Love the dogs, so nice to see that they live in such comfort.

Since it is a small room and wall space is limited, would you consider mounting the TV over the fireplace? I known the pros don't recommend it usually but sometimes it does make sense. It would create one focal point and free up a wall. You could move the sofa to where the TV stand is now to create more of a conversation area and put a small coffee table in the middle. The lovely bird art could go on the wall where the TV is now.

I would also edit the amount of decor items for a cleaner look. Do away with the floor vases completely as floor space is already limited.

I love your room, too! So cozy, and honestly, I could live with it as is, but I see your seating dilemma. I don’t normally like a TV over the fireplace, but it may help the seating situation. I think a white shutter would look nice on the window next to the loveseat, or maybe a Roman shade (not drapes).

Thank you for your nice comments! I cannot mount the TV over the fireplace, as it would be way too high. The mantel is at 54 inches. We purposely avoided having the Tv over the fireplace for that reason, even before we built the fireplace. We used to have the TV on a cabinet that was only 45 inches high, and that was too high for us.

IdaClaire and Bluebell, thank you so much! I am so pleased to hear that you both like the room! I am a (starving) artist, and we don't have much extra money to spend on our house, so it really is a challenge to find not only decent quality items but also within our budget. (The fireplace cost us $100, the stone $150.. and the blue Ekornes chair I scored for$200!).

Ishack, thank you. Two of our three dogs can no longer go upstairs. I sleep down here on the little loveseat (which is also a hide-a-bed), because we cannot carry them upstairs, and no way we could leave them downstairs by themselves. For now, it is what it is, and it is all about giving them what they need for as long as they need it. Before we changed this room, the dogs used to lay on the sofas, getting up there using two small ottomans I made just for them to step onto. But now I am keeping the dogs on their beds, because both have arthritis, and the beagle has CHF, Cushing and two knees that had surgery. So my floorspace is, for now, mostly dog beds. :)

I just noticed the painting of the bolga baskets ... That is amazing! Do you sell your work online, and if so, can you share a link? I have a few African baskets, including a bolga, in my collection (which is mostly Native American and Wounaan / Embera) and just love them. Anyway, would love to see more of your art if there's a way to do so.

balego, you are such a loving and dedicated pet parent. I lost my 17 year old kitty recently and spent many nights on the sofa because of a situation like yours. Your room is lovely just as it is, dog beds just add to it as a sign of a joyful life. Oh, and I love the art to the right of the doorway with the orange background!

Ida, I knew you'd be all over that painting! It is def. your style...(goes beautifully with the rug, too!)

Agree this room is lovely...what's to the left of the fireplace as you're facing it?

LOVE YOUR ROOM!

Ishack, so sorry about your kitty! Our beagle is 13, and our older mixed breed girl is 16, and as you can see in one of the photos, she still can manage getting up onto a sofa when she feels inclined to. :) Thank you so much for your comments.

Pennydesign, to the left of the fireplace is a ceramic musician figurine, and a bolga shopping basket sitting on the sub-woofer for our sound bar. And all of that hides the plug where the cords to my computer and the lamp plug into. :) The other half of this room contains a slim computer desk, a small dining table and a buffet. Although I do have an art studio room upstairs, I prefer to work in my dining area surrounded by my DH and my doggies. :)

IdaClaire, thank you!! I am actually working on a second painting of baskets at this time. Both are painted in watercolour. I don't have a functional web page yet but do have a facebook art page, and an Instagram that I haven't kept up with. I will send you the link.

I am feeling much better about my living room after such great feedback! I have been second guessing myself because we weren't able to hire a contractor, and had to shop for previously used items rather than buying all new from stores.

I was wondering if we couldn't improve the layout a bit? Maybe the tv would be better to the left of the fireplace?

Of course you're there and we're not so we don't know...

Pennydesign, the left of the fireplace would put it in my dining room. :) The Tv stand takes up only 11 inch depth along the wall, so eliminating it would not really give much floor space. We did try the loveseat where the TV stand is, and the TV on the wall where the loveseat is, but although it works okay, it isnt optimal for viewing due to glare from the window beside the fireplace and issues with chair placement. This house is a small older house, with only about 600sf on the main floor. I dont want to eliminate the TV stand because I like to have a bit of decorative items/books, to make it homey. I think i have a mock up image of the room somewhere. If I can, I will post it to show you.

Penny, here is a very rough mock up showing general dimensions. What is missing from this image is a small slim desk and computer that is situated on the wall behind the blue chair, left of the fireplace. the buffet cabinet holds some art supplies as I now work in my dining space to do my art. I should also mention that switching the TV with the loveseat means placing the recliners one on either side of the fireplace in order to view the TV, and that ended up with a chair and ottoman half in front of the loveseat. The only real solution would be to give up one of the Stressless chairs, and considering their comfort and how long we have waited to own such chairs, giving one up isn't an option.

Well I'm just throwing things out there...

If you turn the dining table, would that help the living area feel bigger? You could then nudge the rug to be central in the living room...

The shelves, even though they don't take up much room, are using up wall space...so what if you mounted the tv on an articulating mount to the left of the fireplace? (also there are mounts that tilt and pull out) You could pull it out when you need to but it won't take up any floor space...

Of course the seating would then be shifted around...

Penny, I won't gain floor space by mounting TV. I would gain less than 12 inches along the wall, which would only mean I could push the little wood chair back into the corner, which I can't see as gaining much of anything. We just bought the shelving for the TV, and we really like it.

And I cannot mount the TV to the left of the fireplace, because that would put it on my dining room wall. I don't see that there is a problem with the TV where it is?

Turning the dining table won't work and there is nothing that I can do in the dining room that will give me more space in my living room.

No problem at all...I was simply throwing out some ideas and feedback, as you had requested :)

Nice room. Thanks for sharing!

Just wanted to say that I really like your space. The fireplace is really nice and I love the birds. The rug and your art pulls everything together very nicely. And as a fellow dog owner, I love how you've made the space work for your dogs too.

Only idea I can think of would be to wall mount the TV where you have it and put the loveseat along that wall (under the TV) across from the chairs. You'd have to remove the shelving or put the loveseat in front of it. Not sure it's a great idea, but you could try moving the loveseat there and see if you like it. The layout is tricky for making a conversation + optimal TV viewing space.

I LOVE your room! Don't change a darn thing. And when you have a party, I will definitely have that evening free!

PPC, thank you. Yes, for now the priority is having the dogs have their space, even if it makes things a bit awkward for us. Our oldest girl keeps going between the two recliners rather than around them and wobbles the little wicker table, so we're going to have to find something a bit more stable. ;)

As for putting the loveseat under the tv, no, that won't work and I don't think would look very good? The TV is in the perfect spot for viewing, even better than when we had it on the wall where the loveseat is now. We tried the loveseat where the two chairs are now, with its back to the dining room, only to find that our little Boston Terrier would leap over the back of it with our old girl right on her heels when they play. yikes. So, the furniture pretty much has to stay where it is for the time being, until such time that we no longer have need to accommodate the two geriatric dogs. But you're right. Even before the fireplace and before we even had dogs, this room was always a challenge to arrange!

Louise, thank you so much!! Your comment is reassuring that my (limited) choices for this room worked out okay even if it isn't perfect. :)