Your living room looks like mine, also a 1920s home. I'll bet if you measure, it will be about 13-14' wide by about 22-24' long. But that's just a guess, so it would be great if you could post a measured floor plan, noting all windows, doorways/doors, fireplace, so that we might give you a better idea for a layout and sizes of furniture and rugs before you go shopping.

Also needed is what you want to do in this room? Do you have a den or playroom for your little one, or is this going to double as his or her playroom? Are the pillows on the fireplace hearth going to stay? Do you use the fireplace? Are you willing to repaint the room?

You might want to do a search on Houzz for living rooms and save those you like in an ideabook so you (and we) can get an idea of your style. If you don't have a preferred style, then what I would do is find a rug you like, I personally love traditional Persian rugs with lots of color and pattern. Then you can use that as a guide for colors of upholstery and curtains.

Just working with what you have at present you could set up the room like this. I assumed you would place a TV over the FP.

I added a console table behind the loveseat to hold 2 lamps.

I placed the chairs as you enter the room so there is less of a hurdle to get past as you enter the room.

Make sure the front feet of all your seating is on the area rug.

Center the rug on your fireplace.

You can place a floor lamp next to the sofa for reading

An uplight can be used inside the planter of the tree in the corner.

I would replace the globe light in the ceiling to a more attractive shallow chandelier.

The beige piece needs the dump, why do you need to stay in 1920 it is your home what style do you like regardless of the age of the home . Pillows in front of a FP always just wrong. A nice new light in the ceiling and some art that is larger . Of course the TV does not go above the FP since you have perfect walls where it can go. Kids stuff what looks like a diaper pail all hidden in a nice cabinet which can aslo double as a TV stand low enought to allow proper height for TV viewing.

FYI this was my LR in a 1905 home no TV in the space but still worked but in my style.

I like the advice from @BeverlyFLADeziner - I think getting some of the furniture off the walls and floating in the room will make it seem more cozy

If you want to place the TV on the wall opposite of the fireplace an arrangement like this might work, but does this plan provide enough flexibility for the family.

Good large space to adapt to your style.Suggestion of using an oriental rug from which to draw colors is excellent.
You may wish to consider safety and eliminate sharp corners from the coffee table by the chairs.Try a round or oval piece instead.

I agree that the number one issue is the furniture against the walls. Pulling all pieces onto the rug closer to each other will create intimacy and warmth without needing any other changes.

Thanks so much for all the great input! Houzz won’t let me reply to each comment, so here’s a quick update:

-the room is about 15’ x 24’ - I don’t have a precise floor plan handy

-it used to be our main playroom, but I’m transitioning my kids to the den (where the TV will go) so this space can be used for entertaining

-the hearth pillows and changing table are going—consider it a blank slate—

-I love the suggestions of a Persian rug, a shallower chandelier, and adding plants.

-I’m aiming for a comfortable, relaxed feel

Suggestions:

--Remove beige couch from the room

--Layout before decor:

Move sofa forward so there's walkway behind it and place chairs flanking fireplace to create a conversational grouping

Get a new coffee table reachable to the reconfigured sofa and chairs.

Get a thrifted attractive wood console cabinet where you now have the little white bookshelves.

--Repaint the room a warm white with affordable ceiling to floor ivory drapes for all windows. This will add texture to the room.

--Change out current rug and replace with a rug in warm colors and patterns that also work with remaining sofa and chairs and the golden floors:

Safavieh Madison Collection MAD460 Rug, Grey/Orange, 5'3"x7'6" · More Info

Art work in this palette. With the sofa moved forward, then no need for small art pieces on current wall. Instead get one big piece for over the fireplace mante..

Ascella Canvas Art · More Info

This palette in art work would work well your space. Notice how cozy the room feels with two armchairs flanking the fireplace and facing the (unseen) sofa. Create an "island" of seating around the fireplace with this kind of arrangements.

Back Bay Project · More Info

The room size cahnges everything . Does this just need to be LR or a combo with a DR or jusrt LKR This ia the size of my last LR we had 2 sofas and 4 chairs no TV but great for entertaining. The ability to rearrange seating at will was great . I do not have issues with furniture against walls if the arrangement makes converstaion better which was the case in the LR above.

Just a living room. Do you think I’d be able to include shelves in the space? I have a picture in my idea book of a shelf with books and pictures. But I’m not sure if I can make it work here.

Here's an option:

2-6' sofas facing each other

2-armchairs facing fireplace (approx. 30" wide)

10'x15' rug

42" square or round ottoman or coffee table

18"x30" rectangular end table

24" round end table

8' x 18" Bookcase (on wall to the left as you enter-bottom right)

Plant in corner

(Quick and dirty drawing, not exactly to scale)

Edited to add: Oops, didn't focus on the windows on the wall to the left of the entry. Obviously you can't place a tall bookcase there.

Thank you everyone, these are wonderful ideas. You e given me a lot of food for thought.

I bet I've had this don't know how many times?

These shallow depth spaces even @ 14" lose 18" with their flush hearths.

You don't want to clog every passage.

That's why you CAN cozy to the fire, do low bookcases ( or shallow!! storage ) on the long expanse of boring........drywall.

Not all your light can come from the ceiling ( horrible! ) so you need places for lamps.

On the book cases , behind the sofa on a console table, even a reading/standing lamp at the chair near the fire.

I assume a basement, so getting receptacles in the floor is fairly easy as well.

You're not making a hands off living room, but.....you ARE making romper room in the den.

Keeping low storage on the big dead all would also allow a tv.....should the need arise.

I love these suggestions!

Ladder bookcases can be a nice addition to a room like yours.

Have you thought of adding a mosaic surround to your fireplace? Would give it a nice touch!

These are more fantastic ideas!

Love the living room that Maureen posted--the color palette is so sophisticated. Beautiful rug, dark trim, caramel colored ottoman. So warm and inviting.

Be careful using any lightweight tall bookcases. Even though the children won’t be playing in this room, they still could be tempted to climb on them., especially ladd

Ladder type cases

Maureen in for the win on this, fantastic pics!
REMEMBER THE 20s was ALLLLL ABOUT EGYPT —
Big discoveries then, so you can go a little geometric is you need to — ❤️ colors and modern take shown by Maureen. Have fun with this!

Anchor the bookcase to the wall

My tall bookcases and any tall furniture is anchored to the wall. It’s not hard to do with an L bracket. It’s an essential safety even with tall pieces of furniture. A friend of mine had a tall piece hutch…with a drawer midway in it. Her young son pulled out the drawer and then leaned on it and barely escaped having the whole thing fall over on him.

Yes, good point made by happyleg and liasch--secure any tall bookcase to the wall.

Many years ago my friend's nephew climbed onto an armoire holding a TV, tragically the TV fell on top of him and killed him.

omgosh Diana that's awful! So sorry that happened. I will admit I never secured a bookcase in my girls' rooms.

Yes, he was 6 years old, and the entire family was never the same after it.

Yes, I definitely secure everything to the wall. I love the look of ladder shelves, but even so right now would err towards low bookshelves that Jan suggested because I don’t want to risk my young kids climbing the steps of the shelf. I also love the color palette Maureen suggested!

Any suggestions for low bookshelves that might look good here?

You haven't really identified/communicated your style or color palette or budget here so it's going to be difficult for anyone to suggest something that you might like.

The way I as a designer would go about furnishing any room is to decide on the layout first. That's your roadmap, your blueprint for the room. It tells you what you need to buy and gives you the approximate measurements. A lighting plan is also crucial--if you don't have good lighting, you'll never want to spend any time in the room.

Then I would figure out what style/feel you want for the room. Formal, casual, cottage, French provincial, English country, American colonial, midcentury modern, neoclassical, farmhouse, glam, bohemian? Any one of those styles can be "warm, inviting and cohesive."

Once you get that nailed down, you focus on the large pieces--rug, sofa, chairs. Your color palette can be selected from a rug or a fabric. Then you decide on wall and trim colors. After that you can get occasional tables and bookcases. Follow up with lamps and window treatments. Art, accessories are last. Your budget will determine where you go shopping.

That's how a designer would approach it. Thoughts?

Add some can lighting and maybe have some sconces around the fireplace changing the light drastically. Change your outlook on the furniture in the room on the front in your room.

My daughter has a 1928 home with long narrow room. she ended up defining 2 separate areas. One a seating corner, tv etc and another table area. you said you dont need dining but you could have a reading book eith shrlves and comfy chairs or somethung.

Center the rug by the fireplace and the walls and remove the pills in front of the fireplace you can put the coffee table in front of the couch 18 inches away is a good length from the couch you could put two chairs over by the two windows and a table in between it preferably around one and a lamp on it will there be a TV in this room also?

That’s an excellent order of operations outline that your pro Diana has posted here. I would screenshot that and save it for future reference. It really helps then (when you get an idea you’d like), to slot it in under one of those steps. Otherwise it’s all too easy to get very off track and distracted by every little suggestion on here… which is exactly what will happen.

Any updates?

I am in the interior should work for how you live not the age of the house . Isee no furniture that says 1920 so maybe some clue as to what you love for style for get the the house age I had a 1905 house I love minimal very contempray style it worked for me It was along narrow space and small . IMO you do what you like and it will work