Welcome to ASR.
Is your intention to listen to music and films? In stereo or multi channel/surround sound?
There are different types of speakers which can behave in different ways. For example 'electrostats' are called dipole speakers and send sound equally out the back and front. That can be a good or bad thing in different circumstances.
You could have conventional stereo, stereo with subwoofers, or multi channel and surround sound. For listening to music there are processors that convert stereo to multi-channel.
On speaker placement, regardless of the fact that you may be limited in your choices, I would still suggest you try to find the best location. You could do that with your existing speakers. You might be surprised how good they can sound. You could, for example, try placing them either side of what I assume is the chimney. Moving your speaker and listening seat (your sofa) positions are free except for your time and effort and whilst they are just the start it can have quite a big effect.
The really keen types (like me!) listen to music, ideally in a dedicated room, using careful positioning, room treatment (bass traps etc.), DSP or EQ, and perhaps sub woofers, and to get everything just right we use software and a measuring microphone. It's complicated, takes quite a bit of learning, and a lot of time (it's taken me eighteen years to get to where I am now and I'm content!). Of course this is not for everyone and so compromises are made.
A couple of things I'd like to point out regarding your sofa and foot stools: they're made of leather which can be reflective; and it's asymmetric - the sound from the right speaker will behave differently to the sound from the left and so mess up the stereo image a bit. You could test this by covering them with a throw or blanket and hearing if it makes any difference.