Thoughts on awkward living room layout (fireplace, cabinet, stairs, doors)

[houseguest]

Hey folks,
I recently bought a house and I know nothing about interior design. The living room in my house is rather long and awkward because it has a lot of entry points. I was hoping someone could give me some advice on how to set up my living room. Right now I have a couch, coffee table, and two recliners--but any can go and I can get some new furniture.
There likely won't be a TV in this room. The TV is in the family room on the lower level.

The two objects with the -> <- are sliding doors that go to a wrap around porch. That part jutting out is a bay window. On the right is a fireplace and stairs going up and down.

This is the layout of my living room (note: this is all living room, the dining room is on the other side of that 7'10" gap and the entry way is on the other side of the 4'5" gap).



Also, the entry way is on the other side of the 4'5" gap.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Rowen]

That is a difficult room to decorate. If you can afford new furniture (and you don't have to buy it all at once if you can't), I would put a sectional sofa with the shorter end facing the fireplace (flanking that little 3' wall on the side - it would be ok if it overlaps a bit) and place the longer side of the sectional facing the sliding glass doors since the room is long.

In the bay I would set up a reading area with a pretty, comfy chair with a small table and a lamp next to it. Or you could have a window seat built in with storage space underneath.

On the longer 11' wall space at the bottom of your diagram you could put an armoire, bookcases or a sofa table (you don't want it too wide as it will block the traffic flow), or some type of display cabinet where you could put some pretty china, pottery or whatever you collect. I would also use two area rugs (one between the sofa & the fireplace and a longer rug in front of the larger of the sliding glass doors (on the left of your diagram).

Hope that helps a bit!