What’s the reno - paint & flooring? Will you post pic with bay window to back & looking into room that way? Is dining area at near end of room in that last pic? For furn arrangement, better suggestions made with floorplan drawing & measurements with all windows & doors marked. Only thing I can say looking at original layout pics is that the 2 lamps blocking view out of bay window should be relocated - at least to the sides of that sofa. Very monochromatic room - is that color going onto walls? That alone will really warm up the space & make furniture stand out in a good way. Looks like a beautiful space.

Reno is the kitchen and backhalf off the house- we tore down walls to make the kitchen bigger, added on a mudroom, all new floorinf throughout entire house. we’re switching out the french doors with sliding glass barn doors. I plan to paint the walls white which i agree, will absolutley warm up the space and make the furniture stand out beautifully. would you do 2 small tables on either side of thr couch to put the lamps on? the room is annoying and really doesn’t have overhead lights so lamps are a must!

this is a couch and two chairs kinda room.

But where to put the couch & 2 chairs?

So the color I see on left of doorway isn’t paint color test but is new wallboard done due to french door removal? Guessing you’re gaining floor space with french door removal & sliding door addition. Will they be hung inside or outside of room? Makes a difference for wall space available. That’s a TV over FP? Current furniture arrangement doesn’t make TV viewing easy with nothing facing TV. You said room 11” wide hearth to doorway. That’s not quite right for sofa facing TV/ FP - too high for TV viewing at that short distance. Looks like a window on eachs side of FP. Back to sliding doors - will the wall to right of entry & at right angle to bay window be available as a TV place? You said it’s 18’ long from window to doorway…. It would be great to look into room & see great art over FP. Still a mystery about what the other end of this room looks like….. and yes, tables for those lamps.

ETA agree with @RL Relocation LLC about couch & 2 chairs but have to see entire space to arrange…

How many people sit here? how often do you use that tv? couch could go one where you used to have it with sofa table, and two chairs across to open up the sight lines

or

Couch kinda where it is now pulled forward a bit, and two chairs flanking the fireplace.

If you are redoing the FP I would really, really, think about getting the tv lower since it seems to be the only reasonable place for it.

I would like to see the dining side of the room, have you ever thought to swap the spaces?

Correct, that color is just the drywall, i’d love to paint the walls white. the doors will be on the oppostite side so all wall space (where the ladder shelves are - i want to get rid of those) is available.

5 people sit in this room and we use the tv a lot of the time! 3 kids. I agree the fireplace is the only place for the tv, and honestly the pic must not show it, but the tv is as low as it can go without actually sitting on the mantle. Here is a pic of the kitchen from the family room (its going to be much more open as we removed 2 walls (by the refrigerator) to create one large kitchen but construction is still going on.

You have a beautiful home and great taste so dont cut yourself short, the room is just not the best "family room"

as to the FP : (we are re-doing this but I love having a fireplace) this is what I was refering to, when you redo it. is it gas, electric, or wood burning?

I think step one is to get rid of the smaller sofa and get two chairs that swivel, possibly recline.

Thank you! it’s certainly a tough room to arrange thats for sure. i just want to ulitize it best for our family. I wish we could do a sectional! the fireplace is gas. we are just replacing the tile on the hearth since we got all new floors and then we are whitewashing the brick. i feel like a couch and 2 chairs might not be enough seating. where would you put the chairs? there is a large ottoman between the 2 couches that kids often sit on too. Appreicate all your imput :)

Are you replacing tile hearth with new flooring? Seems like no hearth needed with gas FP & doing that creates more available floor space. That new wall / floor space from bay window to entry opening - I feel like that new space should figure into seating arrangement as it looks like TV could be viewed from that vantage point. Is that a space for 2 chairs with table & lamp between them? Really need a floorplan layout with dimensions to play with. In kitchen - 2 walls by refrigerator - is that back by where doggie is? Is island moving? Table? is kitchen flooring now same as in family room?

I’ll get you dimensions/ floorplan! flooring in the entire first floor is now all the same (except the bathroom)

Make an "L" with the sofa and loveseat on the dining side (you might have to move the sofa closer to the fireplace wall). Then, add two chairs in the window area.

I had a front to back living room and they are hard to furnish. My bay area was at the back of the room and I put two wings and a round table with a lamp there. The other end was a window and I put the sofa there with a coffee table and two smaller accent chairs on either side of it. I strongly suggest you get a fireplace bench. It gave us additional seating. We did not have a t v in the room. Never could figure out how to work it in.

Rethink getting rid of the French doors. My friend got rid of her doors and was sorry later. They do add a lot of charm to an older Colonial style home.

I can see from your photos you have a very traditional and symmetrical design aesthetic. Are you willing to forgo some of that for function? I sense that you want the main function of your family room to be watching tv. I see a way to accomplish that by giving up a bit of your traditional features. Actually only one. The fireplace mantel. (The way the seating is now it looks like no one has a great view of the tv) Now, hear me out. What if you did this:

1. Remove the mantel and either place the tv over the brick area. Or find a mantel that looks traditional but allows for a lower tv placement. (keep the mantel if/when you want to put it back)

2. Remove the hearth. This will give you more space for a coffee table, not actual space, but to the eye it will look better.

3. Sectional sofa with opening on the dining side. Choose a sectional with lower arms and as shallow as possible but still being comfortable. Also, lower back which will give you your view out the bay window. I get your wanting to have a clear view out the window, but your sofa is really only blocking out a few inches of the bottom of the window. You could also get a sectional with a chaise on the window side, but this will give you fewer amount of comfortable seating. You would need to assess if the longer area of the sectional plus the chaise part will accommodate the family. Again, lower back and arms will give the feeling of more space.

4. You have spots in front of your fireplace, why not install more cans or a large overhead light, or both. With a sectional you limit eliminate one place for an end table with lamp.

A couple of other questions. Do you use the entrance to the room with the french doors a lot? If not, you can have a narrower space between doors and sectional back. But leave enough to walk behind the sectional. If you lower the tv and tilt it down, you might still have enough distance for comfortable viewing. And have space for a narrow coffee table. This might be possible even if you keep the hearth, but would look better without.

You can test out this layout by arranging your sofas in a sectional layout. Place the sofa back as far as you can while leaving space to walk in back. Then try a narrow table in front to see if there is space for a coffee table. You could also get a narrow ottoman to push around as needed.

The only two things structural that you would need to do (which will also be easily reversible) is change the mantel and the hearth.

You could also get one of those TV thingys that allow you to pull down and forward the tv when watching. That might be easier and cheaper. And the hearth could stay but a coffee table might visual crowd it.

I do think you could easily accommodate a sectional, especially if you got one custom made to your specs.

Your house is beautiful and while the before picture was wonderfully cozy, it felt a bit crowded. I would bring things back in slowly, until you have the feel you want.

Now, after all this, having the dimensions of the room would be needed to see if a sectional would fit. I probably should have asked for that first......

I would say to the FP, loose the hearth, since you are replacing the floor now, get extra or start having that discussion, you dont need a hearth here. And if that was gone you could replace the mantel with something scaled, that would allow you to lower the tv.

Yes you could put a section with a right L but it goes back to, who wants to lean their head back to try and watch tv, that is why I am fighting putting your current sofa to face it. so even if you just removed the mantel and replaced it with something less tall you could gain what looks like 8 inches to lower the tv, thus sofa facing tv would be much better.

I like Sammie J's idea--2 sofas in an L (one backing to the dining room, one facing the fireplace), and 2 comfy chairs backing to the window. That might all fit better if you bring the sofa that backs to the dining room closer to the dining area. If that makes the dining area tight, you could switch to a narrower oval dining table.

I think 2 separate sofas are better than a sectional for seating multiple people. But Gigi W and RL Relocation's ideas for redoing the fireplace to get the TV lower are great.

Here are two layouts for the room.

Stop over-accessorizing this room. It's your living room, not a gift shop. I would not use the ladder shelves in this room.

Thanks - you dont think it’s a problem to block off the doorway where the french doors are? i would love to be able to use that ’wall’ but ive alway tried not to block that doorway with furniture!

What’s the space on other side of that entry? Again, that detailed floorplan drawing - so helpful 😉

I would use the loveseat in the master bedroom and do a grouping of four swivel chairs either in front of the bay, or in front of the fireplace. If you put them at the bay, then the large sofa can face the bay but be perpendicular to the fireplace (right of it.) In a family room, another option is to place a game/snack table in the bay.

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Thank you, i actually really like that layout and am excited to try it! i dont have the option to do the tv like that cuz of the windows on either side of the fireplace. :(

I realize you have windows on either side of the fireplace. Consider a fabric roman shade behind the tv. I promise you will like it better.

The pic of my fireplace has the tv at an angle and it's so not offensive. But you know best for your family.

I think in your case you could add shutters/curtains to those windows, and utilize that space.

What if it was actually more open this way, considering the bay windows dont go to the floor, maybe that corner of the sofa would be a cozy window spot.

The layout suggested by @RL Relocation LLC balances the ”weight” of the family room & kitchen better. The weight of sofa at bay window end is a counterbalance to kitchen at other end. Probably helps the traffic flow more smoothly through the entry that now has the french doors replaced with the sliding doors on outside of room too, since the sofa is now in front of the opening.

Yes, the layout RL suggested is best with a sectional. If placed the other way, which you said you liked, you would always be walking all the way around the sectional to sit down. Also, if you don't need the french doors to get into that room, don't be afraid to push the sofa/sectional back, not right up against the doors, but maybe a foot or two away. You could put up fabric on the other side of the doors with rods on the top and bottom. Or use a decorative screen. Or remove the doorknobs and put two pictures up on the doors like they sometimes do in front of a bookcase. Lots of options to gain more room if the doors are not needed. Google for some ideas. Would love to see what you end up doing.

I don’t think the original French doors are a factor. OP Tara said that in their current remodel they removed the doors & replaced with sliding doors that are hung on the outside of this family room. That resulted in a huge gain of floor & wallspace since doors no longer open into room & when open sit against the walls. Someone will correct me if I misunderstood that.