Here's the sofa area with the picture lowered and area filled out. Showing the addition of a coffee table in two shapes. And also trying lighter mats on the pics to brighten things up. I love what you have going. It just needs to be completed and filled out some : ) The colors are just gorgeous and make for a wonderful and comforting setting to spend time. You might want to start another thread, as this one is bogged down with a lot of pics. Also, once the images become oversized and the text doesn't wrap anymore, a lot of people won't look anymore as it can't be read easily.

I changed black on the fireplace for antique brass, lol. And an old one at that. Everybody and theirs aversion I guess.. Together with that, whitewashing seems more natural looking. (I remember one of the last entries in Maria Killiam's blog was dedicated to changing a brick fireplace..many comments about fully painting vs whitewashing vs completely changing..if you want I can find it for you. Commenters share their experiences and all. ) Otherwise, I don't think the transformation is better than what they had. They like it more because it's newer, and they got tired of the old look. But for me, who sees it for the first time, nothing screams "What a great transformation". (and yes, I am somebody who hated her newly inherited fireplace so much she changed it as much as she could. (Still not done). So I get it. I fully get the desire to completely change the look of an irritating fireplace. I am just not particularly impressed with the article) I agree with nosoccermom-it's better to tackle(or not) the fireplace last. You'll see better what it asks to be, when you change other things around.

Painting the cabs to a high standard is an investment in both time and money I would not do in a rental. Also, is the owner supplying the paint for the walls? As a landlord and a former renter, I would make sure that any colors chosen get the owners approval first. As to what shade could work best for you on the walls, can you share more pics? Agree with you that the current shade isn't working. And I would most likely paint out that bit of white trim to match the new wall colour, if the landlord approves.

Wow, thank you all for the great suggestions! Replacing furniture is not an option - if we end up moving it will be a downsize, so not looking for new furniture Definitely like the idea of a new rug. Is it necessary that the chairs are entirely on the rug? That would require an 8x10. Won't be too big for the space? Already planned on replacing the fireplace doors with black. The brass is also from 80s Fan is also an 80s throwback. It does help with airflow in the room, but is not attractive. Shelves are adjustable expect for the top triangle. There are can lights on either side of the fireplace which are not visible in the orig photo. I typically use these only at night because I don't like ceiling fan lights. Here are more photos of the area. The kitchen and breakfast room are to the left and used to have the same oak cabinets, trim and crown. Breakfast room also had stained windows, trim, and chair rail (i.e. all 3 rooms were stained to match). A few years ago we remodeled this in white but did not touch the adjoining family room. My initial thought was to make the bookcases match the kitchen cabinets. But maybe just changing décor as suggested will suffice.