I was very impressed by your floor plan. You have a lovely, large, open space. As is often the case, the most attractive rooms are often the most difficult to lay out, and this is one of them! However, rooms that initially present a design problem frequently end up being very effective because they are out of the ordinary.
In reading your letter and looking at your floor plan, I agree that a good place for your television would be to the right of the fireplace. However, I would angle the shelf so it could be viewed more comfortably from the sitting area and also seen from the eating area.
Doing this solves another problem. The space between the fireplace and the back of the refrigerator is rather awkward. According to the plans, the space is 18 inches wide and approximately 42 inches deep. If you squared off the shelves to the depth of the fireplace, you would be left with an awkward corner. I think it’s more attractive to angle the shelves and, thus, they would visually balance the television.
The sitting area is very long – 24 feet. In order to appreciate the fireplace and comfortably view the television, you would have to “L“ the furniture into the room away from the end wall. This will also create a space for a more intimate conversational grouping.
I chose to graph the room utilizing a sectional, because it affords you more seating than would a sofa, love seat and chair. This arrangement will easily meet your seating requirements.
I lined up the longest part of the sectional directly in front of the window and put a large 3-foot square-end table under the other window to balance the furniture in the room.
You can then slide the ottoman under the table, which can be pulled out when needed. By utilizing a standing floor lamp instead of a table lamp, the surface remains uncluttered. Sitting on the ottoman, the table top (probably a laminate) would be a great place for the children to look at books or color in front of the window.
I would select a fairly large and fairly indestructible coffee table. The one graphed is 36 inches square. Not only will it serve the expected functions, but it can also be used by the children for playing games or building blocks.
I think that it’s important with small children to leave a lot of open floor space for playing. In this case, I also wanted to leave the heavy traffic pattern between the kitchen and the family room wide open with no obstructions – again for the sake of the children.
This seating plan creates a 6-foot space behind the longest part of the sectional that “L’s“ out from the wall. I would buy, or probably have built, storage cabinets the height of the back of the sectional and approximately 12 inches long. These would provide plenty of storage space for toys and many other things.
A desk, built into the corner, would work well for paying bills or writing letters. A filing cabinet would easily fit underneath, if so desired.
Two lamps placed on top of the storage cabinets would provide excellent lighting, both for the sectional and the desk.
If the storage cabinets are 20 inches deep, there would be 4 feet 4 inches of floor space in front of them. It would create a convenient and quiet play area for the children close to their toys.
Regarding the area rug, you could use one in front of the sectional and one in front of the storage cabinets. Make sure they are large enough so the children don’t have to sit on the hardwood floor to play unless they choose to do so. You could also use just one large area rug to cover both spaces.
Perhaps with small children, you won’t want an area rug under the table in the eat-in area, but one could always be added at a later date. A buffet in the corner with a lamp would be functional and also bring light to that corner of the room.
You mentioned that your room gets a lot of light. For your window treatments, because of the positioning of the furniture, I would not recommend draperies. They would be too cumbersome. Instead, a blind or shade would control the light and be decorative as well.
The sitting area is directly centered in the room and the play-storage area balances the fireplace and television area. The plan is rather unusual, but I think it works well both aesthetically and functionally.
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