I think you can get lots of great suggestions here, but the first thing I would ask is how soon are you doing the remodel and changing the entry to the kitchen? If it is soon, I wouldn’t make any permanent changes to the room, or even worry about it, until that is done. And until the table comes out, anything you do will change drastically once it is gone and that wall opening is doubled.

But for now, if you really want to tackle it, I would slide the bookcase set down to the left so it sits in the corner, rather than leaving that small empty space.

Take the dining table and put it down at that end of the room, running longways across the space. Put the bench on the side of the table closer to the end wall, and leave the blank side facing the fireplace. Take off the tablecloth, or if you want one on there, add a pretty blue print fabric runner and a collection of pillar candles on a wood tray in the center of the table on the runner.

Keep the recliner basically where it is, but move it away from the fireplace by at least 6 inches, still angled as it is. A floor lamp next to the chair would be nice, as would a small table.

Put the loveseat facing the fireplace, back to the DR table. Add an end table to the right side by the wall, and a lamp,

I would not invest in a rug until you are decided for sure on your furniture arrangment.

It is odd, but it appears in the pix that the fireplace is not centered between the windows. Hanging panels there could compensate for that if that is the case. I would look for something textural in a warm neutral, perhaps a burlap or linen.

I would not paint the fireplace. I think it brings warm tones into the room that work with your floor and balance the cooler tones of the blue furniture.

Keep the small table where it is, and add a lamp there, Hang the two cowboy pix, the horizontal one above the table by about 6 inches. Hang the vertical one on the other wall on the opposite side of the doorway. Add a plant in a pretty blue container to the table. I would not change the frames - the suir the art, and don’t seem that rustic.

I think you could use more art, and of course accesories, but I would wait until you are sure about your furniture placement, and the major things that will be in the room Also, opening the view to the kitchen may change how you pull the space together, too.

Thanks Les. You're right, those windows and the fireplace aren't centered right. Someone's math was off that day and they made the same size wall space on the left of each window and on the right of each window. lol

We hope to get approval from the city next week, but the reason I am fiddling with this now is because I inherited a sewing machine and a couple of desks and the only place to put them was in the den where the wall unit was. And the recliner isn't comfortable for me and I thought if it worked in the living room, I'd get a better chair for me in the den. But when I moved it all to the living room, it just looked off.

I don't like the clock on the mantle, or maybe I just don't like it with the picture there, but I don't know what else to do right now. I've got a lot of art I might be able to reuse, but I wanted to get the furniture placement right first.

I can also put the table up until the dining room is added. It comes apart but I can't do it by myself and dh is off hunting. That's when my nesting syndrome seems to go on overdrive.

les917 has a lot of great suggestions. I agree with all of them - especially about putting the loveseat facing the fireplace and taking the dining table to the end of the room, and the drapery panels correcting the semmetry of the windows & fireplace. I also like your brick fireplace and would leave the color as is.

I'm going to try to post some pictures. GW hasn't liked me or my ISP lately and I don't know if I can post today.

Dh came home for lunch and I asked him to help me take apart the table and move the wall unit down to the end. I went to find more sliders and while I was out of the room he took the sliders out from under the chair and moved only the center piece of the wall unit - where I was standing when I told him I wanted it moved - and he left before I came back. And he moved the center piece down to the end. lol Gee, thanks hon.

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I drew a plan with measurements, and I put some trash bags on the wall to show where it will be cut out.

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This is OT, but is anyone else seeing a string of symbols when someone uses an apostrophe? Like in Les's reply in this thread, and javachik's post about refurnishing LR?

It could be just me; I've been having a lot of posting problems with GW the past couple of days - to the point I thought of quitting.

I would flank each of the walls leading to the bedroom with 1 of the wall units each. The center piece to the wall unit could be placed on the wall next to the foyer hallway/door (beside the loveseat).

Depending on the available room, I would center the loveseat on the wall it currently sits. I would remove the chair if you can't pull it at least 2 feet more away from the loveseat, thought it would be nice to keep the two pieces together.

I would place the dining room table (thought temporary) the long way jetting out into the room, thus cutting the two areas and not seeming as long. This would cozy up things around the fireplace and leave those at the dining room table to enjoy a fire and view your treasues in the cabinets.

I am not good with pictures, so I'm not going to be able to help there. Please post pics when you have it figured out. Good luck.

Yes, in answer to your question, I also see the string of symbols in place of apostrophes, but only in certain posts. I've seen it for a month or two. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the poster's browser or server.

I never knew there was a suggestion forum before, but on this thread - linked from suggestion forum, someone gave a tip to get rid of the symbols. Worked for me.

Link to thread for odd symbols

Here's what I did with the room. I moved the loveseat parallel and centered with the fireplace. But the room is really too narrow and there was just a narrow gap on each side. So I angled it and squared up the chair to it, and I think I like it. Both chair & loveseat face the kitchen, and I have room to add another chair later. And I moved the little table behind the loveseat. I put a couple of ducks on it for now. Don't look too closely please; they're dusty. I've never had a sofa table before and have no idea what to put there.

There wasn't enough room to put one of the wall unit pieces beside the loveseat, so I moved one where the little table was, and moved the other two to the other side. There wasn't enough room for the two to be side by side. I tried and it didn't look good, plus it covered the light switch. So I put them together in the corner. It looks ok, but it has the dreaded empty hole in the corner. I put the plant stand beside it for now, but that is the spot where another chair could be placed I think.

For now, I put the bench and table against the wall that will be cut out.

Now I need to hang these two pictures on the wall before something happens to them. I also have a bunch of extra pictures hung on the wall in the garage too. I'll photograph them in a few minutes.

I am really horrible at accessorizing. Any suggestions anyone wants to make about pictures or any other accessories is most appreciated. I go years without being able to decide where to hang a picture, much less what to place on a shelf or table. And any idea for curtain color or fabric is also welcome.

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Another thought I had - would it look good to have an arched metal sculpture above the hall doorway? And would the taller horse picture look better on the fireplace with the clock?

I'm not a big fan of metal sculptures. Too often, they just look to me like they're there because nothing else worked. I do like them over stoves. I would also hang the two western pictures together. Since your DH wants them in the room, and you're not crazy about them, keeping them together makes them appear as ONE artwork. If you hang them in two different places, it starts to look like a collection, IMHO.

I also wouldn't worry about a rug. You have beautiful floors, and the risk of your FIL falling is just too great right now.

Your western prints have a lot of gold in them. With your navy sofa, accents of gold in pillows and a throw would look beautiful. Check out Goodwill (local and online), Salvation Army, dollar stores, or, even better, your own home.. to find some accessories for your wall unit in color. Right now, the accessories you have are too bland to be of any real decorative interest.

Maybe add a beautiful fern to your plant stand to bring more life into the room.

Dee

LOL Dee, that's exactly why I would put it there. It just looks like it needs something in all that space.

I'll look for some gold accessories. I can also change the fabric inside those cabinets. Right now they are the same as the wall color, more or less.

Here's something else I've been playing with.

Ok, this is a quilt on a stepstool, but pretend it's a chair. There's about a 4 foot walkway from the front door and between the "chair" and the end of the loveseat. Remember, the table won't be there much longer (I hope).

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What do you think about a chair there? And if yes, what kind? I was wondering about a glider - one of those you see everywhere, with or without the footstool. Or maybe just an ottoman?

I think a chair would work, but I like things cozy and I love furniture. (Probably too much) I don't know if I would do the ottoman with your FIL, but maybe a recliner?

It's funny, because I was going to suggest a quilt in my other post to bring some pattern into your room, and there it is, and it's gorgeous! Is that another on your side table? I always like the look of quilts piled in a basket.

How many different tables are you working with? It seems as if you have a lot of antique tables.

Dee

marti8a - Thanks! Those annoying symbols are gone now!

Laurie

Dee, you're right, an ottoman would be something to trip over. I'll have to start watching craigslist for a small chair. And yes, I have several antique tables, and I have quite a few old quilts. The one on the table was made in the 1860-1870 era, probably by my great great grandmother.

You're welcome Laurie. I'm glad it worked for you too. Some posts were hard to read with all those in there. Now if I could just log in without going around in a circle.

I'm still working on it & have been looking around my house. I don't really have anything that's gold in color, other than the brass plate in that cabinet. What I did discover is that I seem to pick rust and green colors. When we bought this sofa set, I wanted green but couldn't find it, and settled for blue.

Also, while looking around, I spotted a picture that may work better on the fireplace. What do you think? Better or worse than the original, and if yes, what beside it? Some tall or short?

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Also, any ideas how to cover that electric outlet? It bugs me and I usually put another picture there.