SFGate

rinqreation My house is 800sqft so I know the difficulty on finding the right layout. I'd advise you to look for smaller lounge chairs instead of recliners. These can easily be turned to watch tv together and need less space. Also, I'd say new flooring will make the place look less wooly. A light or whitewashed wood (solid/laminate/vinyl) or stone (tile/vinyl) or even a colored one would give the room a more spacious feel.

Stamps Design Services We have a similar layout in our living room, we chose to but the TV on the opposite wall as the fireplace. (We tried mounting it above the fireplace, it was awful on my neck!) We refurbished an old stereo cabinet to act as the base for the TV, you could use a console table or a small dresser.....

Kelly How often do you use the FP? If it isn't very often then I agree with putting the TV on the opposite wall. Turn the sofa towards the TV. In front of the FP have two smaller chairs with a table for reading, game playing, homework etc. But if you find yourselves using it and gathering around it then would you consider redesigning the shelves on the right to house the TV? A sectional sofa will be good for you also. They have some wonderful ones that can accommodate everyone comfortably. An ottoman that doubles as seating and a table.

Unique & Chic Interiors Hi there, here are a few ideas. The scale of the sofa is too big and the chairs are too small and the fabric just doesn't work. The chairs should be swivel so they can turn and they should be in a stripe
or print so it adds some color to the room. I believe the TV should be above the mantel. You could frame out the wall about 1" or 1-1/2" and hide all the wiring and cable behind the wall. The bottom of a TV should be at least 42" to 47" high, this is the proper height for the ergonomics of your body. It would be wonderful if you could replace the carpet in the living room and adjoining room with wood or laminated wood which is very easy to install. You only need one big floor lamp, the other side of the sofa should have a table with a lamp on it. It's never a good idea to have lamps, tables, etc all match. It looks like you bought a pair "on sale." I hope this gives you some good ideas. Good luck.
Darla Blake, ASID, CID
Unique & Chic Interiors

Kelly p.s. i love your wood pieces!

someoneinomaha Thanks for the comments! We use the fireplace pretty infrequently (5-10 times a year right now) but we would probably use it more in the future when we don't have to worry as much about little ones.

Interesting idea about splitting the room up where the couch / sectional faces the television and chairs face the fireplace. We might actually try that with our existing furniture and see how it feels for a few days.

We do have a cabinet for the television but it is pretty large. Maybe getting something smaller as you suggest above might help.

Thanks for the input on the recliners as well. The lounge chairs are definitely more attractive! In terms of the flooring, we go back and forth on that. We think there is probably decent hard wood floors underneath so we've thought strongly about ripping up the carpet and (if necessary) getting them refinished. We will almost certainly do that when the kids get older. Right now, they do enjoy playing on the carpet.

normalinda1 Sam Moore has some great recliners that are both beautiful and extremely comfortable. They're worth the price. Here is one that I think would look great with your current couch. http://www.sammoore.com/index.cfm/upholstered-armchairs/catalog.product/code/5910.27/annick. Pick a fabric that complements the art you have. I agree on not having the TV over the fireplace. I recommend using a colored (red) or distressed piece like the ones in Karla's pics above. You have enough wood and brown. Actually the large wooden piece you have looks like it could be a media armoire. What does it contain? Could you make it one?

normalinda1 I think your space is too small for a sectional and keep the carpet while you have little kids.

someoneinomaha The large wooden piece is a media armoire - sorry, should have been clear on that before. The television is currently in there. I agree - we have too much brown in the room. Thanks for the recliner recommendation - we'll check those out.

shelby1175 lets start with a total gut of that living room. Use the money you are planning on putting on the tv.

someoneinomaha Depends what you mean by a total gut - we're definitely willing to change a lot, but budget will probably come into things at some point. We already were planning on replacing all of the furniture and curtains and possibly painting. Sorry, should have been clearer in the original post that I already have a television.

shelby1175 i suggest closing some of the doorways and making the openings more friendly to having a longer wall if possible. I usually put 50-60 per ft for a living room

cbellohio What if you moved what seems to be the wooden louvered cabinet to the left, on the diagonal in that corner (like a mock corner cabinet) ? Move the smaller wooden chest out of the room. Move the green recliner to where the wooden louvered cabinet was. Sconces above fireplace. As for the TV, if enough room, put in the wooden louvered cabinet. If not, what about clearing off some of the shelves to the right of the fireplace and putting it in there? Another thought, you could get a shaker/arts and crafts styled bench to use as a coffee table, and use as extra seating when needed. Very similar to our first house. Love the Arts and Crafts bungalows!

normalinda1 You do not need a total gut. Even if you had one, you would still need to furnish the room and that would be even more money. I think you have the ability to have a beautiful, warm and cozy room. You only need to do a few things to achieve that. I LOVE your media armoire. It's the perfect height and by hiding it you're not making the TV the focal point which I think too many people do. TVs are not beautiful. You have a nice fireplace with lots of character and I think it'll look even nicer with much larger horizontal print. One that is not framed but on a canvas instead.

I agree that you should move the brown chest to another room. If you and your husband like recliners, which we love, you should get one like the Sam Moore chair. Again, I think the chair with the attached fabric would look great with your sofa. Leave the sofa where it is and put the Sam Moore recliner where the green one is. Then consider replacing the small brown recliner with a swivel rocking chair like this one. http://www.jessicacharles.com/product.asp?productid=546. This way you can have both chairs facing the sofa for a conversation arrangement but swivel the Jessica Charles chair when TV is on.

Both chairs may seem expensive but their very well made in Virginia and North Carolina and are extremely comfortable. Trust me. You'd save on having to buy a new sofa too. They're also neutral which is great. Just get fabric guard for the kids. ;-) I have three little ones myself.

A large floor plant and maybe an ottoman coffee table would help complete the room.

normalinda1 Oh and can add color to the room with pillows and window panels. A light blue would like nice for panels. You should also consider getting side tables for the sofa. Round pedestal tables that are the same right as the table would be nice. Just don't get brown. Distressed wood or cream would look nice. Pop it with a bright lamp or something. You can pick colors from the bright painting you have. Also, I just realized the small chest is a record cabinet. You probably do want to keep that in there. In that case, could you paint it?

someoneinomaha @normalinda1 Thanks very much for the ideas - and chair recommendations! Agree on the larger print above the fireplace. That's on our list - just need to find the right piece. The small chest is a record cabinet and was handmade by a friend of mine with some special walnut wood - the photo doesn't really do it justice. He'd probably kill me if I painted it. :)

@cbellohio Thanks for the input! We're going to try moving our existing furniture around and see how it looks. I'm worried that our room is too small though.

normalinda1 The more I see the record cabinet, the less I think it should be moved or painted. Just don't get more brown furniture if you can help it. I read somewhere that more than 3 pieces is too much. I think you're only at 2. ;-)

someoneinomaha I think we can stick with two. :) If you wiped out the furniture we have in the room, you would recommend against brown fabrics?

moccasinlanding With the sofa facing the TV, that gives you the chance to put a parsons table or other "sofa" table behind it. And, since you mention the small ones, they might like to have their meal of a weekend on that table, or perhaps do their homework there when the TV is off. It will separate this area from the fireplace and two cozy chairs for the "old folks" who sit by the fire and chat after work. Or, turn toward the TV and referee the kids.

Your room at 17 x 12 is a good size, but not really big. Have fun working on it.

normalinda1 I think neutral darker fabrics, like the ones on your couch and the chair recommendations, are great when you have little kids. That's what I have and I worked with an interior designer at $100 dollars an hour to come to that conclusion. We added color with panels, pillows, lamps and a rug (wood floors, which do a number on my little ones). Plus, they're neutral and you can always move them to another room if you ever want to.

jabbott2012 IGNORE SHELBY1175!! It's some teenager with nothing better to do but go onto multiple postings with the same advice" gut job". Shelby.....go do your homework.

moccasinlanding Thanks for the link to Jessica Charles but the place does not come close to us, wonder if they ship to customers or if I must get a designer to do the ordering. I'll email them tomorrow since my zip code yielded nada.

Even her chairs that swivel and perhaps rock will be small compared to your sofa, which is huge. If you plan to reupholster it, have them cut the arms down so they do not take up another foot of visual space. That and maybe lower the back a bit. If your husband is tall and needs a long sofa to lie on for TV time, you might have to stick with a long one--just make sure the arms are skinny.

someoneinomaha @normalinda1 - thanks - that's what we were thinking as well in terms of neutral / easily moved to other rooms in the future.

moccasinlanding - interesting idea - thank you for the suggestion. We're planning on trying some mock rearranging this or next week and will try to give this concept a shot.

jabbott2012 - haha... thanks.

normalinda1 I'm assuming you live in Omaha and it says that this store can order Jessica Charles. I ordered my chairs directly through a store in my city. My designer just helped me find the chair but I did the ordering.
Gabberts
415 4th Street
Sioux City, IA 51101
Tel: 712.258.1300

I honestly don't think the chair is too small, especially for the area next to your record cabinet, but she makes tons of swivel rockers. Check out the site. http://www.jessicacharles.com/category.asp?categoryid=SR

rhondainca Hello fellow Nebraskan. Where is your red and white.....LOL. Grew up two hours north of Omaha (Wayne) now I live in CA. Hit Nebraska Furniture Mart (is it still called that?) Doesn't Warren Buffet now own it. Maybe a new chair and matching pillows for the couch to tie it together. Remove the smaller pictures on the walls and keep the large artwork (less is more). Maybe move that artwork above fireplace if it will fit and add a mirror to the wall where it was. Mirrors make a space look larger. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way so maybe add a little color and paint an accent wall. Can you move that piece next to the gold chair out of the room? Too much furniture in an already small space makes it feel smaller. Do I see a small side table in the next room behind where the gold chair is? Maybe use that at one end of the sofa or next to the chair and move one of the lamps over by gold chair or behind green chair if you have an outlet in either of those areas. Good Luck and Go Huskers :-)

someoneinomaha @normalinda1 - I think Nebraska Furniture Mart here is a dealer. I'll ask when I head in there (hopefully this week).

@rhondainca - haha - we're Creighton fans in this house. :) Thanks for the ideas! We were just talking last night about moving the painting on the wall over to the fireplace. I'd really like to keep the piece next to the gold chair in the room if possible. I hear what you're saying though.