Decorating Dilemma: Float the furniture in a difficult room.

Q. My dilemma is our family room, which measures about 14 by 16 feet. The walls are walnut-stained paneling, and the wall-to-wall carpet is an oatmeal Berber laid over dark-walnut parquet floor.

The north wall has a half-wall bookcase/fireplace/brick seat with a walnut-stained mantel that goes across the entire wall. The east wall has an 8-foot sliding door. The south wall has a door to the kitchen at the southwest corner, and the west wall has double bi-fold doors to the living room at the southwest corner, a bar window in the middle and a door to the laundry room at the northwest end.

Help! How can furniture be placed in this box?

A. Your room is …