Often good re-decorating requires taking some elements away, but you are asking for a feel of luxury, so you need to carefully add elements. If you have enough space and budget, then consider continuing the built-in to the other side of the fire place, and painting all of it to match. That will anchor the fireplace as the focal point of the room. Fabric can really add a sense of luxury so you could raise the curtain rods and add longer drapes on either side of the windows, with a filler spanning in between, not a swag, but something like you'll see as an example on the the first picture that Beverly posted. Original art says "luxe" and it looks like you have space for a great and sizable piece of art on the wall adjacent to the sideboard across from the dining room. Larger accessories absolutely, and some that are taller. They don't have to be expensive, but they should be things you really enjoy looking at and that you find delightful, or even amusing. Garage sales and flea market are gold mines. Then look carefully at the 2nd pic from Beverly and you'll get and idea on how to do a collection of smaller items to make a bolder statement (collections are 3 or more items.) The key to unifying is color. You've done a good job with your neutrals, add a couple of more luxurious throws in that palette and a few pillows. It looks like you enjoy blues so add that to the mix as well and a pop of black here and there and you should be well on your way.

I like the RH chairs. What do you think of a light similar to this for your dining table? I would move your art work over the dining table so the frames are about 2" apart. It will have more impact grouped closer together. I very much like the brass shelf in its current location. The wall color is dark and the metal gives a nice contrast. It's also very well arranged. The t.v. console you've chosen is great. I like that the brass ties into the shelf and lamp. I would choose another sofa versus a sectional. Two sofas would work versus a loveseat if you have the room.

I like a lot of light as well. I think everything is well lit except for your family room. Definitely not enough light in there (especially if you want the option of a brightly lit space. There is no center lighting and everything has been arrange around the edges of the room. IMO, what you have is a HUGE span with zero lighting which is not at all adequate. Some people prefer room edge lighting and that’s what they’ll recommend. But if you like a lot of light, I don’t think the way your designer set things up will satisfy that need. If it was my home, even though the ceilings are only 8 feet, I would want a center fixture (small chandelier or semi flush)...something pretty. If you are not sure about your furniture placement they can always install the box with lots of extra wire looped in the ceiling so you can adjust it later. Just take pics of your ceiling joists when it’s all opened up (if it is opened up) so you know where everything is located. Makes it easier later. You’ll have a little sheetrock repair, but completely manageable. I would add more cans/wafers around the center of the room and put them on a dimmer. You can always turn them off or dim them if it’s too much light, but if there’s nothing there, you’re stuck with a dark room and no real way to fix it (other than having your electrician return and hack up your ceiling). I’m not a fan of LED, but some people love it. Just make sure you like the type of light they put out before you bite the bullet on them.

jrb, here's a quick picture of the range and some of the rest of the area (dining and living room). It's not all one large space, the dining room is around one corner from the kitchen and the living room is around the other, and the kitchen and part of the living room aren't visible to each other. I/we've had the same furniture, adding and inheriting pieces, since I graduated from university in the mid-eighties. But all a pretty similar mix, from my first apartments in DC and NYC, and then our first house here on the farm. And I started with yellow walls in my NYC co-op and loved how they looked. I'm slowly hanging pictures, and hoping to get Roman shades for the dining room windows. Just for reference, the plan is for Tabarka "Maghreb" tiles on the backsplash, if I can find them around here.