I have it on my nook...but I doubt that will be of much help. That said, my house probably loves my nook more than I do now that we have far fewer teetering piles of dusty magazines.

the fact is--those rules are like the rules of warfare or investing or even cooking... if it works, it's right... whether you follow the existing rules or not... often times it is breaking the rules or conventional design that really makes a house/room individual and striking... but having the design savy and guts to make the decision is what sets creative talent apart from people who follow whatever fad is in their face... I get so tired of looking at Houzz and reading people's comments about "where did you get that rug/buffett/coffee table/drape/faucet fixture"especially if it is pretty obviously a piece of furniture that is cintage or being repurposed/repainted Tile and paint--that is usually worth knowing but again computer monitors often mislead about the actual color of what is on the screen...so what works for one person/room is not axiomatically going to work for you even if you really, really like what you see onscreen... Sometimes judicious use of Google could solve that problem--but people want answers right away-- the definitive vs the more ambiguous...

You may get a lot of opinions. Here is mine. I like your brown furniture. i can see that it provides a lot of seating. I think you should paint all the walls white. I can see in the mirror that you have a lot of things hung on the walls. I would simplify, and choose one large item for each wall, or else a tight grouping. It helps a small place seem larger and give you space to breathe, if you put the small items away, out of sight. Perhaps a basket or box that can be tucked under the couch . I would put the magazines away, or throw them away. Hide the clutter, as best you can, in a small basket. I agree with Mon that the next thing to do it choose a rug. A bright rug will make things cheery, and then a couple pillows. I would do either a patterned rug, and simple pillows, or a simple one-color rug and patterned pillows.

if the boards are rotten, you're allowed to replace them. you could have dry rot. the historic section does allow damaged wood to be replaced. and if you have new ones cut almost the same, it shouldn't be an issue. But, no big deal. I think if you match it to the stucco color it will look way better. I like your front door. before painting it the new color, take a sander to it and try and get off a good portion of the white paint. start w/a 60 or 80 grit, work up to 220, if you can. it will look better if you start w/a somewhat smoother surface. If that's the original brass hardware, you can boil it in hot water to loosen the grime, and then use a metal polish on it to remove the tarnish. is the screen staying?