First of all, your color scheme is perfect for a reading room. I say that because that is almost exactly the color scheme in DH's man cave, and it's cozy and inviting. Have you considered shelving on brackets for the walls flanking the fireplace and the short walls perpendicular to those walls? That will give you plenty of bookshelf space without conflicting with the mantel or heating vents. You could put a door stop on the French door to limit the swing. How often do you use the French doors to the living room? Can they be blocked with easily movable furniture so that you can make use of the space in front of the doors but allow for the doors to be opened without too much of a hassle when needed? Here's a suggested layout. I included two Leathercraft chairs and ottomans that are comfortable and small scale enough so that you can fit two in the room. They're not cheap, though. But fhey do have wheels, so they are movable.The H&M reading chair and ottoman are much larger, and you could only fit one ottoman with two chairs. Here is a link that might be useful: Leathercraft chair and ottoman This post was edited by suero on Fri, Feb 21, 14 at 12:12

Val, so sorry to hear about your separation. I love the chair too. I've just been bit by the slipcovering bug and chairs are pretty easy to do. That one looks like a great candidate. I just did one for a friend that was avocado green and gold and absolutely hideous, but she loved how comfortable it was. I had my doubts, but she picked some funky patterned chenille and it looks amazing. If you have time, I'd encourage you to try it yourself. I could see a big mirror (estate sale?) over the fireplace to open up that end of the room. My cure for the black whole would be to head to Michael's and buy a couple of packs of their black frames in various sizes. Fill them with black and white photos and hang them in a grouping around or just above the tv so it sort of becomes part of the display. What about a trunk or laundry table for the coffee table - definately need something more substantial there. Beautiful sunny yellow space. I bet you'll make it your own soon.

Space is difficult to get a feel for. Is the second pic stretched? The room looks to be long and thin. I agree the only proper place for the TV is where the mirror is. The sectional would then need to come forward several feet. That will block the walk way so in my world the sectional doesn't fit. That pole is very unfortunate but with the stair case removing the railing is not going to achieve what you want. The stairs into the home and the placement of the fireplace, well you have two rooms not one in that area. You just re-did the fireplace? I think I would have removed it. It makes much more sense for the sectional and fireplace to swap places., but that isn't possible. Removing the railing, getting smaller furniture you can arrange around the room, you might be able to arrange a room around the pole as if the pole were a tall floor lamp. Still the part of the room under on the other side of the railing will never orientate to the fireplace or the TV, due to the staircase. That pole is where a walk way always will have to remain due to the stairs jutting into the room. I agree with the above, make the lower part of the room a dining room. That has to be why the railing is there to mark where the dining room begins.

Visit any Habitat for Humanity Restore Store and/or any "antique" -- used furniture store -- or charity sponsored thrift store that is large enough to sell donated furniture and you're likely to find one or more of those cabinets (tall and deep) that were used for large analog tvs -- until someone upgraded to the thinner digital tvs. Quality and supply of donated cabinets varies so it could take multiple trips to find a really good one you'd want in your home but do see if you can because, in addition to being easier on the budget than new furniture, you might find it useful for storage even if you don't choose to create a toy kitchen for the little one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/521925044290872951/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AS5jzll5LQUFkFFlZEv9oGvR8UOFnLFzAyBvF5hZreJmcNbFLfcGVMw/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/240238961342141195/ Some DIY work on used cabinets such as to close any cord holes in the back and/or add shelves or doors, could enable you to repurpose one to become much needed toy storage now and, depending upon what it looked like before and/or what you create, perhaps a linen cabinet later -- and do so on a modest budget. In a small space, "go tall when you can secure cabinets to the wall" (for safety w/toddler in the house) in order to maximize storage with minimum floor space used. If you could create floor to ceiling and nearly wall to wall edge shelves and/or cabinets (or cubes of a suitable size for baskets or creates you choose), the storage space that your daughter could reach could be hers and the storage/display space above that would be yours. It would be a plus if you could set your tv on a center shelf to have it out of reach of a toddler but at a comfortable height for viewing. If you don't limit you shelving to the blue wall but, instead, turn the corner and continue the shelves/cabinets along the side wall (for whatever width you choose for the play space), you could use that shelving/cabinetry on the side wall to hide any wires/cables you might want/need attached to both your computer and your tv. You'd want to leave several feet of play space in between whatever furniture you place next -- which, I suppose, could be your sofa for watching tv. Alternately, you might choose to use a long credenza styled cabinet and/or file cabinet to use as a room divider between the play area and your adjacent home office area. Everything between the home office area and the front wall would be your living/dining area.