Finding a good furniture layout in a small room

January 05, 2011

I may have mentioned five or 95 times that I do not like the way we set up our family room when we built our house. I so wish would have just gone with the model specs – cause they worked.

But no, no, no. We had to be all, Let’s smush the windows together. Yeah! And, Let’s put in a corner fireplace, it will be so cool. YEAH! And, Let’s have all of the TV and surround system wiring installed in the itty bitty wall right next to the (awesome!) corner fireplace. Yeahhhhh!

None of these things work. :) Both hubs and I have said for quite some time that our family room is the only space that bothers us in our house. And we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Drats.

When we have a party, the family room seems to get so cramped – because it is. We like to call it cozy, because it is. :) But the thing is, it’s not a small room – it measures 16 by 18 feet (at the longest points). That's HUGE!

Other than the way we set it up, there’s a few other issues. First of all, much of the room is a walkway between the garage and the rest of the house. Then, there’s the fact that we only have one full wall in the whole space. Open floor plans are great, but they come with their own issues. :) And finally, we’ve had a regular sized sofa and a loveseat in the room:

It’s a lot of furniture for this space. And I tell you what…by the end of last year it was starting to drive me a little mad.

I chalk it up to the end of the season hives that start popping up right before Christmas…the desire I start getting to get our house back to normal. Clean. Spacious. I love that feeling of putting everything away and having our house feel brand new again!

I had an idea that would help solve the cramped cozy feeling in the room…I was going to take out one of the sofas.

But I hesitated. I mean, was I allowed to do that? Really? Remove seating?

Would the sun stop shining? The birds stop chirping? The world fall off it’s axis?

And then I realized…geez Louise. It’s our house. We’re allowed to do whatever we want. :) As long as we like it, who cares? I could remove it all and put floor pillows in there, and as long as we like it and our guests were comfy, why does it matter?

So I did it. As soon as Christmas was packed up, I started. First, I pulled the loveseat out of the way and eyed it. I LOVED IT. I pulled it away even further, and I was SOLD.

Hellooooo space!!!:

Even though I loved it, it took some getting used to. I kept asking myself, am I really allowed do this? We only have seating for three or four people now.

But, interestingly enough – only three people live here. ;) And at the most, when my stepdaughter is home from school, it’s four.

Perfect.

One of us ends up on the floor half the time anyway. So…I called hubby to look, and his first reaction was I LOVE IT. Then, it was, wait…is it OK to not have another place to sit?

Seriously, are there couch police or something?

I never looked back though. Every. single. time. I walk in our house now, I feel lighter. We have space people!:

The only bad part – now that there’s no loveseat to block it, we can see all the critters, cords (GAH!!) and cars that live in the dust under the dresser:

It’s a price I’m willing to pay. :)

Removing the loveseat has quite literally doubled our usable space in here. No longer is the Bub quarantined to a five by four foot space to play. We can spread out to play games. I actually have plenty of room to lay down and do sit ups:

Stop laughing!

Wait, that’s me. Laughing. At myself. I don’t lay down and do sit ups. :)

Soon we will be getting a new sofa (with a chaise attached) after we finish paying off our debt. We hope to fit a small chair in the room as well, but we’ll have to see. (The current furniture is in sad, sad shape, which I’ll show you soon.)

But in the meantime, I found an adorable little poof on clearance at Meijer:

 

It’s so freakin’ cute! It’s really an ottoman, but it looks like one of those poofs to me. For $35, it serves as an extra seat that we can move around the room. LOVE!

Now, because I caught it in action, I will show you the daily occurrence at our house – the throwing of all the pillows on the floor. I give you, for your viewing pleasure, my son and his thought process…

Oh, look at that! What a pretty, soft pillow! I should lay my head on it!:

But noooo, why would I do that? It would look so much better on the floor. Daddy agrees, he does it every day too. I’m just gonna put it right down…

On. the. floor. It’s SO much better there, right?

And…he’s laughing. Awesome.

Anyone else have this problem with the children/men in their lives? :)

You know what’s funny? It’s been pretty awesome to have just one sofa – we’ve ended up all cuddled together every evening. (I’d like to say that was my plan all along!)

And I figure, if we have a party before we get a new sofa and need more seating, we’ll just pull out the folding chairs. EGADS. (Heaven forbid.)

It’s worth it to me:

Here’s a few before and after shots – with the loveseat:

Sans the loveseat:

With:

Without:

craigslist dresser

I tried removing the end table to the left of the sofa, but it was a bit too stark for me. For now, it’s staying. (This angle makes it look like it’s sticking way out, but it’s not.)

I love the change!! I was able to pull the sofa away from the wall a bit, which always bugged me. Because we don’t have to worry about the loveseat sticking out, I also pulled the sofa closer to the TV, so we have a BUNCH more space in the eating area in the kitchen. It fixed a number of issues that bugged me for YEARS about our great room space.

I’ve been thinkin’, and have a few more ideas for a slight reworking of this room. It will depend on how much the quote is from some professionals, but I’ll let you know if anything comes of it. :)

For now, we’re enjoying what feels like a brand new family room!

Before:

And now….ahhhhh:

It may not be for everyone, but that’s OK. It’s our house and whateva whateva, we do what we want! (Name that show.)

Now…if I could just get rid of that massive subwoofer next to the TV cabinet, all would be right in my world. (They make smaller ones, but for a much larger price.)  :)

Is there something you’ve held back on doing in your house because you feel like it’s not allowed? Who said? Who cares? It’s YOUR home. Enjoy it, live in it. Do what makes it more comfortable for YOU. :)

P.S. The rug is from HomeGoods. The coffee table from Goodwill. The drapes I made myself. The sofa table is from Ikea. The dresser was a Craigslist find. :) You can all of the family room posts here.

P.P.S. The loveseat is in the basement. I shoved it down there today by myself – it has been in our dining room for a week, and I couldn’t take it anymore. :) Hear me roar! Or call me crazy.

P.P.S.S. (??) We’ve tried the layout every single way possible before now – I mean…every. single. way. The loveseat is too long to go in front of the window – it goes right up against the fireplace and looks odd. Then the long sofa is pushed way too far out in the walkway. Angling the sofa makes for a weird configuration with the sofa table/kitchen. (Thank you for the ideas though – you never know if something will work!!)  :)

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Comments

  1. It looks great and really shows off that gorgeous rug!

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  2. My hubby does the pillow thing too! Drives me crizaaaaaazy!!

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  3. I agree that it looks absolutely fabulous now. When we finished our basement the budget didn't allow for furniture for our new family room. So we moved our couch down there leaving only our loveseat in the open concept living room. With a little rearranging I love it. So much more room :) Enjoy the new room.

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  4. It does open it right up! I love it! And I am so glad you are happy with it, because obviously that is the most important thing.

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  5. You go, girl! ;) You sound like a liberated woman to me. :) It looks amazing, and I know exactly what you mean about wondering if it's "okay" to do stuff in your own home!

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  6. I really like it w/o the love seat!

    Kudos to you :)

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  7. It looks great! Especially with your cute little guy : ) And my boys are always throwing the pillows on the floor too!

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  8. This is wonderful and I love your home! Gorgeous!

    About the cords under that chest of drawers...have you tried 3m hooks stuk to the back of that piece? I did that with my computer cords on the back of my desk. You can't even see them! Just a thought!

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  9. Whoops, that anonymous post was from me. Sorry!! :) (For some reason it won't let me do name/url? Oh well.)

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  10. You have a beautiful home! I love your design. <3 <3 <3 it!

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  11. I would try putting either the couch or the love seat in front of the window. That way it is still open, but you also have the seating.

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  12. I love your room!! It does seem larger and airier. (how do you spell that?) Sometimes less is more, right? And your little man is so cute! My boys were doing the same thing with pillows today. Drives me crazy! One thing I've done that I shouldn't? I washed all 6 of my "Dry Clean Only" kitchen chair cushions in the washing machine. Best.Decision.Ever.

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  13. I love the change! FYI...if you have an IKEA near you they sell amazing little things that you can attach to the back of said dresser to hold the wires out of view! It's my favorite accessory! If you don't have an IKEA nearby, check their website to see if it's available for purchase online possibly!

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  14. Yay! Looks great!

    Where'd the love seat end up? Poor thing. ;)

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  15. We only have one couch in our very large family room too. I dream of more seating, but I love the space! Your family room looks great!

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  16. My hubby thinks I'm crazy for wanting to move our (seldom used) dining table into our (seldom used) formal living room and bringing that furniture into the dining space. I definitely need more seating when we have company over. I guess he thinks the furniture police will come and get us!! Thanks for sharing that it's okay to move things wherever you want in your own house. :)

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  17. It looks great! Much more room!

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  18. I've been waiting on a new post from you all day, and I see why it took so long, moving furniture is a JOB! Looks great, I love it. (yes, I messed up my first comment... I'm such a dork.)

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  19. Love the new layout! I think you could make a mini skirt (haha) for the dresser. Find a rich dark color or one that matches something else in the room and cover the [ack] cords.

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  20. What a difference that simple change made, your house, your rules!

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  21. It looks great!!! So much more open and spacious!!

    Great job Sarah!!!

    xoxo
    Jen

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  22. AMEN! I love it, and you are so right to do what YOU love, YOU live there!!! We have a sofa and two leather chairs (love them, can move them around), we turned our formal living room into a library game room. We USE it, we didn't before...it was just a room with another sofa. Our dining room, not so formal...we USE it, didn't before.

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  23. much better! it opens the room. i have a situation kind of like that myself and i'm trying to give myself the permission to move a piece of furniture that goes but is in the way. you've inspired me.

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  24. Looks great! I have a bad habit of adding, adding, adding to a room when it's not working for me when I should be subtracting. Have you considered replacing the coffee table with an ottoman? When you entertain and the space gets a little crowded, you could shove the ottoman between the fireplace and the sofa for additional seating while maintaining the "conversation square."

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  25. I can't believe what a difference that made!! It looks like you have a brand new room!

    I added extra "seating" to our family room with some super cute square ottomans from Target. I swear, people flock to those things! And it adds two extra seats!

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  26. I think it looks awesome! You could also add a pretty arm chair, too, without it feeling cramped. It definitely makes a huge difference!

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  27. First let me say "I LOVE IT"!

    Second~ we also chose to "re-design" the floor plan by taking the fireplace out of the middle of the wall and putting it in the corner. STUPID! Now one side is right beside our bedroom door and the other is right beside a double window. It's not really in our living room but floating off somewhere in never never land UGH! Want to help me design around it so we could actually use it? 13 years here and we've never built a single fire in it ... even when we lost power for a week! Ack!

    Third ~ not only do my children knock off all the pillows they feel the need to step on them every time they walk by them! Guess that is why I don't have pretty-pretty pillows, huh?

    Anyway ... great job and it looks beautiful!!!!

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  28. Looks very nice! I agree that the space opens up, but I know you mentioned about how it would be cramped when people came over -- now where will they sit?! *LOL* I liked someone else's suggestions to maybe try putting one of the items against the window? So, the L shape would go the other way? Or, maybe for a little more sitting, a low-profile slipper chair where the love seat used to be? And maybe another one in the corner by the curtains? Just some thoughts to have some more seating. But I do love the rug and now it can be seen! ^_^

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  29. Love the opening of the space... did you consider angling the sofa or would that just block it up again? I always want to angle mine but it doesn't work in my space. :(

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  30. I think I have your coffee table. Mine is an aweful tan/yellow color. I want to pain it but not sure how. Any tips!

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  31. Just curious, but is there a reason you never put a sofa in front of the window, against the wall? It looks good now but I would miss the seating too and God knows, I am the worst about rearranging a house. Everything you do looks awesome and it looked great before too. Glad you like it better.

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  32. I really like your living room. Any of the ways it looks great. And it is totally okay just to have one couch. But I do have a suggestion ... not sure if you would go for it or might just think I am crazy! LOL The buffet table, move it out and push out the other couch. When you have the two together, they are almost touching and that is probably because you need room behind the couch to actually walk behind it, but if that buffet table was moved, you might have more room? Not sure, can't tell "exactly" how much space you have by looking at pics. I hear ya ... I hate my living room too, but there's nothing I can do about it.

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  33. It looks fantastic. I've struggled with the exact same issues. Maybe I'll get brave and give away a couch!

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  34. just a crazy thought: have you ever considered angling the sofa to face the fireplace? Try it for me now that you just have the one in there. Then you could maybe add a chair too.

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  35. I am with you 100% it's your home do what makes you happy! It makes the room feel so much larger. Plus when you get that new couch a couple extra people can perch on the chaise.

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  36. ps: Dear Genvieve just found a similar poof, I saw it on her show. Great find!

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  37. I love the change! So much more open. I love the cute little guy in the pictures too! The pillow on the floor looks like my house with my 3 boys.

    Keep doing what you do, I love seeing and reading what you write!

    Denise

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  38. haha whateva i do what i want is from eric cartman on south park. i say that all the time!

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  39. Very nice! One question (here I am getting all opinionated)...do you have another "family room" in your home? If so, I would personally get rid of the TV in that room altogether. That's what we did and we love it...having a peaceful no tv zone by the kitchen/dining room.

    OR...No extra room? Why don't you try to put the tv where your wood console is (with the painting over it). Put the loveseat under the window, the sofa at a right angle to it parallel to the bar stools and you could fit a super awesome little chair in the corner where the tv used to be! Then you still have a space to sit in front of the fire and also a space for watching tv.

    OR...put the tv in the corner above the fireplace and get rid of the unit it is sitting on altogether...again put a little chair there. Done that once too...LOVED it. You can get corner tv mounts for LCD/plasma tvs.

    Thoughts?
    K.

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  40. love it! revamp the woofer...paint and recover the front with some fabric that still lets sound through?

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  41. looks so great! your right, it's your home, do what you want!

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  42. hey! where did that super cool coffee table that you "crafted" go? hopefully, not relegated to the garage with the loveseat!

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  43. I think it looks great now...YAY for more space! In our house, it's not so much pillows that end up all over the floor...but little blankets. I have several of them in the living room because I'm always cold (and because, between all of the crocheters in our family, we have several of them). I feel like every time I walk into the living room, I have to fold blankets and put them on the appropriate piece of furniture. Heaven forbid the wrong blanket ends up on the wrong chair (or sofa)!

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  44. I LOVE it and am totally there with you space makes me happy!

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  45. I REALLY REALLY Like it! It seems so much more spacious! Love your blog! Read it everyday. (Ok, I'm a lurker) I'm really enjoying how your office is coming along too. You are a great source of inspiration for things I want to do in my own home. Thanks!

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  46. Ahhhh! Much better. I actually sighed a breath of relief at the after picture. :) And you can see the beautiful rug so much better now.

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  47. It looks amazing...so open! Love that rug, too!

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  48. Forgot to tell you that my pillows are ALWAYS on the floor. Glad it's not just me! :)

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  49. Hi, I just wanted to say that I loved this post! I too have a family room that only has a sofa in it. It stared when we put carpet in the space. The kids (I have four, 1st grade to 3yrs) had so much fun playing games, wrestling and spreading out on the floor that we never put the armchair and love seat back! I love it! We have a peninsula between our family space and the kitchen, so when people come over we end up on the floor, couch and barstools.

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  50. it looks fabulous! we recently downgraded and became a one-sofa family ourselves... it's not so bad. sometimes that's just what works. then you just make your house guests sit unreasonably close to you and get all cozy. it's wonderful:)

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  51. I know exactly what you mean about open floor plans- gah! This looks brighter! Looks spacious but still cozy! Love it! Btw- my pillows are always on the floor too- glad to know I'm not alone in that department :)

    xo- Carmel

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  52. Looks great!!! You sound like me (moving it by yourself), ha! Great post as usual~~~!
    Bonnie :)

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  53. Oh, I love this! Plus - it's almost like I've been given permission to finally get rid f the loveseat in my living room that just...sits there. Unused. Taking up space. A lot of space.

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  54. Your living room looks beautiful! I love your style :) I totally agree about the subwoofer...I have an eye-sore of one next to my tv stand too...sigh. A smaller (or non existent one) would be much nicer!

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  55. Looks fabulous, and I love that you have space to breathe now! Here here for moving it yourself, by the way. That's how we roll, haha ;)

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  56. Totally Great Post! Yes, I have the same problem with the pillows always landing up on the floor. Wut is up with that? Why can't they be left, sittin pretty on the couch?
    DaNita

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  57. Totally love the sofa gone! I would have done the same. Yes, men and pillows - they hate them! My son and hubby are also constantly moving them on/off/around the sofa!

    Becky B.

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  58. I'm curious if you switched the side table to the other side, thus making the couch pull away from the window wall more, you could squeeze in a small chair between the fireplace and the sofa (in front of the window. Seems like you have plenty of space to pull the couch out a few inches more.

    Just a couple of cents from a girl who LOVES to change her living room around and like you (although we didn't build our house) has some configuration challenges.
    Looks great! I wasn't sure if I was allowed to make our old TV armoire into a second pantry, but I did! And I love it!

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  59. Hi, I love your blog and you always have really great ideas. I have a room very similar to yours with the corner fireplace-have you thought about angling your rug and couch to face the fireplace? Just a thought as this would work well with your angle of your door as well. Our couch is angled and we have a 42 inch flat screen too. We see it fine. It would really open up the space even more. Good luck!

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  60. Looks great! I totally want the rug ,,, but alas, if you got it at Home Goods I may never find it. I will just envy that you did ;) My pillows are ALWAYS on the floor. Makes me insane. C'est la vie eh??

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  61. it's amazing what a little furniture shifting can do. I can feel your "aaaah"s of light airy roominess :)

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  62. Oh my I just wanted to add one more thing after looking at your pics again, I would move that sofa table from Ikea to your new office. Too stark for living room in my opinion. You are so talented you could fine something in the warm tones to match the entry dresser. Good luck!

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  63. Okay, first of all, I LOVE it! The open space is so nice, isn't it?

    Second, I've only had one couch for the past 5 years! And I have a family of four! However, I do want to eventually get a loveseat or a chair since we finally bought our first house (in July)!

    Third, I so thought I was the only one who had the "pillows on the floor" problem! I'm so glad it's not just my family, because I seriously thought they were crazy! So glad to know they're not the only ones who do this!

    Anyway, love what you did the living room! (And I'm so jealous you have a fireplace!)

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  64. Looks great & really opened things up!! You go girl! Its your home & if it works for you...then go for it!
    I couldn't help but notice the glass jars on your sofa table with the flowers in it...that things is too freakin' cute! Love it!

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  65. Looks great! Have you tried putting an accent chair at an angle next to the subwoofer? I think that would look cute and add an extra seat without making it feel too cramped.

    My decorating issue is a fear of painting. I know that I would love my house more if I would paint the rooms in more interesting colors, but I have some sort of block.

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  66. Hahaha.... I LOVE your p.s.s.s.s's. :)

    And your new arrangement looks fabulous! It photographs awesome with the sofa alone.

    I recently did something similar, moving out a chair due to the Christmas tree and just never bothered to move it back and I LOVE it without.

    Here's to more space!

    Donna
    http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

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  67. I did this same thing! My husband has set up a "theatre room" in our unfinished basement and has begging to move the couch down there.

    After we took down the tree, I decided I'd let him have the loveseat, but once it was gone - I LOVED the spacious feeling & had give me back the loveseat and take the couch! LOVE it & if people come to visit we can drag chairs in!

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  68. You go girl ,if you can't do what you want in your own home ,where can you?
    It looks great by the way :)

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  69. Is one allowed to just leave the mess? Everyday? ;)

    P.S.
    I have always loved your rug (even though we just bought one yesterday that
    I *do* love....I just love yours a bit more. It's a great find!

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  70. P.P.S.
    I almost forgot! My hubby is a pillow KILLER!! For real...he always folds them in half to put under his big ol' noggin, sometimes he just sits right on them. Gets them all squished up and wrinkly. All pillows, no matter their intended decorative purpose. Makes me wanna put one *over* his head sometimes.

    ;)

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  71. We gave our loveseat to my son for his first place. I thought I would miss it, but I don't. We never sat on it anyway.

    I have another chair in the room and we ordered my husband a leather chair. I'm going to eventually give him the existing chair in the room and replace it with two french chairs.

    I think chairs with wood frames keep spaces open unlike full upholstered pieces, but I'm not a decorator. Just my opinion.

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  72. Love seats are wonderful, but quite often one one person ever sits on them anyway - whereas how you've now got it, the whole family can be together. I think you home is just so beautiful, you can feel the love you put into it.

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  73. If you need seating for a 4th person you could always find a chair for that space instead of the love seat you had there. Love the open space though.

    Di

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  74. I have lived in my house for 9 years. The living room always felt like a bowling alley because the couch had to go along the only solid wall (which happened to be the long wall). It has bugged me for years! Just a few months ago, we installed new flooring. We had to move the furniture around. I realized that my living room furniture worked better in my dining room so I switched it. Now our dining room table is in the living room and the living room is in the dining room. It's a farther walk to the dining room from the kitchen, but I love it. It feels much more spacious and the round dining room table fits so nicely in the contour of the living room bay window. We took the dining room chandelier down because it looked funny hanging over the couch (and it hung too low). I am on the hunt now for a more appropriate fixture. It's funny how switching the rooms around made it feel like a whole different house.

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  75. It looks great without the other couch! The other day, I finally got rid of a club chair in our family room that I had similar feelings about - it just wasn't working. We didn't really use it where it was and there was no other place to put it. And it didn't work in any other room. I just gave it way and I'm so happy without it!
    Thanks for sharing your room!

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  76. Your stream of conciousness transferred to blog is just FUN to read! Enjoy the room to snuggle!

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  77. Love the new arrangement! More space is always welcome and my sons do the exact.same.thing with my pillows. Drives me nuts. I told them one day they were special pretties for mommy and the sofa, and they told me to move them to my room!

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  78. LOVE the change! Truth be told, I always love change anyway, which probably drives my family crazy as I'm always moving things around - LOL. But this really does look great ... and most importantly, makes YOU happy. :) Thanks for sharing!

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  79. First of all...I LOVE it! So much more room. We did a similar thing about a year ago. We have a very large sectional that fit PERFECTLY in our last house. But it's a little big for our current house. So last Christmas we took it apart and shoved the two end pieces together and wa-la a sofa with chaise that fits nicely.

    As for the couch pillows.....uuuggghhh! I have the same problem. My son is constantly pushing ALL of them onto the floor for me to pick up. Whats with that?!

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  80. Love the new look in your family room! And yes, my 3-year-old son ALWAYS throws my pillows on the floor!

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  81. This post was ME to a T! If I hadn't already known what your living room looked like from prior pics...I would have thought we had the same house! I have the EXACT problem in my living room (couch, loveseat, one full wall, fireplace, garage pass-thru, etc). My husband comes home everyday from work to a new furniture arrangement...I have tried EVERYTHING to make more space. I also always wondered if it was "ok" to get rid of that darn loveseat! And now because of YOU - I see a more open living room in my future!! I'm so excited. You are hilarious and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read your blog every morning. Enjoy your OPEN space...hopefully I will be doing the same later today! :)

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  82. I really love the way this looks. I've been considering removing our love seat as well since our living room has a weird set up, but was too afraid of the minimal seating! I think you just convinced me its okay, thanks!!

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  83. Haaaa! The pillow conundrum cracks me up; with two boys and a husband, my pillows (and lovely throws) seem to always end up on the floor. I must pick them up 15 times a day. (When will I learn?) My husband throws them down there to use, the boys just throw them down because, well, just because they're boys. :)

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  84. Very pretty house. I think the white over the fireplace draws too much attention to it. Maybe if you painted it the same as the wall it would give a flow and look wider. Your eye wouldnt start and stop so much.Also,try a rug thats larger and more of one color with a pattern in it.Put the end table next to wall instead. Just a thought .Love yor blog, I'm new to all this but have been decorating for years.have you thought of building a bump out to match the fireplace to hold all t.v. stuff and paint it the same color as the wall? I feel for you with the sub wofer, I could do away with all that stuff.I think women should design t.v. electronics,hey I'll add that to my to do list.

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  85. I know the feeling of an oddly shaped room. Our first house 5-6yrs ago [which was a rental] had a very weird living room layout and was the main walk'way' to every other room in the house. At the time we had two sofas and I had the same issue... it just seemed to cramped. We than broke the 'living room laws' and removed our love seat and it really opened the space up.

    I really think your living room looks great with just the one sofa now. It really makes it seem more bright and open and really shows off that beautiful rug! :)

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  86. Wow! What a difference! Looks great!
    We only have one sofa in our family room. We have only one wall that it will fit on, and pulling it away from the wall anywhere would mean blocking the walk through space. It's not a very small room but there are sliding doors on one wall, a large fireplace with windows flanking it on the largest wall and the other 2 walls are open to the kitchen and hallway. I hate that there is no other way to arrange the furniture. We do have another small rocker in the room for seating and we have a living room with more seating for company. Some day I would love to find a sectional to meet the dimensions of the corner but one wall is too short for any sectional that we've seen. Oh, well. It is what it is!

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  87. We also removed the love seat from our family room and now only have a sofa and round chair -- rare is the occasion that we need more seating. Over the holiday however I did bring in two small club chairs (I'm a home stager and raided my furniture inventory) and I loved the look. You could easily add one and have your chaise next to the wall. Having a corner fireplace adds a challenge - if it was a few feet out from the corner you could have one there. Less can so often be more!

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  88. It looks great! I love the "new" look! I sooooo want to rearrange our living space but it always freaks me out b/c we barely have enough wall space since one main wall is open to the kitchen, the other wall has a HUGE window in it & I hate to block it w/ part of the sofa & the other wall has our mantle/woodstove in it so we can only use the corners. All of your furniture rearranging & household dilemmas help me immensely though b/c when we go shopping for our real home (we live in a rental now) I'll be sure to never get a corner fireplace :-) Enjoy your new space! Take care!

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  89. I bet you feel like you can breathe now!! It looks so fresh and airy now!

    I put my TV cabinet on my entry wall last year. It seemed SOOOO taboo to do that, so I avoided it forever...but it really is the perfect spot for the layout and functionality of the room. But I was so worried about walking in the front door and the first thing you saw was the side of a TV cabinet. But it hasn't botherd me like I thought it would...or at all I should say. :)

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  90. I just took out our love seat too! I was a little skeptical cuz now our only seating is a wooden rocking chair and the sofa, but we manage alright. Our house has smaller spaces and our furniture was too big for it. And we've got the corner fire place, too. ;o) Love the new layout.

    jeanmarie80(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  91. This looks good! Love that you got that love seat to the basement yourself ! (too funny)
    Ok...here goes....I'm just thinking.....why don't you *gulp* move all the t/v stuff to the wall where your big dresser thing is ......put the love seat on the window wall and get two chairs (leather maybe) and put them where the sofa is with the little end table between them and a lamp......(split the focal points of the t/v and the fireplace) and use the entire space. Walkway remains in tact........
    I had two cups of coffee this morning.....bare with me.

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  92. Good for you! What do you know? No couch police!!

    Seriously, Sarah, this is a great post. How many of us have been afraid to do something in our homes because, after all, that thing is just NOT DONE?! Ugh! Says who?? What on earth are we all afraid of?

    Way to go, woman! I hear you roar! I'll also call you crazy, but that's just exactly why I like you! :)

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  93. I love that Ahhhh feeling when you make a change that breathes a breath of fresh air into a space!

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  94. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. I am so glad that I am not the only one who is willing to try new things. The way you moved things around does open up your space even more. I have threatened to take some of the furniture out of my livingroom, but hubby keeps saying NO! We'll see what time fortells.

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  95. Wow, it looks soo much more inviting now! Like you said, you could always add a small chair later if you need it. I wish we hadn't bought a loveseat and a couch -- amazing how much room they take up!

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  96. Name that show - Cartman from South Park. When I read the name of the post on FB, in my mind, you were saying it all sassy, like he did on the fake maury povich-like show.

    Love the new layout. We're trying ot figure out what to do with ours... we have a wall with a fire place on it, slightly off center (ugh!), one wall with a big doorway to our dining room slightly off center (ugh, again!), one wall with a doorway to the stairs/hallway, and the other wall (the only WHOLE wall) has 2 windows facing the front of the house. What the heck are we supposed to to?!?

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  97. Oh, I love it! Your living room is much like ours...only our fireplace is in the middle of the wall with the flat screen above it, but we still have a huge double window. Open floor plan and much of it is a walkway to the other parts of the house. I would also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have a sofa with a chaise attached. I think those are ideal for our types of spaces. Right now we just have the one sofa and one small chair. We use an ottoman for a coffee table and it gets used for seating when needed. Meh, it works for now.

    P.S. Whateva! I do what I want. I roll with 8 gangs! ;)

    Visit me at the-willow-bee.blogspot.com

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  98. Wow! I think it looks so much better too... It does make you want to go "aahhhhhh"... just so more open and calming...

    Cindy

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  99. I love the new look. As long as there is enough sitting space for the people that live in the house, that is all that matters. The openness makes the room look bigger.

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  100. HA! I <3 that you quoted south park! I really need to take this advice. You're 100% right. It's my house I should do what makes me happy not what others deep acceptable. My husband and I went round and round about our living room when we moved into our new place. He wanted to put the living room in the basement and the office upstairs off the dining room and I didn't think it would look "right." I wish I had because just done it because the living room space is so awkward and we're unhappy with it. So, thanks for this post. I may decide to just not care and do what's best for our space.

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  101. We only have a 2-seater and a few armchairs. Guests use those, the dining room chairs, or futon-style cushions on the floor.


    I think it looks great!!

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  102. Have it your way, baby! I think moving the love seat opened up the room and I can see why you love it so much! Have you ever thought of putting your sofa on an angle parallel to your fireplace? Kind of fun...anyway...love the blog and am a huge fan.

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  103. I love your blog and literally cannot wait to see what you are doing next! The new lay out looks great. I too have the bug to revamp the house and this post has given me a ton of inspiration. Thanks so much!

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  104. Looks great! By the way, my dog has the same problem your husband/son do! Pillows are the first thing off the couch when we get home in the afternoon! :)

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  105. I just finally got caught up with my new obsession - reading craft blogs :-) And I wanted to thank you for all the great posts I've read on yours since I started about 7 weeks ago (I went back and looked at all your projects). Its a new year and I just want to express my appreciation for your fun ideas! Happy New Year! ~Lori

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  106. Oh, and yes, LOVE the clean look without the loveseat ;-)

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  107. Great choice! Love LURVE the new look.... it really opens the space up.
    I'm totally in love with that rug!

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  108. Yes! Everyone throws the pillow on the floor around here! I'm thinking of getting rid of them...is that allowed? We have almost the exact same shape and issues in our family room. Only we have 6 peeps around here so I kinda feel like I need the seating. The furniture is too large for the space so when the day comes that we have a little cash (and no debt!) we'll remedy the situation. Keep up the great work!

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  109. I love it. Much more open. I never liked how cramped it looked either! ;))

    Side note- Its P.P.P.S. Always more P's, never more S's. :))

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  110. Beautiful room and I like it without the Love Seat best. The little guy is cute and it must be a guy thing because my grands throw the pillows on the floor first thing when they come in my house. So cute.

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  111. What a fantastic change! SO much lighter and visually pleasing! Have you considered downsizing the cabinet under the TV? I think it would really help that area not compete with your gorgeous fireplace (jealous!)

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  112. LOVE your site. We are rehabbing a 60 yr old place up in OR and it's great to see what other people are up to house wise. Here's my two cents re: the family room-

    1) Drywall the corner over the FP to make it a flat suurface( just a few studs, tape/mud and sheetrock. Easy)

    2) mount the flatscreen OVER the FP. ( you have the hardware)

    3) Angle the sofa to the FP/TV
    wall along with the rug/tables etc.

    4)build in a small cabinet that seems into the side wall for all wires etc

    5)a chair small table will fit in front of the window, making a natural light seating area and add another seat

    you may have to evaluate the sofa table AND the sideboard if you angle the counch-but surely they could be used in other places if either pushes the look as too MUCH

    thanks again for a fun site! PS-My "house = life" site is Sharingourpath.blogspot.com

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  113. TDC, you're too funny!

    Definitely an improvement. You could add a lightweight upholstered chair where the loveseat used to be; it would still keep it light and you would have extra seating.

    When I bought new furniture for our living room, I bought a sofa without, gasp, the loveseat! Instead I bought two matching chairs for one side, and a big upholstered chair for the other side, ALL IN DIFFERENT FABRICS! Yes, I did that. I made up my own rules. And it works. You are right to think outside the box.

    Definitely a guy thing with the pillows. My husband turns ours around (?) so that the zipper is exposed. Gaaaah!

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  114. Love the change. Makes a huge difference in the room. Also thank you for inspiring me to go to Goodwill. I found the exact chair I needed to finish my kitchen table redo for $7.50...are you kidding me!

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  115. I roll with gangs! Sorry, had to laugh at your South Park reference. It looks a lot better. If anything, you could put a a chair or two which would still give you seating and keep it looking open. Plus, they're a lot easier to move out of the way if you need space!

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  116. I love your decorating style, and courage. Your room looks GREAT!

    Had a thought for more seating, though, if you ever want to go that way. Someday you might buy two new comfy chairs. Then you could bring back your loveseat and angle it so it faced the fireplace, and put the two chairs on either side of it, kinda boxing the room in.

    It wouldn't work with your long sofa. And the configuration you have now IS really cool! But it would give you comfy seating for four.

    Another thought is someday maybe get one of those leather-covered ottoman/coffee tables that also provide some seating (say for a party). That could expand your necessary seats by 2-4 instantly, without giving up anything about your design!

    Just saying... :D

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  117. Love it! Space, glorioius space!

    And the pilloe thing cracked me up. I feel like I'm cursing at the pile of pillows on the floor on a daily basis. I'm seriously considering attaching them to the sofa frame with little bungees...

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  118. Looks cute. I also hated the subwoofer in my living room for EONS! Finally I found a perfect wicker/ratan hamper with a cool shape at TJ Maxx. I cut the bottom out and slipped it right of the top. Presto. No more woofer!

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  119. I love this new layout! Wow - I can't believe the difference this has made. What a way to start the new year :)

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  120. I LOVE it without the love seat! It looks perfect! As for the cords below the dresser- stack some decor books under there! ;)

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  121. Sofa/loveseat combos rarely work in most homes. I hate that stores package them that way. Many of my clients have the same issue and it's hard for them to get rid of one when they were "a set". Good job! You can always bring in a chair.

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  122. I love that rug! Your living room looks so much lighter and airy now!!! If you get worried about seating in the hear future depending on how often you people over I would say getting some of those cute, armless, end chairs they sell at Target - they are small but comfortable and take up a little bit of room. I would think Two of those would look nice sitting where the huge love seat used to be and they might not block off as much space :)

    LOVE IT! Every time I think your home can't get any better or cooler, you totally blow me away!

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  123. OMG, Sarah! First off, I love the new room - so much roomier and open. SECONDLY, I have to point you to this link from a BBC TV show called Coupling. I think about it EVERY SINGLE TIME MY HUSBAND THROWS A PILLOW ON THE FLOOR! Dudes HATE pillows....and now we all know why - ENJOY:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp0-8Ibkczc

    Lindsay
    Tell'er All About It

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  124. Thank you - I'm officially, TOTALLY addicted to your blog now!! You are motivating me to take care of all kinds of little projects around the house that had been neglected for so long.

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  125. I love it! Sometimes it's the simplest things, right? Now for that subwoofer ... I feel your pain, my hubs insisted on having one but I hated looking at it...I managed to get it behind my sofa. Maybe you can re-work the shelves in the media center under your tv and fit it in there?

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  126. I love this! I know what you mean about being worried if it will work...I switched out our dining room and living room and at first was nervous as it was not traditional at all. Buutttt I LOVE IT! And I get the biggest compliments about it too. Great job Sarah!!

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  127. I think it looks fabulous!!!!

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  128. I love it without the other sofa! Good move. And yes-- my 3 year old takes EVERY pillow off both our couch and loveseat and either throws them on the floor or piles them ALL on the loveseat and sits atop a tower of pillows. Maybe it's a boy thing?

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  129. I like the new look. Could you put the end table on the other side of the couch or would it just not work?

    Good work!

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  130. I have always been of the "do what YOU want school of thought" when it comes to your home!!!!!!!!!! Like you said, YOU have to live there!!!! If someone else doesn't like it, WHO CARES!!!! A few years ago we removed every single bit opf wallpaper in the house and painted every room....colors WE loved. There are gold walls, terra cotta walls, chocolate brown walls even one BLACK wall(Looks AWESOME) and people told us we were NUTS....til they saw it and loved it. If we get ready to sell, we MAY have to paint....maybe. I am still not convinced I will do that no matter what the pros say:):):) Your room looks great!!!! XO, Pinky

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  131. Sarah, I love it. Looks way bigger, is really airy, and look at all that room for playing you created! Adore the corner fireplace too, even if it makes life a bit difficult for you.

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  132. I love your room! I had a similar problem in our first house, with a corner fireplace. I ended up reducing to a sofa and a chair. Next time we moved, we went from a Living and Family Room to just a Living Room. There went another sofa! The next time we moved, it was to an even smaller house, but we made it work because it was short term. Now, we are in the smallest house yet, and we couldn't fit the sofa and chair! The sofa went to the guest room (which was sparse) as a reading place, and a new loveseat came in. It works perfect - one loveseat, one chair, and one cushion on the floor.

    (In case you are wondering, we are a military family, hence all the moves. And we keep moving to more expensive locations, hence the homes getting smaller each time!)

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  133. I think it's great thaT YOU DID WHAT YOU WANT AND DIDN'T LOOK BACK AND IT ALL TURNED OUT GREAT!!! Opps sorry about the caps!

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  134. Hi - I'm a new reader! First, gotta say I love the new look. Definitely a good move. Second, I noticed you mentioned Meijer which means you must live in the region of country as me (Michigan). How fun!

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  135. It looks really good! You are so smart and your son is adorable!

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  136. Hi Sarah,

    Your blog and home are so inspiring! I'm a sucker for telling people how little I paid for things - I'm proud of it instead of embarassed - just like you! I'm following you now cos I can't wait to see what you come up with next - is there any room that's not finished yet? My Christmas project was putting in a gorgeous faux fireplace - it was a bargain at $41 and I'd love you to drop in and check it out (I do what I want too - if people say it can't be done, then that sounds like a challenge to me!)
    Christie :-)

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  137. Good for you for taking it out!!! We have just a sofa and my husbands THING of a chair! UGH! I will get rid of that thing soon! I have a small little armed french chair next to our tv stand for extra seating. But guests can sit at the kitchen table or at the bar! And even with ONE sofa in our living room I still can't figure out the layout. I am so ready to move out of this house! I HATE THE LIVING ROOM so much I think about it night and day!!! Its like a triangle and it does not work!!

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  138. Totally just a thought...Have you thought about moving your TV & all it's "stuff" above your fireplace & then making that the focal point of the room? I think it'd look great having your couch angled in front of the fireplace rather then to the side. I see the top of your fireplace is cornered, but maybe the professional can quote a price to build a special cabinet for the TV/DVD stuff :)

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  139. Now that you don't have a loveseat, I can truly appreciate how GORGEOUS your area rug is! Srsly.

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  140. It looks beautiful! Our living room is just like yours, long and a little narrow with a corner fireplace and the only tv hookup on a little wall right next to it. I'm constantly trying to think of a better way to arrange our furniture!

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  141. Your house is very pretty!! I have done tons of organizing lately also. One thing I always hated is my daughters keyboard in her room. Her room is small and its always been hard to find room for it. So I did it, I moved it out into our living space. I rearranged her room and it looks awesome! I feel like I shouldn't have this thing out in my space but for now it works. And if I ever have a party I can always just put it in my closet for the day. I also like now when she practices piano we can all hear her. It's nice actually.

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  142. I love the new layout!

    And, our pillows never stay on the couch either. They are either thrown on the floor and used as stepping stones to make sure you don't step in the "hot lava", or even better, stacked on the back of the couch so they fall on the next person that sits.

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  143. You made a wonderful choice removing the love couch. It looks so much more open, and the rug is just beautiful. Sounds like you are going to be busy in the next coming months. Same here. I'm planning on getting started redoing some things around here that has gotten put off for the holidays.

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  144. I am so jealous! I love love love the ottoman/poof. They had one like that at Pottery Barn and it was around $100. I finally decided to get two for our family room and low and behold they didn't have it anymore! Isn't that unheard of for Pottery Barn? They carry things forever! Anyway, I finally got our family room to function better thanks to help from you....but for Christmas we got a 42" flat screen. The room needs to be moved around AGAIN. I love how yours looks with less furniture. FABULOUS!

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  145. LOL. I use the kid's skateboards to move sofas.

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  146. Made a world of difference. I love the new look. ANd OH yes I have two sons and pillows all over, oh and socks too now!

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  147. It looks great, and I'm right there with you. We tore down a wall and ended up with a large space and in six years there have been 12 layouts. I finally got it RIGHT, and I know this because mom-in-law approved saying, "I love it. Keep it this way." She's great. It will not be too crowded at all to pull out a few cute chairs to set where your love seat used to be should you have a crowd. As long as they're not upholstered, they won't crowd up the space and people will have places to sit. And I know you can find two cheap chairs that you could even spray paint and put new fabric on the seats to make them work! Have fun!

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  148. the more space the better! i love how open it looks!

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  149. Who would have ever thought one piece of furniture could make such a difference. Right now we are in the process of trying to figure out if we want to purchase a new home or if we want to add on and redo our current home. It's a bit small for us! You gave me some inspiration, thanks!!! Your room looks great and fyi I'm not calling the couch police on you :)

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  150. Your living room looks great, and I think a great chair or two would look great for a better seating than pillows etc...and to replace your love seat.

    xo...
    Jovanna ;)

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  151. Have you ever considered converting your coffee table into a box pleat skirted ottoman using scraps of foam and a remnant of decorator fabric. Not only will it soften the look of the room but you will keep the space needed for drinks etc (by using a tray). It will also add seating and a fantastic place to prop up your feet . With only a staple gun and a glue gun, my son and I transformed an old coffee table to a trendy zebra-print box-pleated ottoman with red cording. Behind the skirting is a hidden bottom shelf where all of our board games are stored out of view for easy access. I am certain that you too could add a shelf to your table very easily for added storage. I would be happy to send pictures if you are interested.

    -Love your blog- Zoe'

    PS- Im so thrifty my hubs calls me fred (sanford)

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  152. Hi TDC,

    Does that subwoofer thing fit inside that cute poof basket? or perhaps another nice basket? I've seen stereo speakers put in baskets used for end tables and no one is the wiser. Good luck!

    Judie

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  153. I absolutely love it! And I think your rug is sublime.

    And I love your pouffe... (note my spelling... a "poof" in Australian colloquialism is something ENTIRELY different *grin*) it's very cute and slightly different all at the same time :)

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  154. I like how the room looked before but I'm also partial to that cozy feeling. I can understand why you would want the room opened up. When we moved in our new house instead of getting the love seat which no one really used we opted for his and her chairs with a cute accent table in between. It provided seating but the space between the chair and the style table we got kept that open air feeling instead of having a bulky piece of furniture.

    I also found an upholstered bench at Home Goods that provides us with some additional seating when necessary but doesn't make the room feel too cramped. I think the fact that its low helps things on the visual end.

    Cute room overall! Do you remember where you got your curtains? I'm looking for some cute, not boring, but not too expensive ones, for our bedroom which is brown/ivory with contemporary (platform bed) furniture.

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  155. Nevermind...I see you made the drapes.

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  156. How about placing your couch on an angle..directly across from the fireplace..the same angle as the fireplace and then you'll have room for a chair on each side of the couch.

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  157. I HAVE AN IDEA FOR THE SUB-WOOFER!!!

    Ok, Sorry, I wasn't trying to yell there, but I wante to make sure you saw me! :)
    So, the way the sub-woofer works is it creates the really low sounds, so that's why if you put them on things they can rattle. But, if you had your super-sweet-and-crafty Dad build a little surround for it, something that would slip over it and not touch it, then you could 'slipcover' it.

    Since the sound needs to escape you could use a fabric to cover the front, and make like a false door, or a real door with a shelf above the sub-woofer.(you could also use the metal grating they use to hide radiators) It would still stick out a little, but you could stain the wood to match your entertainment center. I think I said sub-woofer enough. :)
    Good luck, and thanks for all the fun posts, I'm always inspired!

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  158. I love your style and wish I too could get past the having to have a sofa and love seat. My Family Room is very small and not much to do. I love your blog and am very happy to come across it.

    You have inspired me to work on my kitchen island. I love the beadboard on yours, and maybe (a strong possibility) will be for me to talk my husband into taking down our wall between the kitchen and family room to open it up (to make it flow and look bigger). I wish you lived closer as I would pay you to help me decorate!!!

    Love the bottles with the flowers in them (are they soda bottles)? Love the basket on the end table (organization at its best), love the rug (been looking for one, though can't seem to find the right one), love your skills and thank you very much for sharing!!!

    Tracy

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  159. I love it. So much more clean and open.

    Sarah, I'd love to see a post about how you organize Bub's toys. I am drowning in Christmas toys here.

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  160. WHAT a difference! You have inspired me to move our comfy but huge recliner out of our family room. :)

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  161. What's with the pillows. My son does it too. It's like flat stanley - goes everywhere.
    Anywhooooo Love this post and love your solutions.
    However, I hate my sectional with a chaise lounge.. I'm just sayin.

    If I were you I'd get an oversize chair with ottoman (also extra seating) and keep the couch.

    But that's me.
    HUGS!

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  162. Geez! Why do so many posters feel the need to express their opinion as if you don't know what you're doing???
    'GOSH! Frickin idiots!' Napolean Dynamite.

    Please don't mount the TV above the fireplace... it totally takes away from the warmth, coziness, (sometimes) sexiness of a fireplace. Instead it SCREAMS, "Hey everyone! Check out my flatscreen!" Tacky.

    Maybe you could just convert to Amish & totally get rid of the TV & misc electronics... but then how would you know what Nate Berkus was up to?

    Erin D.

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  163. It looks awesome without the loveseat!!! Love your blog!

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  164. I am the hubby and I too throw the pillows on the floor. I mean you cannot sit on a couch with all of those pretty pillows on it!!!! Come on ladies you know we are right hehehehe! We also have a corner fireplace, and NEVER again if we ever move no corner fireplace. And the only wall in our family room is all windows, it looked so good on paper, all that light, and you can open them all up and get that fresh air in....blah blah....blah. And then the reality sets in where on earth do you place the furniture????? So those beautiful windows that we had to have..... floor to ceiling, are now partially covered with the couch in front of them, because the family room has this huge opening to the breakfast room and kitchen, again looked great on paper..... live and learn. And hey it makes us get really creative in our furniture placement. When we do buy new furniture we will make sure that it all fits... We are thinking about only having 4 comfortable chairs, we are empty nesters and it is only us at home 90% of the time, the other 10%? let em sit on the floor LOL thanks for your blog I love it!
    Blessings to you and yours
    Curtis & Sherrie

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  165. Less can be more, proof is in the pudding

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  166. Love it! It does feel so much more open and airy just from the pics! My husband and son do the same thing with my pillows every. time. they sit on the couch! Drives me bananas sometimes! (But I wouldn't have it any other way!) :)

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  167. LOVE it!! Amazing how it opens up the room! Not sure if this has been suggested already, but why don't you find some short baskets for under the dresser? I did that for our bedroom dresser and I love it! More storage+hidden dust bunnies=happiness! xoxo

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  168. Ha! SOUTHPARK!! Cartman uses it on a "jerry springer" like talk show. LMAO

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  169. wow it looks great! i love rearranging furniture. i think i'm gonna buy some ORB soon and have fun with it around the house. thanks for tuning me into it!

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  170. Sarah! I've missed you!

    I LOVE the after - wow I can't believe how much that opens everything up.

    It looks beautiful! Are you going to see NKOTB this time around? :)

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  171. I see several other people have commented on the subwoofer but I wanted to add one more thing -- a subwoofer can really be placed anywhere in the room -- it doesn't need to be next to the TV. It mainly works by generating vibrations in the walls and floor and that can happen no matter where you place it. So if you have a basement and access to the joists underneath your family room, it would be a super easy project to pull a speaker wire over to another part of the room -- you could move the subwoofer to the other side of the fireplace and put a vase or something decorative on it (so it would look like a display table) or even use it as an end table for your sofa.

    Of course my hubby just about had a stroke when I suggested we use his precious subwoofer as an end table, but he did agree to let me move it into the CLOSET and you can still hear it just fine. So there's a thought.....good luck! (OR, if you really want a new subwoofer, try looking on Craigslist - there are always a lot of listings for used stereo/home theatre equipment -- I guess people sell off their old stuff when they upgrade.)

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  172. Hey, I'm just curious- did you ever try putting the love seat where the dresser currently is? I know it's hard to tell the dimensions from pics, but just looks like a good spot from what I can see.

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  173. Lovely, the critter cords... use twist ties and tape them to the back of your dresser.... all those twist ties that came attached to all the Christmas toys and games come extra long and there about 50 on each toy... love the room ... love the little poof...

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  174. Nice work. We only have 1 reclnier and 1 full couch because that's all the space we have. We have a few other chairs in other rooms that can be moved in if need be. It is fine :) I thought the same thing at first but its so much more comfy for the day/day living os just my hubby and I!

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  175. i hear ya with the pillows!!! all of the people i live with do it too! drives me nuts-o! and the other day i had to actually throw one away because the dog took it one step further and peed on it!!! what is that????

    anyway. doesn't it feel nice??? we used to do the one couch thing too b/c our fam room is big but not so big either. (same issue with a walkway. and also one wall. what were we thinking when we built it that way?) anyway we have 5 people so we needed more seating, but have inherited my in-laws HUGE leather monstrosities! big couch and BIG chair. (so big my mom thought it was a love seat!) anyhoo, i do have dreams of a beautiful cranberry sectional with a chaise from lazy boy...ahhhhhh... but for now since they were free, and it makes the hubs happy to use his parents old furniture (whatever), we will live with the ginormous leather monsters! enjoy all of your space. i am a bit jealous as mine is all gone. (i wonder if anyone would notice if i got rid of the big chair?) ;)

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  176. @ Emily....Yeah, so I got married in October and Flat Stanley showed up. In like almost all of my wedding photos, including a stay in the Bible.

    Luckily, we have a sense of humor.

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  177. I absolutely love it!

    So weird but I have a nearly identical rug from Pottery Barn and color scheme. Random question, but where did you get that blue throw hanging on the side of the sofa? I have been on the hunt and cant' find a nice comfy one in that color.

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  178. Love it with the loveseat. And the poof. And I would give you a child for that area rug.

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  179. I just found your blog today, searching for a new way to do my mantel to go with a new piece of art. I love what you're doing!

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  180. Last week when my lil girl was sick and I had to stay home with her. I reorganized my living room. I moved our computer amoure (sp) our of the living room, and disassembled our tv console, taking like a foot off each end. (Last year I added an architectural entry bench to the living room to create a "entry") The problem was that it ate into the room. long story, but basically, there is alot more breathing room. Oh, and "Trigger" my daughters antique hobby horse got moved back into the room and is the center of attention again. (like it should be)

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  181. Such a great way to change up the space! And you're right, you are the ones who live there so you can do whatever you want! I'm loving your blog, just became a follower today. Btw, what color are you walls painted in this room? I love it!

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  182. I love the changes to your living room, you rock girl!
    I feel I am getting an email from a close friend when I read your blog, it's warm and funny at the same time. It gets my mind going with all the things I can do, create, and look for while I'm shopping at Thrift stores! For this I say thank you!!!!
    I send a hug to you with the loss of your dear kitty, they are family and it aches in our hearts to lose them.
    Debbie from the Northwest

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  183. Thank You!!!!! I was sitting here reading, all the while I was looking at my loveseat (with no love in my heart LOL) Our living room is like yours it is one big pass through. We have had the same conversation, we designed this house so carefully, how did that happen. Thank you for the reminder "It's our house do what you want" I'm off to move the loveseat OUT of the living room.

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You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!