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.

Just to update, we finally ordered a sectional from Century. It is L shaped with a loveseat on one wall and a sofa length on the other. The good thing is that it is 43" deep so it should be very comfortable to lay on. We chose a chenille type fabric in a greenish tone. We started the room's decor off by picking 2 oriental rugs and pulling colors from that. The sofa comes with 7 throw pillows, so I chose 2 different fabrics for 4 of those. We'll see if it works or not when it comes in! On another note, once we started to choose decor, we realized the color on the walls was pukey and we had to get the painters back to change from blue to brown. I'm so glad we did that. It really warms up a basement room with no windows. The lighting is what made color selection so tricky. Also in there, we got a leather recliner from Hancock & Moore. And the really neat looking Wisteria Barn door coffee table. Funny thing is that when it arrived, it really did smell like a...barn door! Fortunately that smell has disapated.

A 3-seat sofa and two comfy upholstered armchairs are your best bet for comfort and flexibility. Second option would be a reversible chaise sofa and one chair. The chaise that flips from right to left will give you many more options for arranging the room. Cornering furniture eats floor space, and says you don't really have room for your stuff. I would eliminate the cornered armoire or place it where it can lie flat against the wall. Maybe it would be useful in one of the kids' empty bedrooms. That will open the possibility of some window treatments that will soften and cozy the space.

We have a sectional with ottoman attached to the chaise side and two chairs. Also a large rectangular table. We sit nightly at this as a family of five and love it. Super comfy and awesome. Lots of space to stretch out and relax for all of us. When friends come over or family we have zero issues with the woes that get debated regarding sectionals and wouldn’t change it one bit.