What if you flipped the coffee table so it's parallel to the couch, and put the chairs on the other side of the table? It's hard to tell from the photos if that would put the chairs too close to the doorway on the side though.

That wasn't very clear. I meant to say "doorway on that side", not that the chairs would be in front of the doorway on the side. I think the chairs would look best opposite the couch, as long as they don't block the doorway behind them.

This IS tricky. I have the same issue dealing with fireplace and in my case the wall of windows leading to the balcony. We've placed our sofa in front of the fireplace and it only works because it's a modern Louis style sofa and is higher in the center and works better with the proportion of our fireplace. Your sofa is too low so it wouldn't work scale wise. We did that primarily so we could watch tv in the room and keep our existing sideboard on the one free long wall. Looks like you don't have a tv in this room? I think what will work better is to keep the sofa in it's existing location and reorient the coffee table to it and maybe place a chair / ottoman instead of the two accent chairs (unfortunately) on an angle kinda where the console table is. Maybe that needs to switch to a taller piece. We did an eames lounge/ ottoman which solved this problem and then used another smaller accent chair (like you have one pictured) to balance the room.

Beautiful room! I can see why you love it and also why it frustrates you. I would try moving the two chairs to where the couch currently is and placing the couch across from them, facing the windows. Or the reverse, depending on how that impacts the flow through the room.

I think you have too many pieces of furniture. Try removing all the small pieces -- the little side tables, the small chair(s), the commode next to the fireplace. Turn the rug so it is parallel to the couch. Put one armchair caddy-corner by the fireplace. See where the other chair will fit (if it will fit). Maybe making an L shape with the couch so that the chair faces the fireplace? Maybe in the opposite corner from the first chair?

Once that all works you can add back in the small tables and other stuff where it is needed, but I'd try to have a little less to avoid a cluttered look. There is so much going on in that space! Also, possibly a larger, square coffee table would work better with the proportions of the room.

Yes, I was going to make the same recommendation. Rotate the coffee table and chairs so everything's parallel to the couch, and then the fireplace won't be blocked. If you're worried about walking in through the glass doors and seeing the backs of chairs, I don't think you need to be. They're low enough not to be a deal-breaker.

Love that little side chair, by the way.

Can the 2 chairs go under the window or in the corners and the couch come out and face the windows? What does the entrance to the room look like?

P.S.
This would free up some visual space to admire the fireplace, radiator, and windows.

Another vote for placing the chairs facing the sofa, with the coffee table in the middle!

Rotate the rug, coffee table, and petrie chairs so it all faces the couch, giving you furniture flanking the fireplace. Then move that little chair from the corner to be sort of off-center across from the fireplace, rounding out your seating area. (it is small enough and pretty enough that it should be a nice object to sit right in front of what I assume is a wide doorway.) Don't put a table next to the petries, so you can preserve flow to the next room. Consider turning the little side table currently next to the fireplace so that it is in the corner where the small chair is now, but flush with that entry to the next room.

Voila?

What about eliminating a couple more pieces of furniture? Taking out the small chair and table in the corner and move one of the new chairs into the corner where the smaller sofa was with a small side table, and relocate other into the corner between the pocket doors/french doors? Its hard to tell without dimensions though.

Also moving the coffee table parallel to the sofa could be a good idea. And a more formal/lighter colored rug would compliment the fireplace.

I would say to flip the sofa to the opposite side so that it is parallel to and looking out the windows, turn the coffee table and rug to be parallel in front of the sofa, and then place the two chairs in front of the windows. Otherwise, flip the chairs around one in front of each doorway facing inward towards the fireplace and the sofa to create a more intimate conversational space and move the coffee table out and replace with something smaller or a small side table at the corner between the two chairs.

I agree with others. Your best layout will be to move the couch to face the sofa (which has its back against the window). Then you can enjoy the fireplace, admire a freed up wall space and create a sense of wallspace between the chairs and the adjoining room.

I agree with the previous posters. Place the chairs across from the couch, reorient the coffee table and rug so they're going "the long way" in front of the fireplace. I would also take some furniture out of the room. Maybe take everything out except the couch, chairs and coffee table, then add one piece at a time back into the room to see the effect. I love the room, but I think it needs a bit more breathing space.

I would remove the fireplace, since it is faux, and place it somewhere else.

I think I agree with Alahoop, and I'm eager to see what suggestions you get, because my living room is similarly lovely and challenging, complete with two large doorways in the same places as yours, a big radiator in front of a large bay window in the same spot as yours, and a bump out where a fireplace used to be, also in the same place as yours. Oh, but ours also has a TV and a baby grand piano, although I think our room is just slightly larger than yours.

We currently have an oversized sofa (too big for the room, I think) in front of the windows, like yours, but with a long rectangular coffee table parallel to the couch, a slim chaise to the right of it (on the wall where your french doors are), the piano in the corner where your camelback used to sit, and the TV in the corner of the room which is not shown in any of your photos. It's a bit tight, but it works ok. I'm currently considering alternatives, one of which would involve putting the sofa with its back to your french door area, partially blocking that doorway, maybe shifting the visually less obtrusive chaise to the wall beneath the windows. Don't know if something like that might help you, as well.

1) Get rid of the shutters. They look out of place with the other architectural elements and furniture in the room. Are they period to the house or added later? They don't make a lot of sense to me.
2) If you don't use that large radiator, have it removed. I did this in a bedroom and it completely changed the flow of the room. Of course, if you need it for heat, disregard. If you choose to keep it, you could get a nice radiator cover that could serve as a small sideboard/table for accessories.
3) I second the suggestion to de-clutter by removing the small pieces of furniture. Take all the small pieces out, THEN play around with the chairs and sofa. You might decide you don't need so much furniture when the layout is more functional.
4) If you remove the shutters, I would replace them with long curtains. Mount them near the ceiling to draw the eye up and lend a touch of elegance to the room. I live in a house of similar age and design and I used inexpensive Ikea panels to achieve a nice, expensive look.
5) I also think you should consider placing the couch with the back to the pocket doors. Place the coffee table in front of it, in line with the fireplace. Then place the chairs opposite the couch, in front of the windows. Either place them facing the couch straight on, or angle them toward each other. I would choose one suitable side table to put between the chairs. The lamp could then go in a corner on either side.

It appears this room was originally designed for multiple small seating arrangements. Going with that premise you should try and create small arrangements that people can easily mover around.... like your favorite hotel lobby. To do this you may need to
1. remove the couch from in front of the window
2. Remove the coffee table from the room (it's too low and large for the room)
2. place the Petrie arm chairs where the couch is now with a round table in between them
3. Try fitting the couch (maybe the old camelback), maybe at an angle, to the rear wall left of the entry.
4. Try an nice round foyer table in front of the fireplace
You have very nice pieces of furniture, unfortunately they are just too large for them to share this room.

I would place the sofa facing the fireplace and the two chairs opposite each other on left and right sides. To make the back of the sofa less awkward. It would be a "radial" placement. Where the focus is the fireplace. I would use a tall and narrow sofa table behind the sofa and place two identical table lamps flanking it to give a foyer feeling when walking in the room. That way you don't feel like you're walking into a couch.

Also, chairs facing sofa is a good idea. Is there a reason you didn't do that one?

I'm with @liz30. I think you have too many chairs and side tables in the room. Eliminate the small chairs and put the big chairs into those two corners (the one where the sofa used to be and the one that can't be seen in any pictures). Put the small chairs in other rooms, you can always bring them back into the living room if you have a party and need more seating.

First of all, great space! I can see the challenges, too, though.

A few non-spacing suggestions that will help your spacing:

- Remove those shutters. They are fighting the lovely light that you get that makes the room feel bigger. Store them if you need to keep them, but replace them with two full panels of curtain gathered in the two corners of that end of the room. It will soften the corners of all the repeated rectangles in the room, too. If you still need privacy, add some sheers.

- Get a radiator cover. A nice metal vintage one can be retro-fitted easily or you can get one made to your custom measurements for not a lot of beans. Paint it the color of your walls. The whole thing will disappear nicely.

-Get a bigger rug. I love yours, but it is not the right size for the room. This keeps you crowding all of the furniture to fit the rug size, instead of the room size. The new rug should extend well beyond both ends of the new seating arrangement I've listed below.

- Get a chandelier. Something sleek and glassy for a little sparkle, but not too big. Center it in the room.

Re-spacing the furniture:

-The camel back sofa doesn't fit and won't play well with the other modern furniture no matter how hard you try to make it. I would relocate this to another room. I would also relocate the cabriole-legged table and the round side chair.

- Move the modern sofa to the far side of the room and have it face the windows (back to the dining room). Center it in the room using the dining room door as a guide. The front edge of the sofa should not extend further into the room than the outside edge of the fireplace.

- Rotate the coffee table 90 degrees.

- Place the two modern chairs evenly in front of the windows. The front edge of the chairs should not extend further into the room than the outside edge of the fireplace. In addition, try to leave 2-3 feet of space between the back of the chairs and the window wall. Put the low table currently at one end of the modern sofa between the two chairs.

-Place the base of the arch lamp firmly in the corner of the room where the window wall meets the fireplace wall. This light won't work as a chandelier in your space, it's just too small in lighting focus, but you can embrace it's beauty as an accent lamp over the chairs.

-Add a console table behind the sofa in it's new place. I would choose something light, with a glass top and shelves. Use this to display flowers and pictures, stack books, etc.

- Add more art, higher on the walls. You have lots of room to show off things you love! Pull from your photo albums and bring home more pretty mementos!

By editing your furniture and giving it all some breathing room, your whole room will feel larger and more balanced. Hope this helps! Best of luck to you!

My first thought was to try what CAROLINAZHANGDESIGN suggested:

Sofa facing the fireplace
Coffee table between sofa and fireplace
Chairs on either side of the coffee table

That way the fireplace would be the focal point. It might be nice to have a narrow sofa table behind the sofa too. I'm not sure if this would all fit in the room and still leave space to walk around, but it's a possibility!

I've dealt with weird layouts before and discovered a few tricks, in addition to those already posted:

1) whether or not you flip the couch to face the window, definitely move it away from the wall- part of the odd look is that you have practically everything backed up against the little wall space that exists in the room. After you move the couch from the window, you could even place a sofa table behind it without the room feeling overly cluttered.

2) Do have the chairs, coffee table, etc. parallel with the couch so that there is a shared "focus" or gathering space. Right now the focus seems to be around the doors of the room, and there is a sense that all of the room's energy is flowing out.

3) This is the most interesting discovery, in my opinion: once you've grouped the sofa/chairs/table and moved the grouping away from the walls, try rotating the grouping

in continuation of #3: ... rotate the grouping to be diagonal or at a slight angle in the room, rather than parallel with the walls (not sure if this part of my comment made it into my previous one).

I third outting the sofa facing the fireplace. I know it might not feel very welcoming when you are in the foyer, but I think it will make the room cozier. I had a similar situation with the back of a sofa facing my entrance, but it just made people want to wander in further and take a seat!

CATHRYN@CARO INTERIORS knows what she's talking about!

loveseat facing the sofa with a sofa table or drop leaf table behind it. There's no rule that says you have to have a direct path to the fireplace from that doorway. chairs and small side tables and lamps to each side of the fireplace. move that awesome big lamp to the opposite corner so it hangs over the sofa without seeing the "arm" of it.

Oh, and angle the chairs so everything isn't squared up.

I just noticed the GORGEOUS molding detail! Paint that puppy to highlight it. I would kill for those kinds of architectural elements :(

I agree with the very first suggestion (from Alahoop) which other commenters also like. Once you've realigned the central seating area, take a look at the room as a whole & see how it works. What furniture & accessories can be moved to better fit with the reoriented arrangement, & what might need to go (possibly to other rooms)?
I would also agree with removing the shutters on the windows behind the couch & putting drapes in instead, and with some simple rectangular radiator covers (because radiators, as they are, are so visually busy).
Also, do you have room for your old camelback sofa in a bedroom (or other room) & would it work there?

Yes, those Victorian double parlors are very challenging! I don't think the front parlor was really meant for comfortable seating when it was built, the way we use our rooms today.

I don't have any useful advice about how to arrange your living room, but I did want to say I looked at your house tour and your place is gorgeous! I love your way with colors.

Also, the Victorian/ Queen Ann/ Cherry Wood table is an awkward height and style compared to your other pieces. I would consider re-homing it in another room. If you decide to do both chairs next to each other facing the sofa, use that little square table (I see in the photo to the right of the sofa) as a cocktail table in-between them. That is key to make the seating inviting. I would love to just map this floor plan out :P LOL

I signed up to post a comment because this looks just like our living room - minus the architectural details. We even have the Petrie sofa and chair!

We had to work around a similarly placed fireplace, doorways, and windows. We have old casement windows that swing out, requiring you to swing the screens into the house to open the exterior windows, so nothing could go in front of the windows (similar to your shutters). On the opposite wall from the windows are French doors leading to a sunroom. Opposite the fireplace is a large opening into the dining room.... so very similar!

I would echo the comments to face the chairs towards the sofa with the coffee table and rug rotated 90degrees. Whether you keep the sofa in its current location or flop it with the chairs will depend on the flow through the room. Judging by the space you have on either side of your sofa, I'd say you are dealing with a similar space as us. We have our sofa on the side of the French doors, with a long coffee table in front of it, and the one Petrie chair and a second arm chair facing the sofa. I was concerned about space to walk through the room because it originally looked tight for walking, but now I love it. I usually do not like the looks of the backs of sofas in situations like this, but the Petrie sofa is low profile enough to not cause a problem.

Those damn Victorians didn't know where to locate doors. ;) We have the same problem in our place. This is what we did:

1. Remove the shutters
2. Move the couch to opposite the fireplace. Is the room deep enough that you can float the couch in from of the glass doors? If so, leave the doors open all the time - no one uses these spaces as parlors anymore.
3. Create a seating area with your new chairs under the window.

You have an outstanding opportunity to create a show-stopper of a room. As is the case with most comments though, I feel there are too many pieces in the space. If you're going for a true Parlor (bravo on no TV), then I would suggest the following:

1) Empty the room
2) Move the Couch under the shutters to the opposite side, facing the shutters. Place each of those cute new chairs on either side of the radiator, each at a slight angle inward
3) Use the round coffee table you currently have in front of the OLD COUCH to serve as an occasional table directly in front of the radiator, between the two chairs.

I would try to find other places for the regular sized chairs throughout the rest of your home, so they're not in the way, but you can still move them into the Parlor to accommodate guests for soirees. All of the other furniture could be relocated permanently out of that beautiful space. The only real question is, if you're standing in the doorway looking at the fireplace, what's in the corner to your immediate left? If it's large enough nook, you could place a table and one or two chairs there too. As long as you can get from that door way to the other without having to squeeze around the right arm of the couch, you'll be fine.

Ok...not reading through everything, but in just eyeballing it. You have FAR too many thing in this room. I would take out everything...and I mean everything from this room and move pieces back in with a conscious thought. Put the Couch in another room...doesn't belong here. The first two I would consider moving back in are the two deep chairs. Yes, they work, but they are your foundation pieces. Not the couch. It is far too big for this room. Face them at a slight angle toward the fireplace, with a rug, and a small table between. To the left of the fireplace as you face it, one smaller chair, with one smaller table. In the corners under each window by the rad, matching chairs again, no tables. This gives you a room to move around and socialize in, to sit comfortably in, and to move the furniture in and around in to for other conversation groups as needed with groups of people. However, for moving through the room and living in it, it keeps it feeling light and somewhat weightless. The two chairs you have from C&B are substantial enough to weigh the room down and give it a cozy feeling if you situate them close enough to the fireplace and with a central table. You want it to feel like you are inviting two people in to sit and have a cup of tea...not wait for the doctor.

@CAROLINAZHANGDESIGN I didn't even notice the trim until you pointed it out.

Double on painting it a different color. I have similar trim in my dining room with original wood finishes and its such an amazing feature in the room.

I would try placing couches across from each other on either side of fireplace. Place a seating area where the one couch is in the corner now and put another seating area behind the couch facing the windows with just a plain small chair and a couple of the tables.

I would put the chairs by the window where the sofa is now, and put the sofa facing the fire place so there will be a little hall way behind it (where the opening is) you could place a narrow table behind the sofa if you dont like the look of it when coming from the other room. In that way you get more focus on the fireplace and there is still very open to come and get to the sofa/chairs. When that is done you can start thinking of other smaller things to change. I think this would help alot!

You were happy with that arrangement for years?? That wouldn't have worked for me at all. It looks like nothing was moved since the movers put it there.
You have too much furniture in this room. Get rid of one of the sofas or both of the chairs. Place chairs and sofa (or sofa and sofa) across from each other and perpendicular to the fireplace. Trust me, everything will fall into place at this point. Your architectural details should be lovely little discoveries. They shouldn't take priority over making the space Functional and comfortable.

this is a BEAUTIFUL SPACE and I think you should keep the furniture in there at minimum in order to show off the room. I think there are too many items in there. I would move the two armchairs to one under each window and get rid of some of the small tables .. you just need one of the circular ones between the chairs. I think the longer chair should then be placed directly across from the two arm chairs ... leaving the fireplace free.

Another vote for paring down the amount of small furniture in the room and rotating the coffee table/chairs.

KittyAtlanta--hah!

I like the sofa out from the window a little bit, like it looks in that last picture. Then the club chairs across from the sofa, not blocking the fireplace. There's no reason to preserve a football field of space between your sofa and your chairs - it's a small room, so it should be an intimate conversation area. Make the rest of the room around the conversation area work - i.e., make the walkway be around the seating area, not right through the middle of it.

You've got lots of good advice about how to re-arrange the furniture, so I won't repeat that, but I think even then, your room might appear awkward.

The fault lies with your choice of furniture -- the Petrie armchairs, in addition to the Petrie sofa, may be too much for this space. Those chairs are inspired by pieces that were meant to float in large range houses, and are out of place in your lovely space. You need to keep your eye out for more appropriately scaled pieces -- think antique French bergère chairs, with down cushions, or modern-day equivalents. Shapely, petite, but very comfortable. They are out there; many more modern French pieces have similar proportions.

range house = ranch house

too much stuff for that room IMO.

How about the sofa facing the fireplace and move the chairs off to each side of the couch at an angle.

Definitely chairs facing the sofa, with the coffee table parallel to them. Possibly the little chair in the corner to the left of the dining room, forming a tiny reading nook, if there's room.

Also, have you considered getting some kind of ottoman or two ottomans to face the fireplace? That would give you more seating, without creating a visual block as you enter the room. Or possibly replace the coffee table with an ottoman or two.

I usually don't weigh in on these types of space planning questions, but honestly, this one seems kind of easy, and it's such a beautiful room that it's worth getting it right! I agree with everyone who says leave the sofa where it is and put the two new chairs across from it. Then look at what room is left and add smaller chairs/tables if/where there's room, but there might not be space for anything else without it feeling crowded or cluttered.
One suggestion that I don't think anyone has made is to replace the rectangular coffee table with a round one. And kind of angle the chairs around it instead of lining them up exactly facing the sofa. That way you'll avoid having the sofa, table, and chairs make three long parallel rows.
And I also think that a bigger rug -- big enough to be under the chairs, table, and edge of the sofa, would also unify the seating area you've created.

I would put the back of the sofa to the fireplace, but kind of more to the side, away from the windows, and put the chairs where the sofa is now, but angled around. I feel like the sofa where it is now blocks you from the windows and makes the whole room feel choked. And move out those random chairs and tables; then maybe see how many you really need. If you need extra seating from time to time keep them elsewhere and bring them in when you need them. I agree with everyone who said you have too much stuff in the room. Good luck with it; it's a beautiful room, but probably not designed for the large furniture people have these days.

Ok, there are tons of comments and I haven't read them so probably I am repeating what others have said. Beautiful room! You have great things to work with, but there is too much stuff.

I would put the 2 chairs under the 2 windows with one table in between. Put the sofa (the one currently under the windows) facing the chairs. The coffee table should be perpendicular to the fireplace, and more or less centered on the fireplace. Rug under all.

The settee in the corner with the round table -- remove it. The small chair with the wooden frame, along with a table and a lamp, can go in that spot. Get rid of all the other side tables, I am counting 6 in these pictures, and I think 2 would suffice, maybe 3 if you must. And consider painting the 2 selected tables the same color (maybe the deeper blue like the throw pillow on the settee) to unify the room and bring a little color interest in.

How about putting the two chairs on opposite sides of the hearth and then the sofa facing them? You can put the chair and little table against the windows where the couch is now. ..

Wow, you've received a ton of advice, so you probably don't need more, haha, but here goes...it's very acceptable and okay to put a piece of furniture in front of a doorway if that's what has to be done, I've seen it in a million places designed by professionals. If I were you, I would keep your couch where it is, just move it forward a little more, then put your two chairs parallel to it, so that the chairs and couch are perpendicular to the fireplace but face each other, make sense? In other words, when you enter the room from one entrance you will see the back of the two chairs - but that's okay. Also, put the small round table you have, between those two chairs. and keep the coffee table between the couch and the chairs, also perpendicular to the fireplace. Hmm, that's what I'd do anyway, but maybe you won't like it, play around with the furnitre. I think you can make it work.

Flip the dining room and living room. I am only making this suggestion as I just did it this past weekend in my house after dealing with the same dilema as yours for years. I can't believe I waited so long to do it. It looks amazing.

As with your living room, I didn't have a solid wall that I could put furniture against, but the dining room had all this great wall space and did not have the traffic flow that my living room did. So I went for it - I figured it's only moving furniture after all, it could all be moved back if I didn't like it. Again - the feel of the layout is so much better. It really fits the way my family uses the house (two kids and a husband).

I believe that I saw a previous post of yours where you are contemplating opening up the kitchen to the dining room. We did the same thing in our house and we are so glad that we did it. With the new furniture arrangment, the kitchen no longer overlooks the dining space, while I watch my kids from a distance, but rather it overlooks the family "hanging out" space.

So give it a try - you might be surprised!

FYI - my kitchen is in the small cool kitchen contest right now. Title "Renee's family kitchen." The photos do not show the new furniture rearrangement that I did this past weekend, but it may give you a sense of our layout and how it has worked for us.

I would start by stop thinking you need to have your furniture against a wall. Float most of it in the center of the room.

Looks almost exactly like the dimensions and window/door placement of our living room. Our solution is pretty much what Eliz described above - chairs angled opposite couch, rug the other way. Also the couch pulled out a bit further. A round coffee table will make the flow easier.

I would start by taking every piece of furniture out of the room. Even if you love where it is at take it all out. Then go piece by piece. Less is more in this room.

First off, I have to tell you that I still have your house bookmarked as one of my absolute favorite AT tours. Your home is GORGEOUS, your antique pieces are amazing, the architectural details are stunning, and it's clear that you've put a lot of love and thought into decorating it.

You have gotten so much helpful bits of advice here...gotta love the AT community! I'm not sure if I will really add to it, but here are my thoughts...

Our house has a very similar layout. The parlor (aka your living room) is to the left, followed by living room and then the kitchen in the back. We use that room (your living room) as a parlor/dining room because the layout isn't conducive to a living room: the wall facing street has big windows and a huge radiator, the next wall has a faux fireplace, and the other two walls are open to other rooms=nowhere to put a sofa or a tv (we refuse to mount a tv over the fireplace).

Our neighbor has an identical row house and she has it set up as you have, but we felt that the first room should really be used as a parlor/dining room. When people walk in we wanted our "wow" pieces to be the first thing you saw, versus a living room with a tv. We have a dining table in the center of the room parallel to the fireplace (so you can still see it), a hutch to the right of the fireplace, an antique bench on the left of the fireplace, an antique chair in the corner to the left of the huge radiator, and a victrola in the opposite corner. I understand why you chose the other room as your dining room since it's next to the kitchen, but would you consider flipping the two rooms?

If you really don't want to do that, the first thing is that you have too many pieces in there right now, so I would start by taking them all out so you can see the room.
I actually loved your antique sofa in that nook, now it looks too cluttered. Do you still have the two bergere chairs on the opposite wall? I would try putting two chairs where the sofa currently is (would they fit on either side of radiator?), and then put the petrie sofa across from them. I love the idea of pairing the bergeres with the sofa versus the two petries, but either could work, depending on the size. I also like the idea of a round coffee table in between for easier flow. I have to say that I don't think you should put sofa in front of fireplace, you don't want to block it.

Whatever you do please update the post and let us know how it turned out! :)

Don't be afraid to pull the furniture away from the walls. And maybe try not to block the fireplace, it makes the room look crammed. How about putting the couch to the right of the fireplace but not against the wall, and the chairs straight across. You can angle the chairs to create traffic between them. ... Or how about putting the couch facing the fireplace with one chair at each end of the couch. You can crate a soft arched shape or sharper angles so that guests can face each other. It should be far enough from the doorway if you split up the chairs. Either way make good use of the fireplace. It helps to center your arrangement. Good Luck!

I have the same 2 petrie chairs "floating" across from the sofa in my living room and it looks great

Have you tried "angling" the furniture instead of always parallel to a wall?

Angle the sofa from just the window side of the fireplace toward the doors and into the corner. Use tables behind the sofa.
Then place other chairs parrallel to the new angle or curve them.

Some of this really depends on how you are using the room. Is it a seating area? and place where you entertain company? Do you use it to read and relax. I didn't see a TV. So how *you* use it most of the time is what should most affect the arrangement.

Oh and I'd be tempted to make a "seating" area and a "table" area.

Catrin (author) here.
Now, THIS is what I love about the AT community!
You guys are so terrific. All the comments are thoughtful and constructive and snark-free! And I followed the majority opinion and moved the chairs in front of the window, with the couch across from it.
Moved several pieces of furniture out of the room, including my coveted French antique bergeres (this was HARD for me...to remove very valuable gorgeous antiques seemed insane...but I found a new home for the antiques and think they look good there, so i am less traumatized)
Should I post a photo and see what you think?

It's so funny how I find it much easier to advise other people on their spaces yet with my own space I get stuck! I think it is my desire to keep all these pieces in the room because i am attached to them and love them! then i get so cluttered.

ANyway, love you all for your wise and helpful and inspired comments. THis is what AT is all about.

Photos, please!

Yep, post photos please!

Face the chairs towards the couch with a coffee table in the middle. Then buy a pink fainting couch and put it in front of the hearth. http://blogmedia.designpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/mm5.jpg

YAY! Cant wait to see photos! :)

I agree with the prevailing opinion that you went with (though I suppose you should try swapping the couch and chairs to see if you prefer it the other way around just in case), but was there any reason you didn't just move the petrie couch to where the camelback was and the chairs to where the petrie couch is/was?