Great ideas. I do like the idea of the wall niche. Thanks for posting the site. DH is going to love this. We just finished ripping down wallpaper and repainting the foyer. He'll be happy to know I now want him to cut a hole in the wall. I am having trouble posting pictures. Something is wrong with the port on my camera. When DH gets home I will see if he can get it to work.

What's in the armoire? I would place it opposite the fireplace to serve as a visual counter balance to it. Then put your TV on the former armoire wall, above a credenza 25% wider than the TV. Hang large art 5" above the mantel. Use your sofa table behind the sofa without the buffet lamps (do you have a formal dining room for them?) Remove the bergere chair as it doesn't fit the casual feeling of the other seating pieces. Do you have a foyer where it would be pretty? Put the large armchair in its place. Try a new, more casual feeling rug and drapes. Replace all the other art and photos with new art. Hang pieces centered 5' above the floor or 5" above furniture. Upgrade all the lamps and add a nice ceiling fixture in place of the fan. If you like the idea of a mirror above the mantle, you could install a pretty chandelier to be reflected in it.

Since your door appears to open towards the wall that the vacuum cleaner is on, I would leave the table where it currently is located. I would move window over table to wall where vacuum is. Consider finding some black and white pics and put in windows of window frames. Move umbrella tin to corner of back wall. Add two nice coat hooks on each side of window frame and shoe trays under hooks.Consider round mirror or picture over table with greenery/flowers on table. Add a tray for key/ mail etc. Need a larger sofa as suggested. Consider painting bench black and placing perpendicular to sofa or on opposite back wall.

"Do you think I could get a dining table that goes with the cherry wood but is maybe lighter? " Absolutely. But first, can you share a few more pics and a simple sketch with the dimensions of the room? That will get you all sorts of specific advice. Right now, consider the design choices that made you like those two pics... I love the chairs in the Promised Land Farm pic and the way the light painted frames make the whole room less heavy. Don't know where you are, but vintage dining room "sets" are really inexpensive in most places. And dining chairs, well they don't use that much fabric and are sometimes easy to re-up yourself. My advice is first to determine the size and shape you need & allow yourself to consider lots of options. I would avoid any sort of Queen Anne leg ;-)