That table could look good in long space, then leaves an entry area to the left....

I hate to say this because of the fireplace, but considering your needs, i would close off that space to create a real mud room with storage for your gear. You aren’t using the space in a meaningful way now, so you aren’t losing anything other than clutter from your living room.

Is the fireplace right across from the entrance door? I was thinking taking down the attached wall chest cabinet and get a entry hall cubby.

Maybe your living room and dining room need to change places??

what is the dimensions of the space. although the thought of having the idea of the dining there is a good thought but my thought is to separate the rooms with the entry hall cubby and behind it it will be your sitting area library with chairs or a nook.

I don't know the measurements of your room, but could you do built-ins like this on that far wall where you have the armoire and chair? And maybe a cozy seating area by the fireplace.

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@Larece Associates The fireplace is offset to the right a bit from the entrance door. Directly across from the entrance door is a wall.

Would you put the cubby perpendicular to the entrance door?

yes. I most certainly would that way you can separate the space

@threelittlelights13ny7a So true -- we aren't using that area in any meaningful way!.... Would you put up pony walls? Or full walls? Where would you put the entrance (middle of the wall?). We also have to factor in the furnace intake by the front door....

Can the large piece of furniture on your far west wall be converted into a coat closet, so coats are hidden away. The shoe closet could be moved to the far west wall also. A large rug that runs all the way to the front door would aid with tracking wet shoes and would add some coziness. Then you could put two reading chairs in front of the fireplace.

May be switch window and door , and create nice walking hall removing all cloths from the middle of room?

A few things to think about since you've got a somewhat cluttery non-functional space right now. That fireplace--hmm--don't know what to suggest since it doesn't work for either space. In my configuration, your dining room stays put since it does work for you as is.

--Face your sectional to form an entryway behind it. Put a console to the left of the window, your TV above it, and your chair toward the right corner where TV is now.

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On the other side:

--I normally like the Ikea shoe cabinet but it doesn't work at all. Sell it on Craigslist. Instead build a sturdy wooden bench with cubbies below--sort of a window bench actually-- from the doorway all the way to the far wall. Get an upholstered piece for the top as shown below. This can be wonderful seating for company when you have gatherings.

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--Move your armoire against the facing wall, not diagonally as you have it now (If that's possible.) Sometimes people remove armoire doors, put hooks in the back, so family members are encouraged to hang their coats.

--Think about straight hanging drapes to let in more light in the entire space. Consider painting the interior of the front door in a color from your rug.

adjacent to the door, put in a bench and storage and you have an entryway...

is/was there any plans on refacing the front of your home? no mention of any reconstructive surgery to this home. Is there a way you can show us a draft plan sketch of the entrance kitchen and dining room?

Is there a back or side door? Where is it located?

I'm hearing a theme of creating a coat/shoe/bench on the wall directly across from the door! I'm going to see what I have laying around the house to help visualize it, and will share a picture.

@housegal200 I had never thought to paint the interior of the front door! That makes so much sense.

@Celery. Visualization, Rendering images @Larece Associates Unfortunately, I don't think moving the front door is in the cards for us! Adding or removing interior walls is definitely an option though.

@Madden, Slick & Bontempo, Inc I've dreamed of built-ins around the fireplace (could even build in a coat rack/bench on the left side of the fireplace), but wanted to make sure we weren't going to ditch the fireplace altogether before investing in them!

following

@housegal200 Any thoughts on how to configure rugs? One long entryway rug between the door and the coat rack/bench, a separate rug for the fireplace area and a separate rug for the living space? Should I run one large jute/sisal rug between two of the spaces to provide more continuity and brighten the floor?

If you want a mudroom/dog reception experience when guests enter, then the door is hung correctly for that unused area to become the mudroom/drop zone for all things wet, sloppy and dog related. If you'd rather guests enter and see the living room first, then reverse the door swing and position seating to welcome them into the space. Does the fireplace work and is it used regularly? Perhaps a bench placed right in front of it could give you a warm spot to put your buns while removing shoes/boots/leashes. Flank the far window and the nook behind the armoire with hooks for leashes and coats. Put benches under the windows for shoe/boot storage. You might try a washable, pet-friendly rug from Ruggable.com to soften the space and add color/pattern. Replace the too short curtains with shades.

What you may want to go for are simply defined spaces that really flow yet have different functions.

--Leave the living room space rug where it is and just put the sofa on it facing the TV wall. I'd love to see you show that since I can't tell if that would actually work spacewise. I was initially going to suggest replacing the sectional with a wonderful comfy sofa up on legs so it's not too visually overwhelming and move both your chairs, which are very nice, to face the sofa.

--Move your colorful other rug to the middle in front of the door if it fits. Entryway! If you love the rug and it doesn't fit, you can bring it to a carpeting store and have it cut and bound at the edges.

A small, round hall table might look great set on the entry rug. But do get rid of the clutter that seen as soon as someone walks through the door. Maybe a thrift shop coat tree could go next to your armoire, though those tend to get overrun with coats.

I don't think you need a rug at the other end necessarily. I really do think a storage bench from the door to the wall, with great seat cushion is a super way to go--seating and storage. BTW, the carpentry involved in a window bench doesn't have to cost a fortune. Here's a simple one you could have built easily.

Chilliwack Central · More Info

Complete Kitchen Renovation/Dining Room with New Entry Way and Powder Room · More Info

I like the turn on this one, but obviously way more $$$.

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Maybe a vestibule could be added outside or in.

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@housegal200 I built the layout in Floorplanner and attempted to mock-up your suggestion --- bench stretching from door to wall, and sectional flipped. Did I get it correct? I'm definitely curious -- I may need to try flipping the sectional to make sure there is adequate space to walk from the front door to the dining room.

N Bailey, what about putting your sectional in the west side of the room - either tucked in the corner or with the long section against the door wall with chaise pointing towards FP. TV could go to the right of the FP. East side of room could have bench, two fun yellow chairs and armoire (if it fits).

I also like the idea of replacing your curtains with shades (woven maybe for some texture?). Would be a cleaner look and show off your windows and molding.

Yes, N. Bailey. That's the layout I had in mind, using the back of the sofa to create your entryway. Since I don't know the room measurements, though, it's possible that floating arrangement won't work. Sectionals are very limiting in small spaces.. Do I understand that it's new? Some people are suggesting very pricey structural changes, so a new sofa would be more budget friendly than relocating door, building vestibule, etc. It's helpful in Dilemmas to get photos of all walls, measurements, pieces that have to stay, what rooms are used for and the function they have to serve and, above all, a budget.

I agree with lisalane!
Move the furniture and take some pics. Sofa and TV in west room with long side of sofa facing fireplace and TV.
Use bookshelves around the room with sofas in it now, add a reading chair in a corner with a slim floor lamp, put round table in the center for homework, crafts, games. Pretty chandelier above it, and maybe the armoire can go in DR for hubby to hang his coat and shoes, but teach kids to come in side door?
On color scheme try for 60 % for one color, 30% for second color, and 10% fir strong accent color to add life to the room. You cannot change the architecture, but you can distract with colors for a cozy feel. I would love to see the furniture flipped so you can see scale and sight lines!

I like the idea of the dining table being in front of the fireplace - so inviting for eating and for evening puzzle-making. Maybe the space I show in white is wide enough to cut a doorway from the kitchen to the new dining space. Or if you show us the kitchen wall that backs onto the fireplace wall maybe we can suggest something else.

Consider a pair of parallel pony wall cabinets with some combination of open shelving and/or solid doors and/or glass doors to create an entry hall then treat the two ends of the room as two rooms. You could have four -- two on each side with a middle opening to each end of the two-part room or two (with one on each side) or three (with one on one side and two on the other -- whichever best suits the space and/or traffic.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/428967933237588010/

N Bailey, have you tried any new layouts? Just curious!

@lisalane

UPDATE:

• We moved the couch to create more of an "entryway". We tried it in the West side fo the room, but the couch just feels too big for that space. The new layout has felt great - more intimate and a clearer delineation between the living and entry area. I do think we need to move the TV to the East wall, facing the couch.
• As for the mudroom/gear storage dilemma -- We tried putting a coat rack and chair in the wall across from the front door, but it made the walkway between the living room and dining room feel cramped. So we decided to move all shoes and jackets to our back door, which enters into our kitchen. It has a tiny wall for some coat racks and a small shoe rack. We're planning to renovate the back door entrance in the next year to create a mudroom. We're excited!
• We're going to sell the Ikea shoe holder in the living room, and just keep a basket / add a coat hook to the wall in the living room for when guests use the front door. We may add a small chair behind the couch.
• We took your advice and have been trying to open the curtains from the top, to let in more room. We may replace them with new two-way blinds in the future, so that we can always let light in from above while still having privacy.
• Next up, we're painting the fireplace and dingy walls, getting brighter/more colorful rugs, and sorting out what to do with the West half of the living room. My husband loves the built-in idea, so we may still create a window bench with bookshelves -- even without the mudroom needs :)

I also finally got around to drawing up the dimensions of our (awkward) living room. Here's a mockup of the before.

Love what you are doing! Yay for the mud room progress! Do it, so you can all use it!

Thanks for the update! The changes are great and make the living room look so inviting! I like the curtains pushed to the side. Natural light is always good!

Another update!

• After much debate, we decided we are going to sell the existing sectional (light gray one below). We got a smaller, modular sectional (dark one in back), which is more flexible and can fit in front of the fireplace as many of you suggested we try. TV is moving to the West side with the new sectional. I've included a floorplan of the new layout.
• We still need to figure out the best spot for a shoe basket and coat rack for guests.
• We still need to pick rugs, and update the lighting.

• We're now in the process of repairing our plaster walls and painting over the terrible, yellow-y beige that covers every wall in our home. For the living room, we selected Benjamin Moore's Grey Owl (a warm gray) and Gentleman's Gray (a dark blue) for the fireplace. Still deciding on colors for the dining room.

Hi @Susan Davis - Question for you. You spoke of 60/30/10 for colors. Does that include if you have a lot of wood in your room? For example, all of our dining room furniture is dark wood. Would that count as either the 60% or 30% color? Or is it just colors beyond wood that I should be thinking about?

....

good for you I like this plan much better. What lighting are you replacing?

I was referring to three color in the room...... the brown furniture could be one of the amounts.... say dark wood floors, dark sofa dark curtains equal 60 per cent. Or the wood could just be 10 per cent with white, blue as the 60/30 and dark brown just a tiny bit of color in the room.....referring to a color balance around the throughout the room.

Great progress! If you look in Houzz you can see living rooms and look at color proportions shown in the pictures. It’s kind of fun to see the balance that looks super natural but really planned! Looking great!

I used Gentleman’s Grey on a tall console to put behind our brown leather sofa for a computer/desk spot! Love the color!

Same room different angle!

An update! Room, fireplace and trim have been painted. We replaced the sectional with a smaller reversible one, which allowed us to fit an entry bench and small coat/key rack by the front door.

I would still like to replace the rug with something cozier, like a wool, ivory rug. And upgrade the window coverings to top down / bottom up blinds. I am also planning to install shelving for our books on both sides of the fireplace, working around the TV.

Any other thoughts / suggestions?

Nice improvements! Is the fireplace operational? Gas or wood burning? Do you use it? One of my favorite things about having a fireplace in the winter is being able to pull an armchair up close to it and soak up the warmth while watching it snow . . . So I would probably place your golden yellow armchair(s) next to it and look for another spot in the house for books.

@ginatay124 It's a gas fireplace and we use it every night! Great idea. The yellow armchair would complement the dark blue of the fireplace too.

Looks great. i agree about a chair near the fireplace, but make sure the scale is correct. Then maybe a thin profile floor lamp for reading

Update on the west side of the room. I've got a larger ivory chunky wool rug on order and am planning to upgrade the lamp. I am trying out these gold velvet curtains to replace the previous curtains while didn't open all the way and looked dingey after painting our walls white.

Still not sure what to do with the East side of the room (see below - ignore the boxes and coat rack which are going). Currently thinking about ordering an 11x11 rug, which would be centered on the arch to the dining room. Paired with a couple wingback chairs and a bookcase or two. We'd love to do built ins with a window seat, but aren't yet committed to a purpose for this side of the room so prefer to keep it flexible. Also debating between bringing over the gold curtains or having a different color for this side of the room, such as these dark green ones.

Look like you still need an entry area.

I would bringin a runner in to divide the two spaces probably add one of those ikea shoe holders. than a bench under the window by the door for putting on shoes ...

Do you need an office or desk space?

Not a pro, but I think the curtains should be the same color if both windows are visible when you enter the house. Two different curtain colors in the same room would look like a mismatch.

Looks good. You certainly worked hard at this. How the space works for you is most important.

My only suggestion would be to get another wing chair to pair with the one you have in the corner.