Hello, is this the living room of the dining area?

It's an old small house, the kitchen is just past the archway, bathroom, office and bedroom are all accessed within this open area.. We had a sofa but it seemed too big, finally got rid of it, we now love the open space but when people come over we just have them in the kitchen. Want to be able to have people come in and sit either on a chair table or sofa. It's really an awkward space for me

view from the front door

Front door

Maybe a mid-century type sofa. While not my style they seem to take up less floor/room space while giving you the seating you want.

Both a sofa and a table. You could have an appropriately sized seating area with a sofa for the area of the room closest to the entry. If you remove or relocate the armoire (maybe to the living area), it seems you could easily fit in a dining table and possibly a sideboard. I believe part of the challenge stems from the very wide opening into the kitchen. If the opening wasn't as wide, the two separate areas would probably be more obvious.

I just noticed that the ceiling fan seems to be suggesting that there should be a single set up organized around it. I recommend moving it, but that's probably a pain.

If there was a single setup, I agree with the others that it should be a living space rather than a dining space.

I have no doubt that the sofa you had was too large. But the space calls for some kind of seating. You could get a smaller scaled sofa or loveseat, and/or an upholstered chair or two, again, smaller scaled. Just search for "furniture for small spaces" or "apartment size sofa", and you will see some options.

Check measurements including seat height, and put tape on the floor, before buying. Another way is to first tape the floor with approximately what size you think would work, figure out how high you want the seating to be, then look for things with those dimensions.

Agreed with DC. Make it a nice little sitting area, but you don't necessarily have to get a big couch. Get creative with smaller more versatile seating options.

I am old school, if it is the front of the house, I would have a sofa and seating. I can never feel ok about walk into my home and see the dining table table and chairs.

Sofa will be great for this place, think, table is not a successful choice for it