A blank slate living room - help! :)

I have an empty living room and am hoping to get some opinions on the best way to go about getting and picking out furniture. There's nothing in there at the moment. The living room measures 12 ft by 14 ft, has wood floors, high ceilings, and tall arch-topped windows. I've included a diagram of the layout and pictures of the apartment. I'm not planning on staying here for more than a few years, but would be bringing my furniture with me whenever I do move so I would prefer something that is a bit versatile.

As far as style I like the look of a tufted couch, similar to the H&M "Tavern" #5592, but I'm open to all suggestions. I also liked the H&M Chancellor #1744, and was curious about the new line mentioned in the "tip of the day" forum by McKinley (3274 chesterfield and 3934 Leather Sofa with Tufted Back).

For material I prefer a brown color in leather, but again, am open to suggestions. I've already requested samples of leathers for H&M couches in the following:

1. Aspen Tobacco
2. Buckingham Walnut Burnished
3. Document Chino
4. Document Harness
5. Document Tobacco
6. Hand Antiqued Saddle
7. Luggage Russett
8. Rio Whiskey
9. Sedona Tobacco
10. Stampede Harness
11. Weston Tobacco
12. Weston Sunrise Burnished

I'm not in any kind of a rush, I was thinking to buy a couch, and then a different style loveseat or recliner or both, but wasn't quite sure how to throw it all together or where to place things. I do plan on getting a TV in there, but it doesn't need to be the focal point of the room as I don't actually watch much TV.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, but was hoping to get any advice/suggestions from all of you. Thanks in advance!

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This room is actually pretty easy. First, have the whole open area, including the kitchen and dining area, painted a light warm neutral in eggshell finish. Paint the trim to match in semi-gloss-- don't pick it out in white because it has no architectural value. Then get a 7' long sofa. Add two matching club chairs on either side of the sofa. If you have a bigger budget, the club chairs could be swivels so they can face the television. Or if you want to save money, get two large rattan chairs, like the Pottery Barn Malabar, which can be easily moved. Put a coffee table in front of the sofa, and end tables on either side of the sofa. Don't get end tables that match the coffee table, it's boring and generic, like a bureaucratic waiting room. Then put two small storage ottomans between the coffee table and the television cabinet. The ottomans can be used with the club chairs if the coffee table is not too big. This gives you seating for six, which matches the number of places in your dining room set. Get a big rug, possibly seagrass for the texture, to put under the whole arrangement. Make sure the television cabinet spans the whole wall, with lots of storage for CDs and movies. Get wooden venetian blinds or matchstick blinds for the windows. Don't waste money on expensive window treatments if you aren't going to live in the place for very long.

Try to mix up the textures and shapes in the living room so it doesn't look like a generic furniture showroom. For example, if the sofa is leather, the coffee table can have a rough stone top with metal legs. The coffee table should have storage for magazines and remotes, or you can put an interesting wooden box on top. The end tables can be round, to contrast with the rectangular sofa and coffee table. They can be covered with a textured cloth, such as a quilt or heavy linen. This gives you hidden storage and softens the sound in the room. If the ottomans are leather, they don't have to match the sofa.

That dining area is a dead zone. Put up tall shallow bookshelves against the back wall, and fill it with plates, wine bottles, books, and what have you. More storage. Put a big rug underneath the table, but make sure it is flat and easy to clean. Put a tablecloth on the dining table so it looks less generic, and a big bowl or low vase of flowers in the middle. And fix the chandelier, or get a new one. The bottom of the fixture should be about 30 inches above the tabletop.

Make sure all the colors go together. If you want versatility, go with neutrals. Amber, rust, golden beige, tan, brown, plus small amounts of black and cream will work. They blend well with the tones of stone, seagrass, and wood. Add pillows, lamps, books, pictures, throws, and plants for color accents, and you are done.

I would do a single sofa, and then two swivel lounge chairs, one being near the far corner wall opposite the sofa, and another between the dining area and coffee table. I think a loveseat would be too much and present a barrier block. Chancellor sofa is probably too large for the room....Tavern would be better!

Thanks so much for the detailed responses! You guys are very helpful, and clearly professionals at this :)

After browsing the forum a bit more I saw that you prefer unprotected leathers. Of the leathers I chose and like that are unprotected I have: stampede harness, rio whiskey, and Weston sunrise burnished. Any opinions about those choices? Any other options I missed that I should go back and look at? If I go with a tavern couch, do certain leather types go better with tufted couches vs non-tufted ones? Thanks again for all your help.

Stampede Harness is a very gnarly 'Western' looking pull up hide. It's a cool leather but be sure you like rustic with a capital "R"
Rio Whiskey - I've never warmed up to Rio. It's slick and overdone with the distressing. Never sold it, either.
Weston Sunrise Burnished - good hide, solid. A little pale perhaps but depends on what color tone you want

Best leather on a Tavern Sofa in that kind of look? For my money: Buckingham Walnut Burnished, Imperial Whiskey Burnished and my personal favorite - Antique Sunset Burnished.

On a button tufted sofa, the leathers I like the best are either the Burnished, or the super-luxury hides such as Capri, or Envy. If on a budget, then Dream can look good on them as well.

Always get samples, never buy from a photo on the web....