will actually use? Is there a cover in front of it that is a solid fit that will keep any warm/cool air from the heat/AC system from going up the chimney? Since the family room can easily be closed off from the rest of the house, keep that fireplace as wood burning fireplace but do add a suitable cover to the firebox to protect against having a spark start a fire. In the family room, you could paint the beams the same color as the ceiling, however, unless it is damaged or there is another issue, consider keeping the paneling. Would put the tv in the family room on the wall between and below the two high windows opposite the fireplace. If the room is too dark, you could add light painted) colored thin wood (luan) panels to the wall behind the shelves without painting the walls ... or removable peel and stick wallpaper -- without damaging the value of the wood paneling and, potentially, damaging the resale value of your home. The base cabinets of the built ins could be perfect toy cabinets. You could also add doors to cover the shelving above and create yet more hidden storage. Is that brick flooring actually vinyl rather than brick? Unless you truly hate the current family room flooring, consider keeping it at least until your children are older so that the family room can be where the children play without worrying about damaging the flooring. Adding a camera to the family room could enable you to watch over young children from anywhere else in the house. Using the family room as a play area means you could focus on comfortable furniture there and put your more upscale furnishings in the living room and dining room where guests will more likely be entertained.