SInce you donÂt have a lot of entry space, I would use the wall that you see when you walk in (not the wall where the floor vent is) as part of the entry space, and find a nice demilune table, something pretty open so that it doesnÂt interfere with the air flow from the vent. Hang a mirror above it and add a nice tray or open bowl to hold keys, cell phones, etc. Add a lamp on the right side of the table so that it isnÂt dark in that corner, and perhaps a basket if there is a shelf underneath that can hold mail, etc. I would add a runner to the entry space to help define it. The wall by the entry would be a great spot for a photo/art gallery grouping that you could add to over time. It wonÂt be in the way of people coming in the door, but will make the wall look finished. I have to ask, tho, about the rest of the space. I donÂt see any lamps, and only the one end table. What are your plans for those things? I know nothing about audio, but are those surround-sound speakers behind the sectional? How do those affect people sitting in those seats, especially if they are taller and want to lean back as they sit? Is there a reason you donÂt have those speakers hung on the walls and distributed around the room more? Another question - can your sectional be reversed, so that the chaise is on the side opposite where it is now? The reason I ask is because I would like to see the sectional moved away from the windows. If there is room, I would love to sit it put so that the back of the sectional is to the entry area, but on the right side of the room (by the kitchen entry). Low bookcases or cabinets behind to hold stuff and also to place that great lamp that is now standing in the corner on the floor. If the chaise could be reversed, that would put it against that wall, so that the rest of the seating would feel open when you entered the room from the front door. Add a few more colorful pillows to the sectional for fun. Think about a rug for the seating area, perhaps something with a light background, the wall color, and an accent color in the pattern. You would then move the TV to the wall where the storage shelving is now, to the right of the window. One tall speaker in each of the corners of that wall. That could also allow you to place another chair by the front window, with another lamp and table to spread light around the room. Take the canvas on the entry wall and hang that on the wall where the chaise would be if you can reverse it and move the couch. Love your beautiful floors and wall color, and all the things you have in the space. I think moving things around might give you a more spacious feel to the room, not block and crowd the windows, and also help reduce the light reflection on the tv screen.

I think I might hang your portraits in the corner and larger art over the couch.

Ok, I have an exercise for you. Take a look at the plant on the stair landing and kinda blur your eyes and take note of contract and mass. mass meaning the items that take up visual space. Look for balance. The stair rails are balanced. The tree isn't balanced by anything. Not that everything needs to be balance, I actually prefer not to have things two by two. If the plant were not so dense, ti might work, plus you would need at taller more interesting planter. To me, what would fit here, if you HAVE to have something, would be a bench that goes with the style of your house. I normally would say no to a bench because, well who would sit on it. Even though I am a form before function person. Since you just moved in, and you're a minimalist, take your time choosing the things that will make your house a home. At this point you don't have anything that shows your interests or personality, well, except for that cat in the window. It's something you wouldn't find in anyones home. Not that everything needs to be one of a kind, but you need to love it enough that you wouldn't want to replace it. In my living room there are things that you would not find at homegoods, in fact, many things you would have a hard time finding at all. Because I choose things that I love then make it work. That plant in the corner of the fireplace does not look good, why? Because it is too short and brings the eye down and the pot is white. The planter is a place that you could enhance by bringing in color or texture. One thing to note, your furnishings are farmhouse and your house is traditional glam. They are not so farmhouse that they look bad, just different style. And really, it's mostly the coffee table and the dining table. And the sofas are a bit casual. If I had the creative energy I would redesign your living room and dining room. If you are not married to the furniture, your house is worthy of getting a designer in and making it spectacular. By the pillows I see you arent' totatally a color phobic, bringing in some color would make your home more lively to the eye. If you had a designer to help, you would walk into your living room every day and feel like you were in a magazine. Not everyone wants that, but I think you do. Sorry for the length of this post. Once my fingers get going, every thought pours out. Lastly, a beautiful floor lamp would really be nice in the corner, as others have mentioned, for two reasons, raised the eye and at night would be beautiful on. Ok, the end. Oh wait, here's a quote for you 'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful' - William Morris. This describes my house perfectly, even though I just recently found it. When I walk into my living room I see things that have personal memories, I love for their beauty, uniqueness, etc, OR I can sit on. Sorry, I have more to say. Some people love the, what I call, Furniture Store Look. They go into a furniture store and want their space to look exactly like it. And that is perfectly fine. In fact, when I look at those rooms I feel a sense of calm and strangely, a lack of feeling. I don't look at things and wonder about them. Where did they originate, what meaning do they have to the person who lives there. If someone has personal photos in their home, I feel a connection to them and have a glimpse into their lives. If I go to a furniture store, I feel nothing. No emotions, no connections. You need to decide what YOU want to feel in your own home. Forget about other people, you don't decorate for others, otherwise you lose yourself. Now, sometimes things that have no meaning at the time grow on you and you attach emotions to them through daily living with them. But please listen to William Morris. If you feel the the farmhouse table is beautiful and you love it, even though others might think it doesn't go with your home (me) others be damned, it's your house and you should do what makes you happy in it. ok, really, the end. I should go do xmas returns to keep me away from posting more. It's just that decorating your home is more feeling than furniture.

Every last thing in the room is tan or the color of "dark of night" and you are worrying about lighting a tree? Put some "light" and color on the floor via a generous area rug. . Put something on the windows, which at night are black holes sucking the light from the room and make all look harsh, versus relaxing. A single table lamp may give " all the task light you need" for a bright laptop screen , it does nothing for general ambience in a room. Nor does an uplight near the seating. The bottom line is worry less on faux tree and add more pools of light, lower and near seating. Don't "wash out" all out via the ceiling recessed. You can use as low a watt/lumen bulb as you like in any lamp - standing or table! Add some decor and color. Add some color and texture to pillows to the couch. Take some pictures of the space from other angles at ground level, please? Yes, I realize it isn't what you asked, and I realize as well, the house is new to you , open and there are other challenges like the "Abe" collection. But you won't have a warm and welcoming space minus some contrast between light and dark, hard, soft and some added w.a.r.m.t.h. You're living in the dark, quite literally : )