I hear you. We just had a fence put in, and I want to stain it. A medium dark brown, without too much red, but not gray looking... I've got 5 quarts and three sample size stains, and so far nothing is exactly right.

IMO you need storage for sure so I would look at adding a buffet on the DR wall and with kids stools are really not practical for eating until they can get on and off a stool by themselves . Get a small round table that has a leaf and IMO when you have money redo the counters so that that peninsula is the same height as the rest of the counters in fact in this case just remove that raised part and then the DR space will be a bit bigger .You could look at Besta from Ikea to put all along that wall on the left it could give you a place for the TV some storage and even a bit of display .

You asked about landscape color and whether to add a trellis. I don't know why people feel compelled to critique your home and suggest structural changes. It's a charming home and as functionthelook said, ignore suggestions to turn it into something cookie cutter. You don't have to defend the choice of the front door to anyone. Sheesh! You can bring in so much color simply by using plants with different color foliage...you don't need flowers, esp in the winter. Maybe reconsider some of the boxwoods. They are getting a bit crowded and, while the green is nice, I think you can do better. I might consider, instead of a trellis, reworking that line of boxwood by the truck and plant a tree that would add some color and interest year round. Maybe like a coral bark maple that has nice foliage 3 seasons and beautiful bark and twigs in the winter. I don't know if they grow in your are, but something similar surely does. It's hard to tell from the pics if that's far enough from your house for a small tree or not, but a pro landscaper could help with that. I'm not suggesting this style landscaping, just showing how much color you can get with foliage alone and a few flowering shrubs mixed in. There are winter flowering shrubs, too, tho again I don't know about your area. coral bark maples...

I see what you've done including/incorporating your sofa's pinkish tan in your pillows and rug and using analagous deeper pinks. You might have better luck with a color scheme that relies on whites and then contrasting colors (navy, charcoal, chocolate brown) and lets the sofa's pinkish tan stand by itself. (Patricia is right that photos of more of the room would get you more helpful advice. She is wrong, IMO, to fling fly-by snark at your sofa instead of advice; and in how she spells the word "please". Proofread, please, @Patricia Colwell. Your comments are challenging to read. Thanks.) Maybe this thread could help? https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-decorate-a-living-room-stsetivw-vs~105196187 I'd start by painting the walls white. Consider white curtains with some texture, not pattern. Target often offers attractive panels - look for their Threshold or Hearth & Home/ Magnolia brands. If you want to keep your rug, tone everything else way down and incorporate its dark chocolate. Look at the photo in No. 8 - patterned rug.