I can only comment about the cowhide rug idea as that's my area of expertise. Cowhide are still going very strong as a design trend, they haven't been overdone in my opinion. Also cowhide rugs break all the normal rules of standard rugs because they are an organic shape. So they visually take up more room than they physically occupy. So you don't need a cowhide rug to be as large as a wool rug. They also look better on a 45 degree angle to furniture and it is OK for one or several legs to go underneath furniture as this can anchor a group of furniture. For how to clean a cowhide rug there is some great info on my website plus a video that is really interesting.

Lower right. You don't neccessarily have to have all 4 feet of sofa on the rug, but you should have at least the front 2. You'tt probably want a more durable, washable rug because of it's location at the door. Best length would have to be judged based on door location and some sensible distance from TV -your 10 - 20 cm? Out of curiousity, what is the white box in the upper right of the room? Is it movable? If it is, it looks like your sofa could go on that wall, and a light chair (or 2) where sofa currently is. Then the area rug would be centred on the sofa, the chair legs might not be on it, and rug would be away from the patio door. Is that any better?

This is great thankyou. The kitchen is on other side of low wall. We have vertical blinds on windows and will be leaving them for now. The low wall is quite short so am finding difficult to find a sectional that is short enough on that side but long enough against back wall. So you think it would look ok if i pulled the sectional out from wall a bit as in pic 2?

Hi Kathryn, making an assumption here but if your wish is to make the room more cohesive, I’d try to pare it back. One way to begin is to, temporarily, remove everything except the essentials - cushions, art, knick knacks, books, small tables etc. Then list what large items you feel don’t ‘fit’ the feel you’re after. The following is a for instance example only: your lounge set and the red armchair are lovely and suit the house. The office chair is a great colour match and mixing modern and traditional can be great, but it takes up a lot of room making the room look a bit cramped. So, do you remove one of the chairs? Or find a smaller desk? Or could one of the other furniture pieces go? Or could the placement of the items be altered for better flow? Only you know what is essential, what feels good to you, what other spaces you have et al. Once you’ve got a plan, which will include where to place the television 😉, bring back the items you love and feel suit your style, group them to enhance the look you want to achieve (Houzz is full of ideas about displaying your treasures effectively), add some pretty time period lighting and you’re good to go. Long term, you might consider getting a framed wicker cover or similar to hide the modern day tech near your front door, if it bothers you. One last thing re the gas fire heater, and I’d at least think about it just on an economic and environmental basis, check out stones as an alternative to the wood fire replicants.