The sectional is staying. I am fond of the rug, but am not 100% tied to it. The photos were taken at night and are awful, I'm sorry. The rug is slate blue/grey colored, and the sectional is lighter and more olive / less brown colored than it looks, if that's of any help.

I've been considering repainting the blue wall to be grey like the others.

Thanks!

paint the wall the same color. change the fireplace- it is a focal point- extend it to the ceiling, simple framing, tile board & tile it something subtle, with allowances for the TV hook up. should cost less than $300. the sectional is really too large for the space, but if you need to keep it, break up the pieces, swing the shorter section around so the back is to the dining room, the long piece facing. the last table pictured works the best- you need to rid the visual bulk. can't quite make out the fixture above the table, but a round open metal one would be better, also drapes on the slider, hung near the ceiling. the chairs you pictured look great. E-bay the ones you have now. congrats on the freedom from roomies!

Thank you for your suggestions! I am beyond excited for my roommate to move out! He moved in when he got a job in the area, so he'd have a landing place while he apartment shopped, aaannnddd now it's been three years, haha.

Do you think that the third table is too light and warm toned? I do love the way the legs are situated, but it seems like it might clash with the grey washed wood of those chairs and further reinforce the warm wood tones in the room, which seems like it might be overwhelming. Or maybe (probably, almost definitely...) I'm just overthinking it.

My fireplace has an air recirculator, so unfortunately, re-doing it is actually a little more complicated than it appears! That, and, in my area, even re-doing a fireplace that didn't have a recirculator runs around $1200, so for now it's less important than bringing the half bath back from 1980 or replacing the carpet in the soon-to-be-vacated bedrooms :)

For the sectional, I don't think I'm quite picturing what you mean. The most congested part of the room is between the living room and dining room (where that hugle black cabinet is), so I'm worried that moving something solid to that area will compound the issue. Maybe that's not what you meant, or maybe I'm having issues envisioning it! Would you suggest leaving the front door-side more open?

For what it's worth, the sectional is definitely huge, but the space honestly doesn't feel cramped-- there's about 5 feet between the left side of the couch and the back of the island stools. The 2nd photo was taken from the doorway, and since I don't have a coat closet, the back of the sofa has a storage/sofa table thing that houses shoes and mail and what not-- it sort of provides a defined entry way.

Here's some (even older) photos, if it'll maybe help? A lot of the furniture and rugs and whatnot are different, but the couch hasn't moved! Also, I swear that the throw pillows will be gone soon! :P

For repainting the wall-- I teeter between loving the blue and hating it, so I'm curious about some others' reasons for disliking it/ saying to paint it the same as the other walls. Sort of a side note, but I've been thinking about it for awhile and haven't ever settled on repainting it long enough to actually follow through.

It's also probably worth saying that my boyfriend and I will probably be buying a new (much larger) home in 3-5 years, so we're trying to compromise between something that fits our lifestyle and future needs, but will also not be absolutely ridiculous in my current house.

HWALMAY-- I'm definitely concerned about versatility! I think my style is generally transitional, but this house has seemed to require different decorating than I usually go for-- it feels more cozy or cottagey almost?

I think my main issue is that I am scared that the "light olive" one will be too intricate for the room and cause competition with my floors, but I'm also scared that the third one will seem out of place and be difficult to merge with everything else that's going on.

Good stuff to think about, thank you for your help!

NO bench , have you ever tried getting into and out of a bench at a table the worst thing possible and in a dress even worse, these are even bad at a picnic area. As for mixing a very casual bench with fancy chairs even worse IMO. Stick with matching chairs x 6 and use those others in the LR to be pulled to the dining table if necessary. I agree about stressing about wood tones they will work together . BTW the best style table to maximize seating is one with a pedestal style base it allows squeezing in a nother chair that is not possible with legs. The sectional is no problem but all those mismatched pillows are just messy looking . You do know that you need at least 30” all around that dining table for chair movement, your DR does not look very large so just make sure to measure .

All you need is one thing....Pick your favorit color for some punch...Thats it!!! Looks great other wise....Get some....COLOR Don't be afraid...Color is Energy..

Michelle-- Each chair is just under 20" across, and you're totally right, three of them wouldn't fit between the legs of the third table. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can't believe I didn't think about that, but it turns out there was at least some valid reason to be worried about making a final choice! The budget is flexible, and I quickly browsed through the Ethan Allen website and the prices for dining tables seem within range to me, so I'd love to see your suggestions. I tend to choose more simple shaped furniture (if that makes any sense).

HMWALMAY-- you're making me feel SO much better, haha. Anxiety level has gone down about four clicks :) Thank you again.

Patricia-- I have eaten at dining tables with benches, and personally really like the versatility. I don't really intend to have a formal dining room (and probably won't intend to in the future, either-- it's not important to me). I'd love some suggestions about how to better work a bench into a casual/hybrid sort of dining area!

I'm having trouble envisioning a pedestal table; they always seem too ornate or the bases seem too bulky to me, but it's totally possible I just haven't seen the right one-- do you have any examples?

And, again, the throw pillows are my male roommate's attempt at "decorating" (which also resulted in some of the strangest rugs I've ever seen), and will be leaving with him :)

My dining room isn't large, but it has plenty of space on either side of the current 36" wide table, so I don't think there will be an issue with a 40" table. It would certainly be disasterous if it didn't fit in the room, though, so thank you for making sure!

Irene-- I do like how the mixed thosee chairs with that table! It's also interesting that the differing shades of wood don't look strange together. Thank you also for the table size chart. I didn't see a table with three on each side and one at each end (total 8).

Do you think 7 feet X 40 inches would be sufficient for that? It doesn't need to be "spacious" with that many people at the table, but I'd like it to be possible!

Yvette-- I would love some help with that! That was my original thinking with the blue wall, and I sort of tried to tie it in with the blue curtains, but sometimes it feels like too much, or sort of juvenile? I have no idea and can't seem to get it quite right!

If you don’t mind crawling over a bench to sit at a table then go for a bench but a friends experience was that the kids loved it the aunties not so much. As for a table maybe something like this , it creates a break from the 2 types of wood and the bases are just inset far enough

Thank you, Patricia, I'll look mode into pedestal tables!

For the end chairs that will be dual-purposed as living room chairs, does anyone have input between these two? I'd either add nailheads or replace them with a color matching the side chairs, depending on which one it was. Is it weird that the first chair has dark legs?

Kensington Channelled Wing Chair, Chess Pewter · More Info

Kensington Lillian Occasional Chair, Gray Chevron · More Info

Thank you everyone for the help! Just wanted to give an update:

All the ideas are great! I'm going to first get rid of all the stuff that isn't staying, then re-evaluate to help with deciding between all the options, but I'm leaning toward either the first table or a pedestal table like you guys have suggested!

Michelle, I love that mock up! And, the chairs both have a seat height of about 19.5" :)

As far as the bench goes, I hear you! The new plan is to buy a 4th grey chair AND a bench. The 4th chair will be my new desk chair when it's not being used for dining, and the bench will be used as a window seat in the office when it's not being used for dining.

That way, we can have smaller dinners with 6 people around the table (2 chairs on each side = no one sitting on a bench), but can also put 3 chairs on one side and the bench on the other for family get togethers or casual BBQs (which is the only time we ever need seating for 8).

Opinions and input are always appreciated, and I'll update in a while when we get rid of all the bonus stuff and when we finally decide on/ purchase furniture!

kendralh - let me know if you need any assistance - my page has my contact info -

Thank you Michelle! I really appreciate your help!

I really love the Romy table. As long as you have good lighting it won't be too dark at all.

I really like the finish, and I think it's a good size.

It's out of stock until June, so hopefully that'll give me time to get rid of my roommate and all of my extra things before making the final decision!