we need pictures of the room and what furniture you areusing

Post photos and a floor plan. You may need to have two separate seating areas if the space is large.

we moved the sofa away from the back wall closer to the tv Because there was too much space between them, now there's so much empty space behind the sofa.

More pictures

I would do a wall of shelving with closed lowers for storage. https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/sixpenny-sectional-slipcover-family-room-makeover

so you agree to move the sofa away from the wall?

Definitely keep the sofa toward the center of the room like it is in the pics with the kids in it. Consider switching the chair that matches the couch to a smaller/rounder chair to make it easier to get into the couch area.

interesting...I thought the room would look odd with a sofa half way down the center. This is the way it was set up yesterday. Sofa against the back wall

*swoon* I'd love to have that living room because I'd make two complete seating areas out of it. And I don't think you have "too much" room behind the sofa. It seems like it works very well as a walkway.

This is a rather general suggestion. But it seems to me that your room is big enough for two seating areas...one focused on the fireplace and one focused on the TV. ...a couch for each and maybe a reading corner, a game table, bookshelves, a drinks cart, etc. Specifically your TV needs a bigger console under it. Buy as good quality as you can afford and build the room slowly if you need to.

@aphaea @threers both these sound great but no idea how to get there. I agree console under tv is bad, it's a placeholder for now as we are not sure what furniture/sofa/wall unit to buy.

Philip,

Hire a designer if you can. Or else research magazines, Houzz, what have in seen in a friends house that you like...we can give advice of what to put where but YOU need decide your needs and style preference. My own starting point is finding a fabric I love in colors I love and use that a guide to your design choices. Professionals on this site will have other suggestions but this has worked for me. Good luck!

Philip, can you tell us about what you have now that you intend to keep. What colors are you or do you want to use? If you aren't sure, what colors please you? Would a neutral living space in part and a colorful one in another work? What furniture styles appeal to you? Have you seen any rooms you love that you can link to? Do you look at the website of magazines such as House Beautiful or Traditional Home or Veranda?

If you want to consider the "divided" living room, why not of where you wrote "living room" on the diagram as a sort of mental divider. You can move it, perhaps make the part facing the fireplace smaller and the other larger depending on how you use the room. If you enjoy board and card games, consider adding a table and comfortable chairs for that.

But please let us know your tastes and preferences even if it is not much more than "I'd love a ______ sofa." We can start with small ideas but we need to know what you like.

we are looking to purchase a sectional sofa. we like a modern clean look ( with three kids as much as possible) and still cozy. The house is large, spacious. we've painted neutral colors ( pale oak by Benjamin Moore). pretty much we would buy a console for the tv as previously noted, and a new sectional, like the one in the picture. we have two other huge rooms, one empty that could be a beautiful den, the other a dining room. Im not sure games would fit here as we have a big basement that the kids play in. I'm trying bit can't visualize how to section off this room into two seperate functions and still have enough room for a sofa to watch tv... hope this helps a bit. thank you for all your comments.

I completely agree with calidesign about sofa placement. Per your measurements, the room is roughly 13 x 17. It really isn't large enough for two seating areas.

Please correct me if I'm wrong re: dimensions of room.