The furniture in this sizeable living room was arranged in such a way that it made the room cramped and hard to navigate, in addition to the general clutter with we were going through.  The large box in the center of the room was an entertainment center which was destined for the master bedroom, however there was yet another boxed entertainment center in the garage meant to replace the one in the living room.  This first picture is taken from the location of the front door, looking toward the dining room (directly behind the box).  The entertainment center was placed up against the window, and the large wooden cabinet to the right was the computer station.

This picture was taken looking toward the front door (far left) and the beautiful bay window.  The large, overstuffed chair sitting awkwardly in the middle of the room was dad's throne and needed to be kept.  Where to put it?

This picture was taken from the dining room looking out into the living room.

 

 

After

We spent the day moving furniture around and we tried a couple of different arrangements.  Ultimately, we settled on this one.  It cleared a path from the front door into the room, creating a grand entrance.  With the furniture moved out from the middle of the room, the difference in the "size" of the room was unbelievable.  The sofa and the (new) entertainment center swapped sides, opening up the window and putting the sofa up against a supportive wall.  The computer station was shifted to the right a few feet to make room for one of the pieces of furniture which had been sitting where the entertainment center needed to go.  This actually worked out better because now the person sitting in front of the computer was no longer directly in the path to the dining room.

 

In the view below you can see the bay window.  The rolling trunk was previously pushed into that nook and stuff was piled high on top of it.  We cleaned it out and used it as storage for guest blankets and pillows.  Dad's throne was set up in the bay window area with a lamp and ottoman and he was set to watch his favorite shows.  The square end tables (one is hidden from view in the back corner) also doubled as storage with flip-up lids and were used for family memorabilia and photos.  There was so much room from this configuration there was even space for the large doggy bed.

 

From this view you can see how much traveling space was opened up.  There was still a bunch of general clutter to work through, but this arrangement made daily life for this family much easier and much more enjoyable.