Advice on decorating what?

I agree that getting rid of the knick knacks and decor items will freshen up the space. What don't you like about the room?

The room seems dark to me, do you like the cozy feel or would you like it lighter?

When you have a room with tall ceilings, people often think they have to decorate all the way up. But if you decorate nicely at the "people" level, your tall ceilings will look light and airy, not bare. If you decorate all the tall walls in a room, the eye doesn't get anything to focus on and it can make the room seem off balance

Do you have a pretty rug to help ground the space and draw attention to the people level?

Love the pups. I wouldn’t change a thing about them!

Just decluttering and a fresh coat of paint could give you a "refresh" for not much $.

Beautiful pups! German Wirehaired Pointers?

After you declutter, I would consider painting the ceilings white and lightening up your walls. Your ceiling trim is already heavy and impressive. It doesn't really need to be outlined.

Get a sample of accessible beige by SW to try on your walls. It's a nice, clean bright color that works well with warm decor.

I definitely would declutter -- ALL of the stuff off of the ledge -- just let it be a ledge!

Start by taking every single thing off the built-ins. Then add a few items at a time. Only the largest items need to go back on the shelves.

Others have given you good advice about the ledges, too.

Stop going to HomeGoods.

Never hang art so that the top or bottom of the picture aligns with a door jamb or a window frame

Can you give us some better pictures of the fireplace and the rest of the room including furniture?

You have a very lovely home but it needs to calm down. There's so much everywhere it's hard to know where to look. The good news is that it doesn't look like you're going to need to buy much!

When you start removing things and decluttering it's going to look bare at first but give it some time.

First we need to see your place without all the stuff everywhere. I think d_gw gave you some good advice about paint. The ceiling would look better all white but that's a big job and not the most important thing at the moment.

You have a baker's rack in the kitchen/dining area. If you can remove the top part and just leave the table underneath that would help.

It looks like a naturally dramatic space, and you have all those windows so there's the "outside coming in" feel. With all the visual elements, I feel you need a simpler backdrop, which would be wonderful for some genuine artworks. Remove everything, paint all the walls and ceiling one color of cream/off-white. I like your rugs, you could use some of their color for accents. Any pros correct me, but I think the mantel needs more presence, maybe stone work. Have you thought about new light fixtures or even furniture? How much change are you wanting?