I absolutely love those chairs! The tan rug with color is a great idea too. I was just looking at solid colors but I'll be looking at something different now. what are your thoughts on placement of the table and seating areas relative to the kitchen? Right now I have the table near the entry and seating near the kitchen. I'm buying a larger dining table.

Couple of things-

Can you post a photo of the floor plan with measurements. And 2nd, will you be putting a TV in this area? From the front door is the only means to get into the house is through the dining area/living room? How many would you like to be able to seat in the living rm area? Have you already picked out your new dining table?

1st the room measures 12'6" x 23' with the wall by the love seat being the shortest. 2nd, I would like to be able to seat at least 5. Still shopping for the table. 3rd, there won't be a TV here and 5th, this is the front entry but we also have one in the back of the house. The first picture here is the best I could do and it's taken from the front entry door. I hope that helps.

Ideally, you could get more seating if you replaced the loveseat with a sofa on that wall and then consider 2 small swivel chairs across from it. The reason for the swivel chairs is that anyone sitting in them can turn towards the window or the kitchen. Plus, the 2 chairs would define the space with their backs towards the dining table, keep the room airy and still allow room to walk around. I thought of putting the love seat across from the new sofa but it would be overbearing to have two large solid pieces in the space and also not very interesting. Once the layout of the big pieces of furniture is figured out, then the other pieces and colors can be figured out.

Your thoughts?

That sounds really good. What are your thoughts on where the dining area and the seating area should be located? Should I leave them as they are or move the dining area closer to the kitchen instead of the entry?

I would flip the dining and the sitting areas. What does the current dining area open up to?

Your mirror is too large for the console underneath it. If you want to keep it, I would get a sideboard that is wider than it is. Put them both on the wall where the loveseat is currently.

You might leave the current sideboard where it is and use it for an entry console. Float the loveseat and a full size sofa in the living area, either facing the ends of the room or one facing the window, the other with its back to it.

When you think you know the pieces you want, get their measurements and tape them out on the floor. Do not skip this step. Trust me. It will save a lot of anguish because you'll see immediately when pieces don't work in the space.

I was thinking of suggesting flipping the dining area with the living area but if you want to keep the console with the dining table, then that will be taking up a lot of real estate in that area, I believe. Where right now it's location is tucked out of the way. My other thought was that by flipping the two areas it looks like you would loose some of the big window in the seating area? And if that is the case, for me I'd prefer to have the window in my seating area rather than the dining area. It appears that the current dining area opens into a hallway?

If you put a sofa on the loveseat wall, you could put the mirror over it.

Frankly, tedbixby, I think it's weird to encounter a dining area as soon as I open the front door. I also like the dining next to the kitchen. I've never quite understood it and it just feels wrong to me.

Grover- Are you telling me that I should flip my front of the house dining room with my back of the house living room which is also closer to my kitchen than the dining table? lol...

Maybe the thing for Sheryl to do is to flip the love seat and dining table and then we can go from there..

Yes, swap the layout so the back of the sofa creates a passageway behind it with the existing console as an entry table as Groveraxle suggest. This idea:

Get two small upholstered chairs to face the sofa or as Grover suggests. I like this shape, but the legs should be same finish as the dining set to link them in the room.

Anchor the space with a rug and coffee table. Rug should be in ivory, gold (floor color) and dark brown. Ivory curtaints.

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice. I found a few items I think might work. Console tables and dining sets. Thoughts?

Chairs.

Rugs. Too bold?

So I started this the other day but didn’t get to finish. I think we are all on the same page with flipping the rooms. You may want to do a half wall in between the columns to help establish the living room side. Obviously, I don’t have the exact locations of the columns so this is just conceptual.

Following.

The 2 things you want to keep are the 2 things I'd want to get rid of; the mirror (which is too big) and the loveseat (which is too small.) Scale is the main problem with your furniture. It all looks too petite even compared with the kitchen appliances. Looks like kid-sized furniture to me. The mirror dwarfs both the table and buffet. Have you tried it as a floor mirror in the master? A loveseat can be appropriate in the master too. They rarely seat more than one person unless lovers want to be that close. As tedbixby suggested, a 3-seat sofa and a pair of chairs would be better.

Thank you. I'll look for a similar sofa, maybe that would work with the love seat? I like the idea of the mirror in the master as well. Based on the feedback and mock ups I will definitely switch the living and dining areas around. Does anyone think the Blue chairs and rug I posted above would work with a light coloured sofa or should I go with the bolder reds?

I think you need to find your sofa first and then determine the style, color and size of the chairs. I still think you should flip the dining table and loveseat before you start shopping to make sure you like that layout. As I'm thinking there was a reason why you laid it out this way to begin with?

Thanks Ted. I put it that way because I had a monster sectional that I just removed.

Sheryl, Did you try that sectional like Nancy I mock-up shows? Just wondering if you did and how did that work?

Also, when you shop for a sofa you want to be mindful of the arms. On your loveseat they curve out which is taking up space and on the sectional they are rather thick. You want to look for arms with a slimmer profile.

Yes, we had the sectional by the door when we first moved in but it was really too big and cut the flow of the room. maybe a much smaller sectional with a chair like she showed. I'm so excited I get to go shopping again. I'll work on the layout with tape first though.

Yep, tape first and then when you think you've found the pieces you want, don't buy until you retape again. Looking forward to seeing what you find.

Why not look for a reversible chaise sofa? You can flip the chaise portion from left to right for many more arrangement options. Basically, loveseats are the bane of good flow and having enough seating. As I said earlier, more than one person rarely sits on them.

A sofa and a loveseat are very awkward to arrange. Go with a sofa and two chairs. The chairs can match each other but need to be a different fabric from the sofa.

Below I've included some dining table suggestions and living room suggestions since the only thing being kept is the love seat:

This room came immediately to mind when I saw your post....I am not saying copy it but copy the element for a lovely room. Your window is a large area and more classic shape, but bold curtains will make it important and will give you all the color clues for your design.....sunny paint color, blue chairs, antique cocktail and end tables, modern lamps, all taken from the curtain fabric..any fabric you love for the curtains would be translated into your furnishing choices while still preserving your white love seat! If possibly look into custom curtains for fullness and drama and the right size for the room....floor to ceiling 10-12 inches beyond each side, at least one inch diameter window curtain rod.....go for it!

Great Room

Other end of great room

Kitchen open to great room

Dining room

Bathroom with curtains!

Powder room with oomph.

Now I want to redo my bathroom too. Thank you for the ideas I hadn't thought of mixing antique pieces with modern.