So far I am leaning towards this setup:

• Setup: Couple of armchairs facing the windows; lower profile/mid-back so that they don't block the light and the rooms feels more open.
• Material: Microfiber for the chairs, so that it's easier to clean
• Plain vs patterns: thinking of getting the chairs in plain, and then add color/pattern through pillows and the area rug.
• One or two ottomans that would serve as storage, coffee tables and extra seating (not sure if I should get the ones that come with chairs). These would go against the window wall.
• Color: May be blue or grey?

First find a rug you love and go from there. It should be large enough to leave a foot or two of the wood floors showing around the perimeter. Center it with the room and fireplace. Bring all the furniture in so at least the front legs are on it. The sofa should be centered with the fireplace with enough room to walk comfortably behind it. Adding a sofa table behind allows you to double as an entry table and is more interesting than looking at just the back of the couch. You could add a love seat in front of the window forming an L with the couch put a square end table in the corner for lamps and drinks. It could help keep small hands away from the blinds. Pulling furniture off the walls actually helps bring the room together and doesn't make it feel smaller if the room is large as yours seems to be.

I would place the sofa at the windows so it doesn't become a wall to prevent you entering your room. I also think you may need lounge chairs that have rounded backs to take up less room visually.

Cheryl

Thanks for comment. Bunch of interesting ideas there.

I am also looking for a rug, but was waiting on a decision on the arrangement of the furniture to get measurements. I will take the perimeter measurements you mentioned, and make sure if they work with a couple of seating configurations.

I am afraid pulling things together might leave only a little room for the little one to play. The room is not as big as the pictures might be making it look. I will take the measurements tomorrow and post.

Beverly,

Great simulation pic - you even added a tv in there! (may I know what software you used).

I never thought of turning the sofa and have it face the chairs. It certainly lends to a freer flow. I always imagined TV as the focus and putting something facing it. Will try it out.

Thanks for the tip on rounded backs. Will take anything that can make the room look bigger.

Both the chairs you selected as samples are in neural (beige/taupe) colors. Do you think those are the colors I should go with? I do want to add some color to the room, but no sure which colors, and how i.e., a colorful rug and matching accent pillows would do it, or the chairs should also be of a different color.

Also, is it ok to have the two chairs be of same type, or would it be an improvement to have two different colored and types of chairs, for eg., say having the two chairs in your post.

havingfun

You made really good points. I had the discomfort with ottoman seating on the back of my mind. Dining room chairs (yet to buy) are certainly a great alternative. May be have just one ottoman as a coffee table cum emergency seating?

Did you mean two three-person sofas facing each other? We were actually considering a loveseat similar to the one in your first pic i.e, frugal on the space for the arms and back, to face the windows.

Color-wise, like the blue in the rug in your first pic. In fact, I saw and liked a rug today that had similar colors. May be get a chair/loveseat in blue and go with a rug similar to these two? Would it be crazy if I want to add a little red-family color into the mix somewhere, like a third color - beige, blue and reddish. I feel that would add an edge. But how best to do it.

I just use Microsoft Paint. I think it comes with every MS operating system. It's all just cut and paste.

There has to be a logical way to get to the front counter and to the back bedrooms, so you have to be an easy path.

With the same furnishings, you should be able to do this layout also.

It might be easiest to have one couch and two chairs with how much space you have. Obviously we are not recommending a white couch, since you have an 18-month old, but the layouts and the chairs are great pieces, along with the rugs.

@bev, I might go with the second one with the chairs on the either side for easier tv watching. But switching between either is easy, and more importantly the sofa & two chairs configuration seems to be the way to go to allow this flexibility.

Camden Lane Interiors

I love the blues in your pictures and feel naturally attracted to them. But the designer we met at a store today suggested that grey will offer more flexibility for decor, whereas with a blue you could get stuck. I need to think hard about that.

Nevertheless, I picked some blue-grey shades from to store to check against the sofa. Anyone you like from this lot, or if have a different suggestion let me know.

Thanks all as always.

blue is difficult for those who do not really like it. but you really cannot get stuck if you consider blue jeans, the sky with flowers, a reef with a myriad of fish swimming through. if you think of all the options that go with blue in life you realize that it really is a natural neutral.

Any of the colors you brought home would work. They all would be a good base to work from. That's the plus of having neutrals to work with. Solids also are great for expensive pieces like furniture. Color brought in with pillows, art and accessories that can be changed without too much expense when you just need a change. I like changing things up with the seasons. Light and airy summer and spring, warm and cozy winter and fall. Just buy things you like and make you feel good. You'll love the room.

Forgot to say. I once got a couple swivel gliders from Craigslist that worked with my furniture but the design pretty much made it impossible to find a rug. I ended up just getting a solid color carpet remnant just to have something while I continued to look but never found anything. Which is why I like solid color furniture. Swivel gliders work great though to watch TV, enjoy the view or join conversations without having to actually move the chair. Lots of styles to choose from and comfortable.

i am not quite sure, but i think i agree with cheryl. I believe that patterns in your furnishings often make them difficult to match up. solid colors to me act as a neutral and mean you can change up whenever you want. true i would find it very difficult to get melon to go with christmas. but those who appreciate it far more than i? i bet they could work it out.

Agree with solid > patterns. Though I usually lean towards solids, I now have solid (pun alert!) reasons to fight off the temptation of the numerous patterned chairs in the stores.

@havingfun, those are some splendid examples of blue playing with other colors. Agree that blue does work with most colors, still wondering if it's a design norm to match the shade of blue of the chairs with one of the colors in the rug.

yes, usually you use your rug to tie your room all together. also keeps you from throwing all different colors in. why what were you thinking?

Just making sure I should still be doing the matching with the rug - matching here would not be just playing well, but be exactly the same - for whatever the color I select for the chair.

To summarize here’s what I learned from this thread so far:

• Sofa with two chairs is the better combo, for the given space and flexibility of configuration.
• Use dining chairs for the extra seating.
• Solid colors for the chairs.
• Any shade of blue-grey for the chairs should go well with the sofa while offering a second color.

I am going to visit some stores this week and the next and see what I can find. Will post.

sounds good to me. you don't need the extra seating on a regular basis - correct? if you did you might wish to return to two sofas. but 2 seems a little squishy. have fun!