There is no way in hell I would even consider painting walls in a house I had never lived in.....and even without my furniture in place. The sun in the morning and the sun in the evening....what reflects off a garage a fence or a neighbor's house how your beloved hutch looks all affect the colors and tones of the paint and finishes I would consider. Colors look very different at night then they do on a sunny day and walls look different in an empty room than in the same room with furniture. Tell your friend to move in before he begins to select paints and finishes. I know it's a pain to move out of a room to refinish it....but I believe he will be happier in the long run. I have seen too many people who had to choose the colors and finishings in a new house, repainting in 3 months because the color was too dark or looked like white in the day time or because with the tile the walls look wrong and it's easier to paint than re-tile. It's fun to plan new finishes....but don't do more than fix a leaky faucet until you have been in the house for a while. Our first house was brand new plaster on lathe and we were told not to paint for at least 6 months to allow the plaster to fully cure. By the time the 6 months was over, I was so sick of all the white walls, I painted the living/dining area something like harvest wheat.....which was like dark mustard when all the walls were that color! I could hardly wait until the paint was dry to re do it!...But I was over reacting to 6 months without color!

Gah, help me understand what I'm seeing. There's a wall mount tv near a fireplace with a tile surround/mantle (the top picture), and there's another wall mount tv near another fireplace that looks like plain drywall (the bottom picture). Are those two areas in the same room? How are they oriented to each other? Initially I'm agreeing with crn247. I would put something with height like a plant or large floor lamp at the rear corner of the sectional (where it meets the wall) and use that as a visual stop for that area. Then decorate before that as one space, and after it (desk area) as another space -- but making sure that the two areas compliment each other. Is that mirror (or thing that looks like a mirror) to the right of the tv in the bottom picture something that's built in, or something that moves? What is it? (e.g. is it a mirror you had hoped to hang...?)

When was the house itself built? The interior design aspects are on point with the mid 1980s but the architecture is earlier mid century. I can't really picture someone building a house in that style and decorating aspects of it in late Modernism/post Modernism at the same time. I can picture someone updating a 1960-odd house this way.

First - you have a beautiful home! If I were you- I’d spend time browsing Pinterest and the photo section on here, and save any pics of rooms that you LOVE. That will help you define what kind of style you want to aim for. If you can hire a designer; great! If not, walk furniture stores, home decor stores, etc. and take pics of everything that you love or inspires you. Then post those ideas here and we can help! In general, I agree, don’t buy things just to buy them. You’ll end up with a house full of “stuff” you don’t particularly care about. Instead, take your time and go slow. It’s normal take a couple years to fully decorate a home! Also, typically, most people go too small. Think bigger. One big piece of artwork to fill a big wall space. When it comes to items like vases, candles, lanterns- Group in 3’s. Three vases of varying weights & heights will look better than three exactly the same. Now if you’re browsing and you see something that you just LOVE and cannot live without- you want to look at it everyday - buy it! It can become an inspiration piece! Sounds weird... but in my first condo I had this mug... it was like a wheat/mustard color. I LOVED it. I decorated my condo based on that mug and loved it! HAVE FUN!! :)