I would put the couch in front of the fireplace...or if the couch you have is too big maybe a love seat or two chair facing each other. The doorway to the dining room looks wide enough so it would not obstruct the path there. I would also add some sort of window seat under that big window (but not a couch so as not to obstruct the view). By the door to the entrance (which I know there are no pictures of) I would create a little entrance space - coat hanger, table, mirror...good luck! I am so jealous of your fire place

I think taking out the fireplace would be very drastic. The sofa doesn't have to sit against the wall. I like the idea of the sofa facing the fireplace with a sofa table behind it. I like the idea of creating an entry space like lili09 suggests.

I had a room very like this in my last house. It looks like you have plenty of room to do the same thing - which was the sofa facing the fireplace and a chair on either side of the fireplace. You can bring the sofa out from the fireplace, so that it partially overlaps the door to the dining room. There should still be plenty of room to walk through from the entrance.

About the fireplace - please don't get rid of it. I'm sure removing it would lower the value of your house. I think the main problem is that the colors of the wood surround and the walls are not very sympathetic to the tones of the stone.

My God, what a color scheme. But if you're not going to use the fireplace, there's no reason why the sofa can't sit with its back towards it. I wouldn't take out the fireplace; just leave it there and use the mantel as a shelf. At least try it for a while, and if you really can't stand having the fireplace there, take it out. But I think that if there's any possibility you'll resell the place, you should probably leave the fireplace in.

I like the two spaces separate because the doorway is very large and open as is - Now... buy new furniture first - sofa facing the fireplace - two chairs on either side of the fireplace with small surfaces next to each (see Pinterest for crafty solutions) - two chairs you have now reupholstered (or new chairs) placed side by side in front of the window with a small table in between (reuse one you have) - with sofa facing fireplace put console/bookcases, two matching dressers, etc. behind sofa - large area rug to cover llamp cords on sofa console plugging into wall under the rug - another area rug under the window reading chairs - two lamps for the reading area (buy one at a time to purposely not match) - highboys, cabinets, dresser etc. on either side of each door wall coming into the living room from the front door for storage and "mail drop" - I like your end tables, put some pperky paint on them - are you going to paint or did you paint already? (just wondering)

We just rearranged our long living room by moving sofa and arm chairs away from the walls. We put two arms chairs flanking either side of the fireplace and the sofa facing it, with a rug in front. What a difference it made! The living room when from random to cozy and like it was all meant to be. Try facing the sofa toward the fireplace, even if it creates an empty space behind. You can always put a slim console table along the back wall behind the sofa. (Caveat: we don't keep the tv in the living room, so this arrangement did not have to account for tv placement or sight lines.)

What is it about 75 year old bungalows and no walls in the living room? We have the same problem! Since it looks like it's fairly square and you have some room in the center of the floor, think about making a conversation pit in which you have your furniture around the fireplace. You can ground it with a rug and a sofa table or console so it doesn't look like it's all just floating there. I'd add chairs in front of that beautiful window. Please don't get rid of the fireplace!

Don't remove the fireplace! Especially if it's functional, that's like spending money to throw money down the toilet when you resell! Gah!

As for the layout, yes, you sort of have a dance studio going on there. Without being able to see one side of the room (the entrance) I vote that you make a little hallway from the door. Throw down a runner and buy a sofa console that you can place to the right of the runner as a landing strip, behind whatever couch you'd put facing the fireplace. If it's just a door into the room, make an entrance. Then have a smaller 3-seater face the fireplace and either get a loveseat for the right of the sofa or two chairs (depending on space constraints once the couch is there - it's hard to tell how big the room is). I would go with a runner at the entrance and one large area rug under the seating to make it cohesive. Depending on how much seating you need (how many people are over regularly) you can add some storage cubes under occasional tables to the left/right of fireplace or just put bookshelves in them, though built-ins may weight the room down even more with the fireplace.

But don't get rid of the fireplace!!

This could all be moot if there's some sort of staircase or if the entrance is different from what I'm imagining, but good luck!

Oh, and please paint and remove that mirror over the fireplace! There are lots of much nicer options. ;)

Last suggestion. If you're worried about foot traffic (or have kids), you can always nix a coffee table in the middle of the room in favor of side tables (a sofa console works well, too, as a cup-holder) and some poufy ottomans to put up your feet. That way you could walk through the "hallway" behind the couch to the dining room, or through the living room itself to the dining room.

I was going to suggest the same layout as Dulcibella with couch facing fireplace and two chairs on either side. Or if you want a place for your tv that's not over the fireplace (am I the only one who doesn't wanna watch tv like I'm in the first row of a movie theater?), put one chair by the fireplace and a tv stand catty-cornered in the other. Stick a slim console table behind the sofa for some storage if you have room.

You could also put a sofa or sectional where the current sofa is, with the jutting end of the sofa facing the fireplace. Then put a chair or tv stand in the corner by the fireplace where a chair is in the pic.

I would make a seating arrangement in front of the fireplace and place your TV in the corner to the right of the fireplace. Depending on the amount of space left, you might could have a second seating area, or a pretty couch height desk behind the main area. I would also pull down the mantel mirrors, pain the stone grey or taupe and do a white mantel. If you pull out that fan and spray paint or or put in a new fixture, then repaint the wall, you will have yourself a great new room at very little cost.

Nice house. I agree with the others about the placement of the soda. Spend your small renovation budget on a couple of cans of paint.

I'd go with one of the suggestions above. Basically, you need to move the bulk of your furniture away from the walls to make a workable floor plan in a room like this.

Now, I'm not recommending this, but if you are desperate for more wall space in this room, you could consider getting doors installed between the living and dining rooms. Many of these older homes had pocket doors between the two rooms. Then you could close the doors and treat the space as wall space.

Or you could close up the wall completely, if the dining room has another entrance.

I guess people can't READ as it has been explained the furnishings are not theirs. Anyway, I love the idea of having a sofa facing the fireplace with some chairs flanking the fireplace. I don't know about the sofa table behind it though. I feel like those things are designed solely to recruit, train and motivate clutter.

I would still put the sofa with its back to the window but pull it away from the window. That way you could do as suggested and have a window bench. Then I would put two occasional chairs facing the sofa. You could also consider built-ins next to the fireplace. I would spend my money on furniture and updating the fireplace surround instead of taking the fireplace out. Look for Peter Fallico's "home to flip" living rooms. They are both Toronto homes with the exact same layout.

People have already said it, but don't be afraid to have your furniture float. You don't need to line your sofa up against a wall. Float it infront of the fireplace with flanking chairs, if there is room. Tie things together with a great rug, and if there is too much space behind the sofa, add a sofa table.

lovely space. please do not remove the fireplace. It would be a huge mistake. The current position of the furniture does not work at all. Do not block the window with your sofa. Place your sofa opposite the fireplace with a chair on the right, and a nice plush ottoman on the left. I think two chairs would look a little too symmetrical and give the space less flow.

We have a similar problem - almost identical. Our house is very small so we also have our TV in the room, too.

I'm going to start by saying what others have - don't remove the fireplace. You have such a beautiful bay window that I really like the other person's suggestion about putting in a window seat.

You have beautiful woodwork, windows and a floor. Perhaps a less dramatic color would also help bring these out. Since you have a little money to spend (I presume as you mentioned the cost of taking the fireplace out), some updates to furniture, lighting and artwork/pretty mirror over the fireplace will really open up the room.

End tables on both sides of the fireplace with a smaller sofa in front of the fireplace would be lovely. Then you could put side chairs on the ends of the bay window (if you can't do the window seat).

Good luck!

That large pass through between the living room and dining could use a dramatic curtain/panel on the end closest to the fireplace. Check out the old Christopher Lowell books--he was big on that. Can be made minimalist with grommets and sailcloth or traditional with a Jacobean print in linen. A panel like this would reduce the open plan feel and provide a "wall" for a chair or loveseat.

The mass of fabric would also help with the echo-ey bare floors by absorbing sound.

Removing the fireplace sounds pretty drastic and I guarantee it will lower the value of your property--you may not be thinking of your next place now but when you go to sell you will regret it.

Check out my answers on the other Good Question posted in the past 24 hours; you essentially have the same layout, albeit your living area is larger and you have a bay window instead of a large picture window.

What is the rest of your house like? Dating from 1935 it is rather on the tail-end of the craftsman trend, which is why it does not have the same sort of wood detailing as you would typically find in a Craftsman house, but it still has some of the features. Note the prairie windows which flank the fireplace -- those are typical Craftsman style elements.

I think you should definitely work on the fireplace, but not to remove it. It has been destroyed in a modernization effort, and it would help your resale if you were to turn it back into a more appropriate Craftsman style fireplace. Next, you should build the typical built-in bookcases flanking the fireplace, especially since you have the archetypical prairie windows. Again, check the links in my posts on the other good question for images.

The sofa should be on the same wall as the bay window, albeit, as other posters have already indicated, it should be pulled away from the wall. This way, you can build a window seat into the bay. Until then, you can have a console or other table behind the sofa. (Living rooms bay windows such as this are not a typical feature of the style, and I suspect it was a later addition).

Check the links I provided for images of similar living room arrangements for ideas on placement.

We lived in an old bungalow with the same issue. I tried everything & it was maddening. Because I prefer the security of sitting with my back to a wall, I never found a workable solution. The living room became a pass-through room to get to the dining room--which we used as a living room. The subsequent owners installed a liquor cabinet & a billiard table in the living room. For people who enjoy drinking & billiards, this could be a brilliant resolution to the no walls living room problem.

Don't fight the geometry. We struggled with same problem and decided to give up the sofa (to another room). We got four comfortable matching club chairs, set them around a large round table. Add reading lamps (cords under rug) and a woodfire and this circle has become the heart of our home; everyone loves the cozy setup.

Here are some photos of typical Craftsman style fireplaces... basically, rip off the stone cladding, and replace with historically appropriate ceramic tiles (easy enough to find originals in architectural salvage stores or replicas online):

http://www.claysquared.com/images/castle-fireplace_001.jpg

http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/2009/apr/fairmont-bungalow-fireplace.jpg

http://www.decomposingsb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/12_IMG_01311.jpg

The architectural salvage and vintage stores might even have an appropriately-sized mantel with bookcases, so do check them out.

And while you are checking out the fireplace elements, check for 1930s pendants, like these:

Changing out your fanlight for something historically appropriate -- either craftsman or deco would work style-wise, given the transitional nature of your home. It will strengthen the bones and character of your room, and bring everything together:

http://www.myrlg.com/products/vintage-japanned-three-light-pendant-with-glass-shades-c-1930.html

Or do something completely unexpected; hang something in a material typical to the style (i.e., brass), but in a totally modern way. For example, a huddled grouping of these brass lanterns would be stunning in your living room:

http://africandaydreams.weebly.com/uploads/5/3/3/6/5336998/9773676.jpg?645

(p.s., the store that sells them is in... Toronto:
http://www.snobstuff.com/ ).

Good luck, have fun, and repaint!

From the provided photos it appears that the room is generously proportioned to allow for the furniture grouping to float away from the walls with plenty of room for traffic flow. The photos show the previous owners furniture under arrest ( up against the walls) which might emphasize the square footage for selling a home, isn't inviting or conversational.

Try facing the couch as and chairs as they are but moving them in about 3 feet or more from the wall. Place an area rug beneath the furniture and it will allow you to keep the fireplace as a focal point but optimize the space.

I have a bungalow with a similar living room, though yours looks slightly larger. The prior owner had arranged her furniture similar to the picture above - with a large couch shoved against one wall, and chairs shoved against the other so as not to block the doorway into the dining room. When I moved in, I could not find a way to get my largeish couch to work with the space, so I replaced it with four comfy armchairs, arranged in a circle around the fireplace. Yes, they block part of the doorway into the dining room, but not too much - it still flows nicely and is not awkward or difficult to pass through.

It would be nice ppl would say "I can buy all new furniture" or "I have X, Y, and Z". Also, whether or not you want a TV to fit in there. Sort of makes a huge difference. Well, at least they did say they wanted a 3-seater sofa somewhere....

My guess is you want a cozy conversational area in your living room and want to arrange your furniture to support that.
A fireplace is the visual and energetic focal point of a room. Please keep it.
Float your furniture grouping in the center of the room. Rather than having the sofa facing the fireplace and have it's (and your back to the door) you can place it at right angles to the fireplace wall. Place two comfortable armchairs opposite the sofa. This arrangement will "frame" the fireplace.
Anchor this grouping with an area rug.
Place a coffee table in the middle of this arrangement, or tuck nesting end tables between the two arm chairs and pull out the under tables when you entertain.
Add floor lamps on either side of the sofa and between the chairs.
Place a table and comfortable reading chair by the window to take advantage of the natural light.
Switch out the mirror for something with more style or sense of whimsy.
And, finally, please repaint both the living room and dining room - the color is so bright it will make it difficult for you to relax and enjoy your new living room.
To learn more about arranging furniture for comfortable conversational grouping check this out:
http://www.lindavarone.com/2011/living-room-and-family-room-furniture-placement-close-the-gap-and-avoid-shouting-distance/
Good Luck!!!

My fiancée showed me this post because your house reminded her so much of one of my recent projects (I'm a contractor). It was a 1 1/2 story in Bloor West Village and the layout was identical to yours. We removed the wall between the living and dining room because it wasn't load-bearing and renovated everything else, including the fireplace. There isn't any furniture in these photos, and I know you said you don't want open concept, but I thought it might be interesting for you to see what we did anyway.http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150336635412597.394433.307256972596&type=1

You've gotta be kidding me with that red. How can anyone mention anything else?

@gretchenE
... it's not honeysuckle? XD

Why would you want to keep "that" fireplace, get a nice cast iron one and a big coffee table and few books wallpaper.

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! Where are my sun glasses? & Why would you want to keep "that" fireplace? Get a nice cast-iron one and a big coffee table, oh and by the way chairs & sofas don't have to be against walls.