I think that works well because the floors are dark too, no? I’m not sure how the dark railing would look with our light floors. We are going back and forth about painting the door white. I think it would modernize the look but when I’ve seen it done before it always looks so obviously DIY. I’m hoping to use the brass accents with the mid century decor to make it look a bit more traditional and match the formality of the door and stairway. The brass and glass table in the entryway was a great find. It was in my parent’s storage! They had painted it black and so I stripped it and cleaned it up. I can’t wait for the entryway rug to come. The vendor keeps pushing back the date and it’s driving me crazy! I keep trying to find another rug, but that light beige with the gray and emerald green accents is so perfect and there’s nothing else like it! I must say that the guidance I’ve had here has REALLY improved this room! Thank you everyone! I’m so sorry if it takes me a while to review and consider all of your comments... I’m indecisive by nature so each step of this is soooo slow

Thank you for being clear about what has to stay, so I'm going to deal with your "givens," the built-ins and sofas. --Is the current carpet in good shape and comfy for the kids? Of so, get it cleaned and leave it. It harmonizes with the fireplace, and kids live on the floor. You can get hardwoods when they're older. --Choose a much lighter and warm cream/taupe wall paint that goes with the carpeting and stone. Sorry, honey. That will NOT be gray. Other Commentors will make some good paint suggestions, taking into account that you have a lot of outdoor greenery that affects paint choices In good natural light, take a close up of the carpeting if you decide to keep it. If you need curtains for privacy or to dim room, match them to the paint color--ceiling to floor length. Also need to take into consideration the kitchen area wall color. Can you show us that? (Always show all walls of an open space when asking a Design Dilemma.) --Rethink layout to create TV conversational zone and a kid zone. TV/Conversational zone: Move wider sofa to face the fireplace and the smaller sofa to face the great outdoors! It looks like nature is right there, so it's an extension of your living room. Don't block the great view! Move the smaller sofa against the wall so it creates an "L" with the wider sofa. Put a large, colorful, circular storage ottoman in the "L" or two colorful smaller storage ottomans. Some of the spillover of toys and such can go in there. Put tray(s) on top of ottomans when entertaining. The one below is kind of fancy, but there are lots of storage ottoman options out there. --TV conversational zone.:Move TV to one of the built-ins since those are one of your givens. I'm going to say something sacrilegeous: Get a TV that fits in one of the built-ins. --Kid zone. This will be a play area between the kitchen and the TV/conversational part of the space. Get open wood shelving, sofa height if possibl to go against long sofa. Get baskets for the kids' toys. The finish should be the same as your wood trim. You're sure to find bookshelves like that on Craigslist. Down the road, when kids are older, you can get a lovely sofa console cabinet to use as a buffet. Lighting: Proportions will be important. Something in a wood finish but with modern lines would be great. Here's an article on measurements for different sized rooms, tall ceilings, etc https://www.lumens.com/how-tos-and-advice/how-to-choose-the-right-size-ceiling-light.html.

Here's a floor plan and some inspiration pics. If the dimensions are off, I can adjust easily. The major problem with this room as so much going on and your eyes jumps up and down. There is no continuity. Your need to create some sort of order. Move the tv to the wall right of the fireplace (the outside common wall). It's important to line something up, like the bottom of the tv and the bottom or line of fireplace (not the mantel), and line up shelves with the same line. This way you can create a horizontal level. Paint the fireplace wall and the tv wall and the wall to the left of the fireplace the same color as the fireplace surround- an off white. Consider painting the staircase wall a color. See pics. This will make your room appear wider. Place the seating facing the tv and ignore the fireplace. It will blend in. Consider a game table or desk near the kitchen railing. The rug is 8x10. Hope this helps. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Hi Beverly, I did order samples of the wallpapers. I’m afraid you’re right about my choice being too busy. Additionally, it’s a large pattern and might be too broken up on my dining room walls which don’t have large expanses visible. Sigh, I’m starting to rethink my whole project. When I look at my inspiration rooms, almost all feature a healthy dose of my favorite colors, blue and green. I love my living room rug but I think the orange is so dominant and likely precludes my use of blue or green. I’ve booked an in-home consultation with an interior designer and hope she can point me in a better direction.