You have a lovely home! And congrats on the bump ;-) Palette: you can paint the rooms in your home in different colours but it's always nice to have some continuity by keeping all the trim the same. The white trims are lovely and fresh, so adding softer tones (maybe warmer tones since you don't have a lot of direct light?) or even darker colors in some rooms to create depth. As per Becky's comment above, it's better to keep open-plan rooms the same. Windows: light curtains are great. If you want a farmhouse look, go for linen or light cotton that frame all those glorious windows without taking away the light. Lighting: Again, since you want a rustic farmhouse look, I would suggest a wrought iron chandelier or something that has a bit of old-world charm to it. Something similar to the pendants above the counter can also work, but to really make an impact it will need to be much bigger. All the best - I am certain it's going to look awesome!!

you gave a lot of info about the walls but not the ceiling height. drop the light by the nook are to over the table. this will also get it out of the recessed area. over the fridge do a flush mount directional light. depending on a budget a rail light system is ideal. but you can also buy a light with 3-5 directional heads.

I am also debating between brushed and polished nickel for my kitchen (I'm leaning towards polished). What did you end up deciding?

All excellent points, especially about the yellow bulbs in the other light fixture! I am 100% painting the walls before touching the paneling (probably should’ve mentioned that). Perhaps painting the walls would brighten up the room enough to just not have any need to change that light fixture. I was going to do the light fixture before painting (out of sheer laziness lol) but I think I’ll switch the order.