My living/dining room is one big rectangular space open to the kitchen. Decorating it has been limited by the fact that it's on the narrow side, and you need to leave clear passageways since the entry hall opens into the L/D room and you have to pass through that to get anywhere else.

Last month on very short notice (because a hard-to-get contractor who I've worked with before mentioned that he had two weeks available), I had the doorway from LR to a bedroom wing closed up and drywalled. That gave me a corner space that I hadn't had before. And I felt like it liberated me to make the room more contemporary-feeling .

Before, everything had had an eclectic and old feel, with moody Donald Kaufman paint. The seating (primarily two Bernhardt mohair pieces) anchored one end along with a large red Mashad rug; the dining table was at the other.

Old:

Now I've painted the room white and taken up the red rug, and reversed the functional spaces.

New, so far:

It is much brighter, and I love that, but I am not sure about next steps.

In the dining area: I'm planning to put a CB2 48" round infinity mirror over the console table. Should I move the Ekornes chair out of its corner? Then I could add a table leaf back in, but would that area be too stark?. Should I put a plant in the other window corner? Should I build a little window seat for my dog in the shallow bay?

The living area really confuses me. The walls form a pretty tight little square there. From the mantel to the corner is 108". And from that corner to the doorway into rest of house is 105"; actually 102" to door frame. Should I replace my 5' and 6' Bernhardt sofas? Should I re-cover them? Or should I get two 6' sofas but with more of a neutral and contemporary look? I know a sectional would be a more efficient use of space but sofa arms are nice to have and when you have a sectional you lose some of those.

If I get new sofas, what would look good? From a comfort standpoint, we like tight back and bench seats. But when I look at design photos I always am attracted to the B&B Italia look.

What kind of rug should I get? What coffee table? I think the round one I have may be too large -- it's 44".

Should my living seating extend to in front of the fireplace? How? I'm thinking of getting rid of the two Montis Windy chairs and maybe getting cozier swivel chairs.

What should I put over the mantel?

The lamp I have put in the corner temporarily is one of a pair that I inherited from my parents. it is a wallpaper roller. Should I get the other one down from the attic too? And replace the shades?

One more thing: I'm planning to bring the bar-height counter down to regular counter height, to further open up the kitchen to the living area, but will still have the attached seating, just at the lower height.

Hoping to tap into the great wisdom here!