Oh WOW!!! You all have fully convinced me that DH isn't crazy after all. Thank you so much for sharing pictures of your beautiful rooms! DH is ecstatic that I have been won over. We're going to go with a medium oak stain. Now to choose actual wall colors... I was going to grab a couple of pieces of waste sheetrock, prime them and use them to test paint colors on. Figured I could hange them up in rooms in my current house that have windows facing in the same direction as the room in the new house and get a sense of how the colors will look as the light changes. Now I think I'll ask the GC to get me a piece of trim (stained and varnished) and attach that to my wall color samples as well. Any suggestions on how best to pick colors (for connecting rooms) that will look good together?

At this point I can only think of general things like drapes on either side of the fireplace that draw to one side, very large rugs to delineate the living and dining areas, perhaps a somewhat warmer wall color if you're planning on painting, lots of comfortable seating, enough lamps in the sitting area and plenty of small tables near the sofas and tables, and a fabulous coffee table. I don't know what your style is, but Oriental rugs give instant glamour and warmth with their rich coloring and wonderful texture.

Move the secretary off the entry wall over to the other side of the room. I have moved the secretary to the short wall, centered the chairs in front of your window and placed the floor lamp and end table to the corner. All you need is a rug like you selected that has more blue in it. I love your rug design. I think it adds a very nice texture to your room. https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Unique-Loom-Nyhavn-Harbour-Copenhagen-Area-Rug-7-x-10/18082410/product.html

I hope you'll reconsider the red curtains, which will make the curtains the focus of the room and will force you to go in a certain direction, even if you change your mind later. It will also make the room look closed-in and direct all attention to the curtains instead of what's in the room. Instead buy curtains that are cream or off-white, which will be a wonderful, softening background to your very nice room. I'm sorry, but I think the direction of red, brown and gold is not the best for this room. Lighter tones using different colors, warm and cool in tone, will make for a softer, more livable and also more current look.