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.

oops, Denita, no pics. here are a few from the Houzz store, just for brainstorming. there are lots of consoles that combine housing for the cable box et al with lots of extra cupboard space, so you should have plenty of options. Ikea makes a lot of great pieces in this particular category too, so you could look there. You could maybe even go superlong to take as much advantage of that wall as possible, especially if you go with white or something else that blends into the background a bit.

Thanks for your response and suggestion. The wall opposite the couch has a large opening to the dining room and to the right of that is a corner fireplace and then an opening to the front small hall near the front door. The corner we've used is the only wall space available.

Thanks to both of you! I don't have access to a floorplan, unfortunately. Also unfortunately, I cannot do any major work at the moment, so the ugly mantel stays (and I did not even notice until now that it doesn't match the fireplace!) I would love to put up some artwork, plants, etc in this room as well, when the big pieces are settled. Already thinking about drapes but very little clue where to start - this side of the house faces the street so I really want to get some noise dampening ones, although they would have to fit onto pinch pleat hooks. What are your opinions on the wall sconces? I didn't even think about those! No plans to paint. It's just me doing the whole thing so for now I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.