Our living room currently does not have any lighting except for a single lamp. Instead of purchasing more lamps, we would like to install built in lighting. Our first thought was to look into recessed lighting.

After doing some research, I found guides on how to calculate the number of lights for evenly distributed recessed lighting. Our initial plan was to evenly distribute 9 lights around the living room in a 3x3 grid using 4" LED recessed lights (~700 lumens each, ~50 degree flood) and then use a couple of accent lights to highlight the fireplace (on a separate dimmer switch). After purchasing supplies, I am starting to get cold feet. My fear is that the the lighting will be too even and not very interesting.

After doing more research online, I saw that one option may be to place the can lights ~18 inches from to the walls to wash them with light (do I need a special type of recessed light for this?). Another option may be to use recessed lights with gimbals to highlight the fireplace and artwork and then standard recessed lights in the middle of the room.

The questions I have are:

1. Are recessed lights a good idea? I am fairly confident using them to highlight the fireplace and artwork, but should we use them for general ambient lighting as well? If not, what alternative lighting sources are recommended (particularly if we want to avoid lamps)?
2. Is there a recommended recessed light layout? Should I try and place them close to the walls to get the wall washing effect (e.g. 18 to 24 inches from the walls)? Should we just evenly distribute them and then use other lighting to make things more interesting?
3. Are there any thoughts on number of lights?

I am attaching a few photos in case it helps (sorry about the mess and poor photo quality). Note that the area behind the couch is a walkway for the front door. Eventually, the TV and furniture will move to another room that is currently being renovated. When that happens, my plan is to have a seating area centered around the fireplace. The seating area will likely have a sofa facing the fireplace an a chair on each side. Note that the entire room (including the front door area) is 14' x 17' The seating area (excluding the walkway for the front door is ~14'x14')

Any help/thoughts that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.