Looks good, except for one thing - if that's a fireplace between the windows, it seems like it's being ignored. It is in an awkward place, tho.

I know... its not centred in the room, when you walk in it's a little to the right. Making it the focal point in the living room wouldnt leave space for the dining room :/ We were thinking of placing a thick gold frame mirror on the top of the FP to make it a bit more of a feature. What do you think?

Thanks for the replies olldbobbi, you're completely right about the mirror, it would reflect the door and wall. We'll look into some art.
The door leads into the hall way. We will then attempt your suggestion and see how it looks. Thanks!

No problem. Question - if the door leads into the hallway, do you need it? If you don't, I'd be tempted to remove it all together. That would eliminate the need to find a way to position your furniture around it.

Sorry i wasnt clear - the door leads to the hall way, which is the only way into the living/dining room (the only other access is from outside). So unfortunately the door is vital.

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean close up the opening, I just meant remove the door itself. The doorway is vital, right? But if you don't need to close the door, just remove it.

Aaaahhhh, now i get it. Interesting suggestion, we will think about it. Thanks once again olldbobbi.

Could you put the dining set on the other side so your living room furniture and fireplace would be grouped together as you walk in to the right?

Thanks Ann Allen. We were thinking of putting the living on the left and dining on the right because of the windows: the one on the left opens out onto the patio whilst the the one on the right is a small window. We thought that it would be more pleasant to look out onto the patio. But when we get the furniture we'll try your suggestion :) Thanks!!

Hi, just an extra thought. I so often see this layout in Ireland and had a similar layout myself once. So often the dining area becomes a less used dead space. So perhaps make that wall behind the dining table a feature that will balance the draw of the eye that you get from the full windows at the other end of the room. I would suggest a very large painting or print that covers the length of the wall, which will add colour and bring attention to your beautiful dining set. Also I would suggest putting your mirror resting ( more relaxed) on your sideboard to reflect the light from the opposite window.

I see what you mean jillef. And those are really good suggestions, thanks!

This is more of a personal preference, but I try not to have a big sofa backing in an open concept room such as what you have. Perhaps rotate the entire seating / TV configuration counter-clockwise so that the TV on the same wall as the door and the large sofa is in front of the window.

I think i'm going to have to do a bit more searching through the Houzz living room galeries to see what i like. In my mind it feels strange to block the window with the chair, but you might be right, it might be better than splitting the 2 areas with the sofa... Thanks Dytecture