Where are the pics of the room and what are the dimensions of your room?

I have a photo under my profile. i couldn't seem to get it to attach to the question. The living room area is 18ft long by 12 ft wide. The whole living/dining/kitchen area is 20ft long by 36 ft wide. not so visible are french doors behind the couch. the kitchen area has huge modern floor to ceiling doors/glass panels. No one seems to sit in the couch area.

Is this the one?

that's the one; i am looking forward to your opinion!

Here it is if people want to look at it within this thread...

Is there a television in the cabinet? Just wondering for orientation purposes. I'm thinking I might have the couch face the armoire with cushy seats on either side (at a 90 degree angle to the sofa), perhaps the "occasional pouf" in between one of the chairs and the armoire. It will help make this space feel a little bit more like it's own room within the room, which you've already begun to do with the area rug. Some side tables and/or a coffee table will allow guest to have a convenient spot for their bevvies or snacks, if you want to draw them out of the kitchen.

no tv in the cabinet. can you see slouchy chairs like verzelloni's "zoe" here? no one (parents, 3 girls) seems to gravitate to the couch area at all. perhaps it is the lack of tables and lighting. but i would like to make it more inviting. on the other hand a giant yoga mat would be fine, too.

Ah, gotcha! I think you are on the right track. While your armchairs are very stylish, they are not inviting to kids! What do you think about a sectional sofa? There are a lot of very streamlined and more contemporary versions available today (I know the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "sectional" might not be very up to date!). If you like the Zoe you also might like the Togo Series?

I'm not sure whether I can see more than two of those chairs fitting plus the sofa without being awkward, I just know my family never gathered so much as we did on our sectional! With spots for drinks to rest, etc. Oh and you're right, some floor lamps and table lamps will help draw the readers over to the area as well, and poufs will be great for kiddos.

Or you could go totally bananas and do hanging bubble chairs. Kids sure do love those... ;)

Hey Saskronberg, I'm going to take this on as an ideabook 911 this week with some inspiring images for you. I'll let you know over here when it posts to the home page!

Saskronberg, what have you decided to do? I'm so curious :-) We are about to create an open plan room. At the moment we love our leather bucket chairs and so do our friends, small table between the chairs and a lot of natural light and reading lights seems to make the area just right for a chat or relax with the Sunday papers or a book. This is in our kitchen so the focal point becomes the stove and a possibly a delicious cake and coffee. While I'm preparing a meal people sit down to chat.
Our boy 6yrs insists on sitting between Mum & Dad to watch a film so he can cuddle us when it gets scary. So I agree big sectional sofa would give kids a place to crash out. We have the T.V and large sofas in another room and that is rarely used by friends and guest unless children are watching telly. This is not my favorite room as it's cold and makes our guest feel very static and they can't see their kids playing.
In our bucket seat area you can look over the garden and see the kids playing and kids run in and out asking for snacks. I also me feel I'm not neglecting my friends while preparing a meal or a snack.