Questions: Does your husband's constant TV watching bother you? Do you enjoy watching TV as much as he does?

If it bothers you and/or you don't like TV as much as he does, I'd keep the dining room area and not give it over to the TV overlord. Have a cute area that is NOT all about the TV - nice contrast of purpose.

Also, how does your kitchen relate to the living/dining space? Is it eat-in? Does your husband ever take meals in there?

I'd start by tidying up. Fold the blankets on the couch, gather dog toys, put away all the random stuff on top of the entertainment center, find a permanent home for that plant and arrange the dining room chairs around the table, etc. That'll help you get a clearer sense of the room as it is and where you want it to go.

Have you taken away your Christmas tree yet? What about all that stuff on top of the TV furniture? Store or get rid of it. Do the dog beds have to be where they are now? Instead of floating shelves on both sides of the room, you could put corner shelves to the right of the TV, maybe made out of open metal work so they don't add more weight to that side of the room. Take out the dining table and put the heavy-looking dog beds on that emptier end of the room, perhaps under the window. Get rid of the dishes you don't care for and display the ones you do like on your floating shelves. Advertise your matching hutch and table set. Someone will be happy to buy them.

Wow! Husband and dogs making your decorating decisions for you! (Sorry; that was mean. We all should try to get along.) Anyway, since you have table in the kitchen, you definitely need to post the dining table and hutch for sale. That plant could have a nice big stand and help visually fill up space in the emptier end of the room.

I would opt for just a bottom piece type tv hutch/cabinet. As for the other space, maybe take off the stuff on top of the hutch. Keep the stuff in there simple. One thing I did with our printer (I think that is a printer in the corner) I set a wicker basket turned upside down, using it like a little table next to my hutch in the dining area and set the printer on top. It's low to ground and you can't even see it.

wow so much better in such a short time

will you be willing to look into changing the flashmount -put pendant or chandelier instead?..

can you add window treatment to the living room window-or dog beds make it for a bad decision? Will add softness..

can you have something that will have double function-say big square coffee table under which a dog bed can go..or dogs won't like it?

PS then you also won't need a tray table. whether it'll be good or bad, I don't know. But it's comfortable for whoever watches the TV

Wow! That last photo looks so much better!! I like that you turned the table and got rid of whatever was above the hutch! (The plant looks good on top of something, too.) That part of the room now looks less long and narrow. Maybe you don't want to get rid of the hutch & table after all; the cream is a nice relief from the black TV hutch. I think what that earlier poster meant about the TV furniture is to have just a low piece of furniture to hold the TV, which would visually get rid of the big black mass on that side of the room.

I have a tv-aholic too. He'd be happy eating every meal in front of the dumb thing. So, he understands that tv meal is lunch or snack. Dinner is with me, no tv, because I miss him during the day and need time to reconnect. I get a half hour, I get to use my table and china, I get him for at least half hour per day all to myself. Happy me. It's a compromise and took a while to convince him it was in his best interests, lol. If he doesn't go for it, I'd make a comfy nest for myself, like re-purposing the garage for my space...just joking, sorta.

Hi, Amy--

Great progress already. As others have mentioned, if your arrangement permits it, changing out the lighting in your dining area (and putting it on the all-important dimmer switch) can work wonders for pivoting how we feel about and interact with a space.

Couple other questions:

-Is your living room area rug really large? If allowable, I'd edge it over toward the far window wall so it doesn't show under the backside of your sectional and intrude visually into your dining space - that will further define a border between spaces and level out the traffic path there, too.

-In the corner where your record player / plant currently sit, is there space for your drape on the slider to 'stack off' the window there and collect behind the player base? Looks just a little congested back there, so would ease that tower out of the corner just a bit to allow for drapery clearance back there.

Really like your dining set with your current flooring in there and seems it fits the space well (good job on re-orienting the table direction). Agree with the previous commenter who recommended a low TV console for your LR media arrangement, as the big black display storage you've got now just adds a ton of visual bulk and makes your TV the focal point of your living room, which it doesn't need to be, even if it's the reason that you spend time there. I'd scale back your storage there and focus on bringing in some art - maybe a pair of two canvases or set of four framed prints - to frame the TV screen, balance the space, and add some visual interest to that long wall in your big room.

Cheers on your project so far; keep going!

Hi, Amy--

Would you be able to create an overhead drawing of how your spaces connect together? That would really help us look at the overall flow and make sure we're providing the most helpful suggestions.

Also, sounds like you may be in the market for a slightly smaller rug if it doesn't exactly map to the space in either direction?

Just remember, too, that once you select and install your new DR light fixture, the bottom of the fixture should be between 30-34" from the top of your table to properly light faces/food/all that jazz in a dining area. And on a dimmer so you can always control the wattage and make it exactly what you want.

What about if you have the tv wall mounted on a swivel bracket so DH could watch the tv from the dining table? I'm not sure if your TV is a flat one that could be hung. Could you switch the sectional around so that one section is by the window and then it's open to the dining table so it doesn't feel so cut off? If you feel you absolutely don't need a second dining area, could you get rid of your dining table and spread out your sectional so the room feels more spacious (once again that TV swivel bracket could help. Or think totally out of the box and use that space for something YOU would like. Make your space what YOU want without following conventional rules. Maybe you could get a foosball table or game table so that you and DH could do something together? Maybe you want a craft area or a reading area. Get rid of the stuff you don't like, Take a photo of it and then sell it or give it to someone who will make good use of it.

looks great!

are you entirely opposed to mounting the television and having an entertainment console underneath?

ok.I hear you about the dogs running to the window. Now that I see the other side of your sofa, i don't think you need to move it down. ( or spread it out. )

Wow, you even got a shot of Hubs eating and watching TV. When you said he did it constantly, I expected him to weigh 300 lbs.

A long slim console with the TV mounted above on an articulating arm would allow him to watch from the dining table. (He could also get a larger TV. Maybe there's a deal to be made here.)

I just put this in one of my client's dens. (this is a generic photo, this is NOT their den). We did the living room furniture very low, due to the small space and so it maximized it. this is what i envisioned in your space. quite frankly, I would move the sectional the other way and have a side chair behind the dining table, making the rooms their own without it feeling like you are trying to make a separate room. this way, they transition while keeping their own spaces.

here's a photo of the console. It is media friendly, and has wiring holes behind it all.

Wow, looking so much nicer than the original photos! Great job :) Less is more.

I turned the TV so you could see it from the dining table, Amy. And I took away the TV trays since he won't need those anymore.

Unless you truly enjoy dusting and/or a clutter vibe, "no" to floating shelves.

Removing clutter helped a lot. "Cluttered space = cluttered mind." A bookcase style cabinet with doors -- solid and/or glass -- behind the sofa or a full 6' height corner cabinet might help you have enough storage space to not permit the clutter to accumulate again.

Not usually a fan of sectionals; however If the sectional is in good shape and your husband likes it, why change what "works" -- especially if a new sofa would just end up w/dogs lounging on it anyway.

Matching ceiling fans in the living and dining rooms would be a good idea.

When the weather warms, perhaps you might convince hubby to use his woodworking skills to create new dog beds that are within a credenza style cabinet -- making a cabinet a dominant furniture piece rather than dog beds.

Well I just have to say that I have never, and I mean EVER, seen an Original Poster go through such an amazing psychological transformation in such a short time!

Amy you've got this!! Let the Husband- and Dog-training begin lol.

Amy--

I wouldn't recommend moving your large rug to your dining zone, a space smaller than its current location. It looks like the one in your living room is just a bit too large for any of your spaces. But there are plenty of slightly smaller, size-appropriate options that would fit your space and not break a budget (Target has some amazing new choices, if you've got a store location near you, that may be a winner). Do you know how large your new area rug is? I'd think about scoping back ~2 ft. in length x width, each.

Normally, area rugs for a conversation space should connect all the front legs of furniture in the grouping, but not run behind the pieces into other areas.

Love this post because proves you do not have to throw out the baby with the bath water! Looks so fabulous.....I am rooting for further progress, you have got this Amy!

Got it (8 x 10 for practical purposes). I think a 6x8 or 7x9 at the most would be the largest in there you'd want to go in the living space--lots and lots of options in those sizes at all price points. If you've got the paperwork and the dogs haven't thrashed it, it might be within a return window at Wayfair - worth a check, if so.