Will there be a tv in this area? Could you post a wider shot photo of the space? Hard to recommend without seeing the whole area.

@Susan

No tv in the living room.

Sorry for the mess of furniture everywhere. That brown chair will not remain there. I intended for a console table to be there

Any furniture arrangement used should not infringe on the pass-through path. Will the fireplace be built into the wall (flush) or will it project into the room? If it will be flush or have a low profile, you could try the sectional facing the fireplace wall, with the chairs flanking the fireplace. It would at least provide two seats sitting in front of the fireplace and still keep it open for conversation. Don’t worry about the back of the sectional being towards the stairs. If you go with your original arrangement with the seating at opposite ends of the room, you could place two small upholstered seats under the console table near the stairs to provide more seating when needed. If you need storage more than extra seating, a console cabinet instead of a table might be a better option under the stairs. And if it’s not too wide, you may have room for a chair beside the cabinet. So you’d get storage and another seat. Your choice. Rug size is good but the stripes will be hidden if you keep the sectional where it is in the photo.

@Susan The fireplace will have a low profile. I should’ve specified but the console table will be one with cabinets sorta like a credenza. No chair will be able to fit beside it and nothing underneath. Thanks for pointing out the stripes not showing because I think that’s what was bothering me. I could do your sectional-facing-the-fireplace idea and instead of the flanking chairs, keep the chairs where they are and on the opposite side put some of those small upholster seats ? Sorta like this example picture except swap the sofa and chairs.

Yes, that would be great! I think a muted rug like the one above is a great option too.

I just looked at your room photos again…there really is not enough depth to have the sectional or the chairs facing the fireplace with the other perpendicular to it. If you want the 2x2x2 seating around the fireplace, the 2 small ottomans will need to be opposite the fireplace with the sectional and the pair of chairs at the opposite ends of the space.

@Susan yes you are right, I didn’t notice at first the sectional would come too far into the middle of the rug. In the case of leaving it where it is would you recommend the sectional be completely off the rug, half way on, or just the front feet ? What about the accent chairs ? Since the couch isn’t up against the wall, what should I put behind it? Both the accent chairs and the sectional ( once centered properly in the middle of the room) have 3.5 feet behind them if I were to center it completely. Thanks for your help!!

General guidelines for a rug in a seating area are that, at a minimum, the rug should be big enough so that all of the front legs of all of the furniture in the grouping are on the rug..so at least 6-12 inches of the rug would be under the front of all of the furniture. The other option is a rug big enough to have all of the furniture on the rug. So I think the size of the rug you show there is fine. My suggestion would be to try a few rugs that have some muted color other than white and an allover design rather than a design at the ends like the striped one where it will be hidden under the furniture.

A console table behind the sectional would work well.