My sense is that you might be trying to do too much with what is not a huge space. There's a lot of stuff behind the striped sofa that needs to find a new home, and maybe the sofa itself needs to be replaced by something smaller, say another armchair, that would allow the green couch and chair to have some space. The tv could then resume its position, with the green sofa and a couple of chairs grouped around it, a coffee table in front of them, and the study nook limited to the desk and a chair, with tables removed.

Hi Georgia

You've just got a bit too much furniture and it's mismatched for this room and a lot of things being stored out in the open - the mirror truly isn't your friend it's just doubling your issues because there's nowhere for your eyes to "rest". If you can move all your stuff to a different room for a while and work your layout you might find it a bit easier. Assuming you can't get rid of the mirror or replacing the study nook with a narrower version, I'd look at doing the following (please remember that there's no measurements so it's just an idea) to try to (a) fit it all in and (b) not feel like you're drowning in clutter:

* See if you can get a 10 metre extension cable for the TV so that you're eliminating one problem with furniture having to be placed so you can see the TV. I'd move the TV to the corner between the mirror/fireplace and the TV socket (also think about seeing if you can get a heavy duty turntable (like a lazy susan) for it so that you can swivel it around easily to get the best viewing angle.

* Move your bookcase a little closer to the entrance. Put the sidetable on the side of the bookcase closest to the balcony door.

* Put all the books you don't need/use often on the bottom of the bookcase where it's ok for them to be out of sight. Group the books you can see by colour - so you have a block of red, a block of blue etc. (this can then become a bit like Mondrial picture).

* Centre one of the sofa's (probably the 2 seater) in front of the bookcase and sidetable. With the other sofa freestanding towards the kitchen entrance - it'll reduce the flow from two to one but you might be able to squeeze everything in.

* Put the single armchair in the pointy end of the room cornered between the balcony window and the fireplace. Place your lampstand there (the mirror will help you reflect light into the room.

* I'd get slip covers for all the sofa's and the armchair in the same colour and pattern (personally, I'd go for a neutral canvas or calico - cheap, easy, and washable depending upon the time you get). http://inmyownstyle.com/2011/11/how-i-slipcover-a-chair-or-sofa-ugly-sofa-giveaway.html

* Tie your area together with accent colours (you could take it from your bookcase to give it a modern feel) using cushions etc.

* I'd also paint all the furniture one unifying colour (again, because I love whites and creams I'd go for that). You could mix it up with different finishes (gloss, matt, distressed, solid). Please forgive me, it's how I know I can change the look of a room instantly and cheaply by changing cushions and will work with almost any wall colour - how lazy is that!).

* Minimize the clutter on the dresser/nook with storage boxes or baskets that are all the same colour (you can get them from Target, Big W, Bunnings etc) and put your individual items in those grouped by use/need so if you want to do your make up for instance just grab one single box).

* Use the table the globe of the world is on for a beautiful plant and put the globe in the study nook area.

I hope this helps in some small way - good luck.

Think we had a similar room earlier this year. I suggested closing off the triangle end with a builtin cupboard, I think the guy was going to do it.

Ok, looking, I would have alot of plants in pots in the corner. Beg, borrow from friends who have gardens, whatever. Keep the watering up to them because of the light, shield the sun with a blind when it gets hot. You don't have to get an instant effect, but people are very generous with plants. You can make pot plants look taller by sitting the back ones on something high.

Hi Georgia,

The second arrangement looks better. Hard to see all of the space but have you tried the bookcase on the opposite wall where the tv power point is? Then the lounge could move back to the wall but I'm not sure about wall dimensions.

@chookchook2 what about the fireplace?

Georgi - Thanks for the in-depth advice! I have already planned to arrange the bookcase by colour and organise the dresser (I called it a desk before because that was what it was designed for, but I use it to do my makeup). Remember I've just moved in! As to covering the couches, as I said before my budget is $0, and while I know matching couches would tie the room together more I'm quite fond of the green pattern. I'll definitely try your seating arrangement idea though!

chookchook - Unfortunately the odd corner is too large for a built-in cupboard. And I already have quite a few plants near the TV! I love having plants in the living area

Loui - Well of course it looks better without the furniture shoved around the room willy nilly! I've definitely thought about the arrangement you suggest but then there is the problem of the TV. It's a little hard to relocate without cables going everywhere, and putting it in front of the mirrored wall makes the already busy space even busier. There's also the step in front of the fireplace which can be seen in the drawings I did, and is a total pain.

btw, the gas fireplace is non-functional (at least, I can't figure out how to turn it on!), so hypothetically something could be placed in front of it

Once you settle your stuff in it will and play around with layout things will improve for sure. Just have fun with it and keep your eye out for ideas here.

I was hoping some bright spark would have a perfect out-of-the-box idea for the arrangement of the large furniture but I guess there isn't one! I'll keep all your advice in mind and just work on decluttering, I guess. Thanks!

Lol, I think Target has those.

The instructions are in Chinese though.

I think all the bright sparks have gone to bed Georgia. Can you measure the walls and other obstacles to help others get a better idea of the space?

Maybe angle the two couches, one following along the top left window from beside the fire place and one backing onto the desk area. It would help a lot if you could find a cheap screen to hide the desk. Can you use the medium coffee table for the tv & put the little one next to a lounge?

I think the problem is actually not so much the shape of the room but the fact that at the "pitch of the roof" part you have a large full length window and fireplace. Essentially, because of all this there is no wall to put your back against or place furniture against. My rectangular room has similar issues with a corner window facing the fireplace. We just put the kids toys there on the floor and low kid size stuff like a toy box. You can't put any large pieces there.

So, I say, start by completely ignore the top triangle of the room. Its essentially dead or unusable space, but will add to the feelings of space and light in the room. Arrange your large furniture pieces in the bottom square portion, around a large square rug perhaps that would define the space. It might feel better that way. Then arrange your other bits around that. I think if you try to work the square it will be way easier to organise the room. Emphasising a square layout will feel more comfortable. Plants in that light bright corner was a good suggestion, they soften the angles. Hope that helps!

ps: you could also consider reducing the seating if its too tight. So see if you can use an armchair or one of the sofas elsewhere. Use the green setting only maybe? I'm assuming the study nook is built in and can't be moved out? That would make the room work better.

I think the large sofa should be back against the wall and the arm chair down the pointy end, with the coffee table in the middle. In a small living room you need to walk 'through' the furniture as there is not really space for separate walkways. I guess this just means you will need to relocate the bookcase to another room or to storage.

So, what did you end up doing?