Mounting the corner cabinets is a great idea. Unfortunately, you won't be able to put legs on them as the baseboard heating units will interfere once they are mounted. I would paint those corner units a cream color, kind of like the countertops and handles in the kitchen. Paint the insides the same as the wall color, so they look even more built in. I would paint the tabletop/apron the same creamy color. Leave the base and the chairs alone. By having the creamy top, your Fiestaware will really show off on the table. You can add a colorful mat or runner for times when the table is unset. If you like the idea of the glass on top, consider putting butterfly appliques or stencils on the tabletop before adding the glass. Just remember that may limit how you decorate the table for holidays, etc. What could be fun, tho, is to add those appliques or stencils around the apron of the table. Do you need the leaf in the table for every day? Paint it so it matches, but I would pull that out if you don't need it all the time, and give the couch more visual and real breathing space. Plus, the round table will echo the chandy nicely. For the drapery panels, I would find an orange fabric that you like, perhaps a very small gingham like this that will give almost a solid feeling at a distance: orange gingham You might have to line it for weight. Then use fabric from the existing drapery to band all around the panels. It will give a lighter feeling to the space, while still connecting to the other windows. I think the shade over the sink in the same fabric is fine, though you could do the gingham and just add a band of the butterfly drapery fabric along the bottom, or on all sides as well. Change out to a thicker rod that you paint the same color as the corner cabinets, and have the rods dead end into the cabinets, no finials or gaps. Leave the chandy for now - it might not feel so bad once everything else is lightened up. In fact, it will bring some of the dark of the kitchen cabinets over to this space. Slipcover the couch in cream make or buy, and do a mix of pillows made from the gingham, perhaps an orange and blue stripe or small pattern, and the drapery fabric. Colorful cushions on the chairs made in the same mix would be nice. Bring in some more prints and perhaps some plates to hang on the wall in the style of your inspiration pix. I would do the baskets if you want to - a little more color on the kitchen side won't hurt. Paint out the brass screen on the fireplace to black. I would take down the painting, and replace it with a set of three or five butterfly prints,things that have a creamy background to separate them from the brick. Add a few Fiestaware pots or vases for color.

Thank you Summerfield! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back. We've been out of town for a week. I am a mother-in-law now! After the wedding, we went to Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. Along the way, I looked at houses, and noticed some differences in houses in other areas. In my area, most of the houses that are about the same size as mine, have siding above the brick done like mine. There was a house in St. Louis that was almost exactly like ours with brick color, long front porch, and shutters, and they used a dark sand colored paint on the siding, and white on the trim, with darker brown on the shutters. It looked great. The house was also about the same age as ours, but the colors made it seem a lot newer. Most of the houses in Kentucky had brick all the way up the gable. Tennessee had a diving board between the brick and the siding on the gables, like in jakabedy's first photo. While I don't think it's possible to add a bigger face board there, I do think it will work to just paint the one we have in another color, like in Summerfield's drawing. It would help if the board were wider than the siding, but since that board can't be changed without redoing the siding, we'll just have to see what difference the paint will make.

I can't even see the house. any way you can get some pruning to take place? Major pruning? Honestly, the house could be chartreuse and no one would ever know! If the stone work is staying, pull some of the tones from them. for the door I'd do more of a reddish/lavender or gray/charcoal. Blue is just not going to work w/the stone. (unless it's a blue/gray) are you sure you don't want to wait until you get the new roof?

In lake parlance, the front is the side that faces the lake, but you do need to contend with the street view. I had a similar situation in a house that faced 2 streets, and the front door was on the side, go figure. It all come down to money. New windows, no shutters, a screen allowing access to the utilities, a patio with chairs, paint? Can you provide photos othe rest of exterior and a sketch of interior layout?