I have a similar problem in my home but a bit smaller livingroom. When you walk in the front door you can walk straight ahead to the kitchen about 14', just before the kitchen is the hall to the bedrooms and immediately down that hall is a small bedroom, on the other side of the livingroom wall. I've tried arranging my furniture every way I could and wound up putting the main couch (which is a full size futon) to the far side of the livingroom. In otherwords when you walk in the sofa is up against the wall to the left, furthest from the front door. This left the entry way wide open, it seemed to give it the best feel to the room and house. I think your idea for a 57" sofa is the way to go, if you downsize your furniture the room will automatically look bigger, also consider some mirrors at keypoints in the room. Good luck!

Thanks everyone! trailrunner-The furniture wasn't what I would consider to be very good, but still in good shape and the sofa is super comfortable. It's just a little soiled (oils) from our dog. I am seriously thinking of slipcovering, but I do realize it can be as costly as buying new by the time you buy fabric and pay for the labor. However, there are a lot of fabric options:) If I have furniture recovered, I/d probably go with 1 fabric on both chairs and a different one on the sofa. (maybe a solid) I`ll post some other room pics after the holidays... (hardwood going in our bedroom and my office...we were supposed to have it done this week but delayed as installer hurt his back & now doing in January) Thanks again everyone for the kind comments and feedback:)

I love the kiddie decor, too. Looks like a nice comfortable family space. And the kids won't always be so little - soon they'll be off playing in their rooms more and the clutter will lessen. It is their home, too, so it's nice that they have their stuff where the family is for now. Do you actually need the wood blinds? Might it be possible to remove them and just close the draperies when you need privacy or to control the light? You can probably take them down without removing the hardware, just to try it. One other thing that caught my eye as darkening the space is the bookcase and console by the tv. Not sure if they are paintable, or if you'd want to, but I'd try laying a light colored sheet or something similar over them to try to visualize how lighter furniture there might look. A rug and coffee table or ottoman is a great idea to add some color and cohesiveness to the space. Just no more dark leather or dark wood :-) Maybe while the kids are little, look for something lighter colored or one on craigslist that could be painted and wait for your dream table when they will be less hard on one. I think even a wood top would work if the base is light: Toy storage: Not necessarily red, but a fun color you like:

Hi. No reason you cannot create a to scale floor plan now. Any decision in the living room needs to be done in conjunction with the new plan for the porch. (where door openings are positioned are important). 2 love seats are not functional. They are not facing the tv and adults that are not a couple don't like sitting in them. The best arrangement is always a sofa and 2 chairs. Having said that, if, for some reason you love having a chaise, then the argument could be made for that. I recommend a removable chaise for future flexibility. If you really don't have guests or it is seldom, you could use only the sofa in the room and bring in extra chairs for when guests visit.