Hey Gioenne ... I bought home a black leather dining chair tonight and took it to the house Looks good . because the dining table is built in it has quite a big block holding it up in the middle and the chairs don't go all the way in unless I get baby chairs so I will have to deal with them standing out a bit from the table :( thanks for your support !! Desi

Two years later... We ended up purchasing a 3-seater for wall opposite fireplace, a 2-seater for under the highlight window (leaves a comfortable space to enter the room) and an armchair placed diagonally opposite the couches. I've fooled the advice to pull the furniture in off the walls a little. We have just updated the fireplace with the (professional) installation of an insert wood heater and (DIY) replacement of hearth and tiles/timber mantel to conceal the brick while meeting the safety specifications of the heater (required a much wider/deeper hearth than the existing brick one so we removed and replaced with a slab of honed granite, and the minimum height for breastplate/mantel shelf posed a few design limitations). TV mounted above fireplace to allow for better furniture placement. Not quite the picture I had settled on 2 years ago, but works with the style of updates we have made elsewhere. Thank you for all the advice. before: After:

Thank you for your comments, would you do anything to the plain white wall if i were to leave the stripes on the family room end - or any ideas on how to incorporate it (there is a doorway through to a play room/office).

Thanks Legendaryflame. I love to encourage people to keep great furniture and tend to surprise them with what they perceive as a totally new piece of furniture when it has simply been given TLC and a new make-over.