That's a dorm room!?!?!? It looks bigger than my first solo apartment!!

RA's room. They get some power and some space.

I think that a small sofa would work well. I would put it across from the fireplace and mount a flat panel tv over the fireplace.

One with clean lines, not something fluffy and stuffed.

Or place it facing the window and move the sewing table next to the desk to give yourself a small intimate living room with the workspace and kitchenette behind it. Then you can relax and not look at those areas. However I can't tell the exact dimensions from here.

A dorm room with a fireplace, built-ins, and hardwood floors???? How come I got stuck with vinyl flooring and cinderblock walls?

I can't give advice without seeing a floorplan.

There could be enough room to create a sitting area by having a very small love seat ( http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70087108 ) facing away from the window, perpendicular to the fireplace. Maybe a set of chairs opposite and a coffee table in the middle. One of your desks could be placed along the back of the love seat.

Is this one of those BU dorms that is actually in an apartment building? It's a pretty great space for a dorm room!

Good lord. I was an RA, and we just got a regular room, sometimes even with a roommate. This place, on the other hand, has a fireplace. I'm going to go sulk now.

I agree that you're going to want a couch -- a smallish one, maybe even a love seat. But it's hard to tell exactly how much space you have, which changes things a lot. Do you know the dimensions of the room?

Do you sew often enough that you want the sewing station to be there all the time? If so, you might give up the left-hand wall to workspaces and storage and face your seating area toward the fireplace. Or, you could turn it to face the wall to the left of the fireplace.

Do you need your desk to be near a bookshelf, or does it not matter? Does the kitchenette have to stay where it is?

A smaller sofa would look great if you put it across from the fireplace. Put the mirror where the wooden chair is. If you want a TV, put it on a low stand so that you don't block that beautiful fireplace.

I would move the second desk to under the shelving unit right next to the other desk so that you have both desks against the same wall. Then buy matching chairs to make the two desks together look more cohesive. You could even use a bright tablecloth or runner over both to make make it look like one long work table. OR if you don't need both desks, buy one bigger one to go under the window. If you want to buy more investment furniture you could even buy a nice dining table and pair of chairs and use it as a work space under the window for the sewing machine and computer.

Either way, that would free up some wall space for the new sofa or loveseat opposite the fireplace. I agree that putting a rug and sofa facing the fireplace will give the room a focus. Buy something simple and versatile, and something that you love and could see keeping for a while. Remember to check out craigslist if you're on a budget - for the same amount of cash you'd put down at Ikea, you can get much nicer, practically new stuff when people move. If you want more seating, you could buy a storage ottoman that doubles as an extra spot for friends to sit when you have people over.

Once you create a seating/socializing zone in the middle of the room and a work zone toward the window, I don't think the room will feel as lopsided. But if you still think it does, try hanging art up on the walls (above the fireplace, over the couch, etc.) and when in doubt add plants! It looks like you have a nice sunny spot for a plant by the window to the right of your desk. You could also buy a small potted tree with a bit of height to it to place between the couch and the fridge/microwave so that when you are seated your view of the microwave is partially obscured.

I would put it perpendicular to the fireplace and one of the desks behind it, like a sofa table. Then on the other side, facing the sofa, you could put that chair that you already have.

One of my pet peeves is when desks are pushed up against the wall so that your back is to the rest of the room. You can still add a small sofa or love seat to the space and make it work. The first suggestion I'd made is to put the desks face-to-face and perpendicular to the window. You could put the sofa across from the fireplace.

Either place the 2 desks together side by side or get rid of one of them (do you need both?)
Move the floor mirror elsewhere or get a smaller one you can hang behind a door.
Put a small loveseat sized couch underneath the window or where the current mirror stands and place ONE desk under the window (nice natural light.)

I agree with MrsPowers! Everything about that comment. Yes.

Tall Billy bookcases from Ikea along the long wall. Small, contemporary sectional, with longest section facing fireplace. Combination desk/console table behind short end of sectional, so your back is to the window and you face towards the door. Candles of different heights in the fireplace, LCD tv mounted above.

I agree that a sofa perpindicular would divide the room nicely -- it places your work space in one area and your social space in another. It also places the social space as the space that your residents encounter as they walk in.

If a sofa simply won't fit or makes it impossible for you to get to the back portion of the room, you could opt for a series of seating cubes. Get a nice geometric area rug to serve as the focal point, put it in front of the fireplace, and place the cubes around the edge of the rug.

Where are people going to school to get these huge dorm rooms, and with a fireplace no less? Even for an RA, that is huge. At CAL there would have been six kids in a space that size, and zero amenities. That is nicer than some apartments I've paid a princely sum for. Clearly I should have been looking more at dorm offerings than academics when I was applying to colleges!

Yes to face-to-face desks! It will remove that lining-the-walls effect you have now. I don't know, since you are a student I think I'd avoid a sofa. So many places you'll have to move it in the coming years. Find some comfy chairs at the thrift store. A grouping of chairs is more conducive to group conversation than a sofa.

It looks like there is a separate bedroom area. Why not move the desk into there and then the bed out into that beautiful, sunny room? Set it up against the back wall in the corner, get a daybed which you can take to your next place and set it up flush against the adjoining wall and voila, you have a sectional sofa made up of your bed plus a guest bed for visitors and plenty of seating for everyone. Drape it with some decorative pillows and maybe some flowing curtainy stuff in lieu of posters, and you will have a very classy lounge room. A solid coffee table with some oversize throw pillows will complete the look.

I was an RA my senior year of college, but my room didn't look like that! I had cinderblock walls, institutional carpeting, and a wall of ugly built-ins.

I think a couple of armchairs would be good in the space, especially for RA-type activities like mediating roommate conflicts or having one-on-one conversations with students. In those situations it helps to have a little personal space and be able to look people in the eye. 2 or 3 chairs anchored by a rug & coffee table around the fireplace would be cozy, even if the fireplace doesn't work.

Also, free up some space on your bookshelves with an 2x2 Expedit (or other small bookshelf) where the spindle-back chair is now. Put a lamp on top of the bookshelf, along with a tray or bowl to hold your keys, wallet, etc. when you come in the door. Hang a poster or photo above that setup, and it should feel more balanced with the other side of the room.

Sofa bed with an inflatable mattress.

I put this in a client's office/guest room (in Aspen Linen with the AirDream upgrade). They swear by it.
http://www.carolinachair.com/yeatssleepersofa.html

I had a dorm room a lot like this, actually (and yes, it was at BU).

I love the idea of a sofa in front of the fireplace, with maybe a chair to face it (better for all those heart-to-hearts)? And definitely rugs!

Isobel here!
Very warm thanks for all your suggestions and comments! As I said before, I feel very, very lucky in my room assignment. Most rooms in the dorm (even the RA's rooms) are not nearly as nice as mine, and I'm very aware of how good I've got it, with a separate bedroom and fireplace and all :) Which is why I'm taking the opportunity to make it as welcoming a place as possible.

As requested, the study/living room is about 16*10.5 feet and a floorplan (roughly to scale) can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/isobel.fellini/Floorplan#5430889426222027090

I positioned the "kitchenette" where it is to avoid the radiator, and the bookcase to take advantage of that random shelf. The computer desk and two wooden chairs are standard issue and have to stay. No TV, and no plans for one.

Thanks for the many ideas for how to rearrange the existing furniture. That's really exactly the sort of advice that I didn't realize I needed, but it'll be freeing to not necessarily use the walls as anchors.

looks like a Boston dorm to me! Isobel, why don't you purchase a small loveseat and place it perpendicular to the fireplace/parallel to your desk? that way, people will see it when they walk in (adding to the warm, welcoming feel) AND it will hide your workspace? either that, or two armchairs? make a little conversation area out of it.

at my school in boston there were many streets lined with brownstones that had been converted to dorms. each year the school restored a few of them from top to bottom - they were beautiful. so i'm guessing that's the sort of housing this RA is in.

If you're handy, I would try to match the built-in on the fireplace wall to the one that you put on the shelf. I am not particularly handy (and don't have the tools) but you can probably find someone at the university who has tools and likes to eat cookies (which is how I get home projects done).

I would also put the sewing desk and the school desk parallel to each other in front of the window, so you can stash sewing supplies in the built-in behind the desk, and books and such in the bookcase. That way, you'd have a bit more room for a seating area (chair loveseat).

It would perhaps be a good idea to mask the dorminess of the fridges by putting a tabletop above them (a countertop, if you will). This is also something a friend who does easy construction could help you with.

(there's a rudimentary floor plan here: http://picasaweb.google.com/BridgetWall/ApartmentTherapy#5431194192201527698 - excuse the powerpoint modifications, but it gets the point across)

It would definitely look a lot better with art--maybe put an art wall on the wall opposing the fireplace; go for all black or all white frames (just buy a bunch from the thrift store and spray paint) and fill with pictures, things from Etsy, etc...

....and get rid of the suitcases in the fireplace. Or just find a screen, or something. It could make very helpful storage space for that sort of thing.

I do love the space, though! I am an RA here in Boston, and my space is very much cookie cutter with baaaad ceiling tiles, no light, and purple speckled industrial carpet. But it's still a great deal, and there are lots of things that you can do with it!

Geez, pat yourself on the back for winning the room lottery...most RA's just get a single room.

I'd probably go with a loveseat over a couch - or possibly two nice comfy chairs.