Ok, wasn't gone that long. In the meantime, could you put your sofa on angle toward the tv? Just line it up with the rug. Take your leather chair and place it along the short side of the rug next to the window. If your small table will fit in the corner of the sofa and chair that would be a good place for it. Oh, and if what I think I'm seeing next to the tv(stacked suitcases) you could put those in that corner instead. The decorative key might look good above the cut out to the kitchen...hung long ways. Take down the art print on the wall next to the cutout and arrange a collection of your photos. Try not to go hang any higher than the the print currently is and have the bottom of your last frame hit below the height of the bottom of the cutout. I know this isn't what you were asking for, but while you're planning room layout and the more permanent direction you want to go in...there is no reason you can't try something different with what you have right now.

I have nearly exactly the same layout, except add a door in the upper left corner and replace your bottom wall with wall, wide opening, closet. My room is also longer than yours - it's 18'x18'. I have added Billy bookcases with the half doors and height extensions to either side of the fireplace. It looks good and the extra storage is a godsend. I would definitely integrate a desk into any built-ins you do, like the picture kellyeng posted. Obviously custom built-ins/bookshelves are nicest, but the Billys are fine if you are on a budget. You could buy the short ones and/or cut the Billys down to fit on top of the desk. I have found two layouts that work for my room. Obviously we have different furniture but perhaps reading this will help you. 1) float sofa in front of fireplace, put sofa table with lamp(s) behind sofa, put two upholstered/leather large chairs in front of left window, float loveseat in front of slider on right, put coffee table in front of sofa, place dresser for extra storage on bottom right wall. 2) Float sofa and loveseat in the middle of the room perpendicular to fireplace with coffee table between them. Put the two large chairs south of the sofa & loveseat, angled toward fireplace. Put dresser for extra storage on bottom right wall. My TV is above the fireplace since DH wants it there, but you can easily put yours in the upper corner since you have less furniture. I would recommend that, actually, since the closer you are to the TV the less comfortable it is to look up that high. You really just have to move things around until you are happy - at least for now. The room is awkward, no doubt about it. So, when I get sick of one layout I switch back to the other. I switched back to my Option 2 yesterday. DH laughs at me but hey, moving furniture is cheaper than moving.

I like the idea of banquette seating in the dining area as a space conscious solution. And there are some really nice examples above. But if that's not feasible right now, you could consider a drop leaf table against the dining window with a couple of chairs for every day use. (It looks like you already have one against the dining wall.) For dinner parties, you could extend it and center it in the room. But I do agree, that the living room should be reserved for seating since you'll be entertaining relatively often. Here's an arrangement to consider. Apartment sized sofa against window wall and three arm chairs. Along the back wall, where you currently have your dining set, consider a long horizontal bookcase. You can top it with art and lighting and before it place a couple of ottomans for casual seating when you're entertaining a large group. I think an 8x10 area rug would be a good fit, but you can use painter's tape to be sure. It's a neat looking home! It'll be fun settling in and putting it together. Congratulations!

Hello Jayne, What a fun space! Here are a few of my thoughts: For the dining space, I would stick with a small, rectangular table. Because you have a doorway to the porch near the dining area and you want room to walk around easily, I would aim for something not larger than 60" long by 36" wide, but you can double check that in the space. As for the seating area, if you want to maximize seating, I might aim for a couch with one or two chairs along the wall with the window. I notice when I have guests, everyone chooses a chair. Not everyone wants to snuggle up next to someone they don't know very well on a sectional. It is also easier to rearrange if you decide to change up the layout. If you want to have even more options for seating, it might also be nice to do one or more ottomans that are cushioned and could be used for feet or as additional seating for guests. They could be grouped together or spread out when being used. If you ended up replacing your coffee table with a/an ottoman/s, you may want to also add end tables so there is a place to set drinks, remotes, or lamps, if desired. For an entertainment center, I would potentially choose something a bit more narrow to make sure it wasn't in the walkway, For instance, this entertainment center is 14" D so it is the same as the depth change in the wall so it could be flush. I can be clumsy and prefer to have things tucked away or I run into them! Then I would add a rug, some lamps, and maybe a great mirror over the fireplace to make it look bigger and brighter! Good luck with your decorating and please share after pictures when you're done!