Thank you for your replies. kew 2006: I moved the living room furniture in front of the wall unit in several different configurations. Unfortunately, it just looks awful. It is way too crowded and impractical with furniture blocking the wall unit. So I guess the issue is function vs. aesthetics. If I get the DR set, the wall unit has got to go. But since I need the storage space, I would probably buy a wall of Ikea bookcases and put them in a bedroom. Is the new DR worth the trouble?

The plan separates each living space with access from a central hall. It would work well for an office building but not so much for a house especially f you plan to entertain. I find that trying to make a good plan out of a bad one is usually a waste of time and effort. Its like renovating a house that hasn't been built yet. Decide what you think an entertainment space should look like and develop the house around it. But I would not design a house around an occasional use. The interrelationships of family members should be the dominant theme of a house. And I would never put a level change in a living space unless there was an alternate wheelchair route. If you plan to entertain, the front door should have wheelchair access too. An accessible half bath would be good too.

If a small table is good for everyday, there are workarounds for occasional family get-togethers. Reading Sarah Susanka's books may give you some ideas for having your spaces live large. For example, she suggests 2 smallish tables that are the same height, that can be put together for occasional larger dining needs. For large meals we split people up between the kitchen and dining room tables, and the rule is that mid-meal you shuffle places so you have different dining companions for dessert. For holiday meals my MIL used to put tables end-to-end that covered the full length of living-dining room, such that the people on the far side needed to crawl under the table to get there. Obviously that was for the younger more nimble people. The kids loved it and still talk fondly about diving under the table. If your need is for a more elegant dining experience for couples, that obviously won't work LOL.

Without an actual to scale plan of the space there is no way of knowing what will fit and I love the low cabinet with the art BTW. I think you might be able to put a round table in the DR but I need measurements of the spaces I never like fake greenery or flowers and the mirror is really not reflecting anything worth seeing twice