Lots of money makes anything happen.

It is always important to design the interior changes along with the look on the exterior. IMO those kitchen windows are too small , the style of the basic house is MCM ranch but I do not like tha gable above those kitchen windows . Painting brick IMO is never a good idea and before doing that you need to figure out what style of house you want this to be? The real trick now is to stop and think about what look you want. If it was my house I would remove the gable not do an addition above the garage ( which BTW is never a good place for bedrooms) I would also like to see what you did inside , that will give me clue as to your style for sure. I need to see all sides of the house the square windows are a bit odd IMO. Where is the driveway, where is the road facing the house.

Wall paint is your last choice. Do you like the brick? Would you whitewash it or paint it to brighten the room? A thicker mantle hung lower. Yes to paint the brass door. Solar shades on the window and slider. A sofa and 2 chairs to start. Floor lamp for reading some table lamps

Yep, it is what an architect does, but I find that people on Houzz often come up with ideas that are better than the professionals I hire. I completely see why they think you are altering a large percentage of the house. (I am surprised your architect doesn't know that but they are not always the best with reality and permiting.) For how long do you imagine living in this home? If it is for a long time then ask if it is worth it to wait a while to move in and really have the home the way you want it. Is the time of the board approval and delay really that long compaired to the length of time you will be in the home? I ask this with full and 100% compassion for your situation. I moved into a new place last year and decided it was better to really do the right renovation and delay the move-in. It stretched on and on and it was completely stressful during covid not really having a place to live. However, now that the work is done, I'm so glad I invested the time prior to move-in. It is really hard to motivate yourself to do major work once you've unpacked and started living somewhere. I hope that Celery posts some comments here because they are great at making renderings of exteriors and I'm curious what they come up with.