Furnishing the great room

We designed our new house with the idea of having the kitchen, dining room, and family room flow unobstructed from east to west. This resulted in a large, essentially rectangular room in which the kitchen is separated by a peninsula and set apart by its extensive cabinetry.

There is no natural separation between the dining area and the family/great room, however the dining area is defined by the chandelier that will hang above the dining table. We will place our china on the south wall (wall away from windows) to further define the dining area. The dining area is about 11' long east-to-west.

The great room has a corner fireplace (SW corner), and contains the entertainment center (large TV, components, surround sound). This presents decorating challenges. Should be furnish the room so that the large TV is the focal point, or make the corner fireplace the focal point?

The great room is about 20' long and 18' wide with a fireplace in the SE corner. 

Moving clockwise around the great room there's the arched entry.

Then bookshelves on the left of the fireplace.

The fireplace itself, with an hearth extending 6'10" across.

A large, flat-panal TV will sit on the lower level shelve to the right.

There are windows in the NW corner of the room.

The next two photos show how furniture would be oriented if the fireplace were to be the focal point of the room, which is recommended by some "how to" decorating sites.

The front of the chair shown in this photo is 10' from the hearth, which makes for  a comfortable viewing distance from the TV.

Diagram of the great room drawn roughly to scale. Notice the floor outlets.

One possible arrangement of furnishings. Here, the fireplace is the focal point.

Another possible arrangement is an L shape, with the TV as the focal point.

This is one of the area rugs we looked at for the great room. It's an Old World Classic, Pazyrk Burnished Rust (1660-3066). The 5.3 x 7.6 size was priced at $799, but is selling at a substantial discount. 

Another area rug for the great room.

Sofa and arm chair we are considering for the great room.

A dining table chair we are considering to replace our current chairs, which are uncomfortable.

The buffet we will be placing under the arches opposite the stairs.

What should we do with this big wall behind the stairs? I think a tapestry would look good here.