My best interior design skills would tell me to have part of the room with seating facing inward, maybe toward a fireplace, for conversation. And then maybe a m

My best interior design skills would tell me to have part of the room with seating facing inward, maybe toward a fireplace, for conversation. And then maybe a more open area, with a coffee table perhaps? You don't want all the seating to be in a big circle around the room. I'd break it up into groups of seating focused on different parts of the room.