I love open plan living, and it definitely is the way most families want to live at the moment. If you're not sure about totally open plan living then there are ways that you can zone the space to create more separate areas eg open shelving used as a room divider, sliding / concertina doors which slide in to the wall or fold flat against the walls. If budget is no object then you can get glass panels which are clear and change to opaque at the flick of a switch (they are very expensive though!). If budget is tighter then use wall coverings (paint, wallpaper etc) and different flooring options to delineate the individual spaces. Have a look at an open plan kitchen I did a couple of years ago for some ideas: - there are lots of before and after pictures in this folder. To be fair, it wasn't the family's main living room but you get the general idea. For other ideas, I did a quick search on Houzz and came up with lots of examples: http://www.houzz.co.uk/open-plan-kitchen-living/ls=5

My lounge has the same overall look with similar colours to the rest of the house. Different accents are more prominent in different rooms. The same grey is used on the walls in the whole house except the kitchen and kids bedrooms. This was more because of practicality as we renovated the whole house and needed to paint the entire thing at the same time!

The TV needs to find another place in the room. Without seeing the whole room it's hard to say where. But it shouldn't be hiding what looks to be a lovely fireplace. we had a similar issue in our period flat - I hated walking in and seeing THE TV. We solved it by changing its position (so that it's offset from centre) and wall mounting it, hiding all the cables. The TV stand here is just wrong and out of keeping IMHO.

And another person agreeing...DO keep the fireplace. People in the future will be grateful. It's the natural focal point, and the tiling looks original. What a gift! I love your ideas about dark colours, and the teal sofa suggestion is genius - teal references and tones with green but also subdues the effect. Two sofas is a great idea; its an elegant and efficient way to seat 4 and no-one ever wants to sit in the middle of a larger one - it makes conversation impossible. One tip is to place them NOT right against a wall if possible. Pull them into the room even if only a little way, making sure you have enough circulation space between them and a coffee table Paradoxically, space behind a sofa implies a larger room. Alternatively, and I know this works, you don't have to have a coffee table between them, but can use side tables. I also agree that a TV above a fireplace is a very bad idea. It looks unsophisticated, it's harder to change when you want a new, or no, TV, and the angle of viewing is all wrong. A big black screen is not what should dominate your sitting room - which is going to be great. How exciting to be planning your first home.