I really like your room - love the rug and the brown sofa and table with the stone fireplace, I probably wouldn't paint the bookshelves, I'd paint the walls. I'd paint them some warm color from your rug. Maybe a medium warm tan. At least a warm (not greenish) yellow if you want the walls to stay light. To me, your decor looks like it leans to the masculine club decor (which I LOVE myself) and is just asking for some warmth on the walls. I even like darker colors- so cozy, but you have to have a lot of natural light so that it feels warm and not like a cave.

The bookshelves are in a recess (beside the fireplace) that is quite deep.

Thank you Melissa, I agree! I will remove some things when the room gets put back together.

I thought painting the bookcase white would make it look less busy...

Do you use the fireplace? you could remove the book shelf and put something to hold the wood there?

I totally use the fireplace - but it is gas, and so no wood. And I use the bookcase.

No thoughts about whether it would look better painted white, to match the walls, to make it less prominent?

And that corner less busy?

If you remove the plant and put it in place of the little one on the fireplace it would less besy. I think you would like it painted white with nothing on top.

my moto is " less is more"

Is that gray in your stone? You could maybe paint it a light to medium brownish gray color pulled from your stone? I actually like your darker mantle too.

Linda, I don't think the big plant would fit where the little one is. I agree to remove the little one altogether.

Maybe switching the standing lamp with the big plant, then the plant could go closer to the bookcase, and I could remove the panting, to have less there.

I don't seem to be getting much input on painting the bookcase the white of the walls...

The things on the mantel are there to hide the TV stuff, like that box for Direct TV and all the wires... How else do you hide that stuff?

Thank you, Melissa. (Some delicate items were temporarily placed high in the bookshelf in anticipation of a visit of little ones. Little did I know that this would be the last photo of this room - the pipes burst after - this is what it looks like now!)

Thank you - trying to see this as an opportunity to have some fun and do some updates, with the kind and clever help of all of my fellow Houzzers!

But is sure is going to be an expensive paint job!

There is some minimal damage on the bookcase, and the insurance company will have a great paint job done on it, if I want.

I have been so conflicted about keeping the "depth" and trying to have it been in. Here is a photo of how the rest of it looked.

I have gotten a lot of great advice, and have decided to remove the snowshoes (it used to be a vacation rental) and the dark mirror, and add as side panels to the current sheers these:

And paint the mantel this natural color in the curtains. Thoughts?

There is actually very little damage. I am trying to keep away from rustic. In fact, there is also some damage to the mantel, which is roughhewn, and I have never liked that. The restoration company has agreed to plane it smooth, which I prefer, for a more refined look. I thought going a lighter shade would lighten up the whole fireplace area, as that monstrous TV must stay.

The box and stuff for the TV can be relocated, you just need a longer cable or cables to get to the TV. Depending on where you are willing to drill holes for the cables to run through, the box can go pretty much anywhere. There are also repeaters you can get for the remote control so you can put a little thing near the tv to pick up the signals and pass them to the hidden boxes. That way when you point the remote at the TV, it still works to change the cable box. (Our box is not by the TV and even though it’s been ages, everyone still forgets to point the remote at the cable box instead of the TV at least once a day.)