Thank you groveraxle!! So helpful to see the colors on the actual house. The fireplace certainly makes color options more challenging, but it's our favorite part of the house :) We like the 3 photo - the slate blue best. In a perfect world we'd strip it down and stain it for a more natural wood look but that would come at a major cost. Thanks for your help :)

First off thank you to everyone who put their time and ideas into this post. I am truly humbled. I apologize for the late response. This has been a very tough week at work with a huge project closing out. I truly value and appreciate everyone's input and recommendations. This post turned out to be exactly what i needed. I love most of the ideas given. I have always enjoyed the concept of interior design but know nothing of it. Perhaps when things slow down I will take time to educate myself. Grover thank you very much for taking time to do the renderings. They are very helpful and make it easy for me to visualize some of these recommendations. Seldens and you both provided great art examples that I really like. Beth your recommendation for the snake plant is spot on. I actually purchased the white pot at the bottom of the stairs for that very purpose. Sixzero6 I actually own the place and purchased it about 1.5 years ago. I love your idea about the wooden shades. I have indeed struggled with adding textures. Pinkmountain thanks for your kind words. That color took me nearly a month to figure out. I knew I was going to spend a lot of money and wanted to be sure that I used a color that would be unique but not offending. The pictures dont do it justice as it seems to slightly change color depending on what time of day it is. Certain times of day express the green undertones more than others. The bookshelf is actually an Ikea version that I installed mid century legs on and painted it. Unfortunately I learned the rule of scale the hard way. It seems too large for the area. I like some of the replacement options given. If there is anything that will never change here it is the couch. It is a pulled Italian leather couch with memory foam cushions built extra deep. It is pure heaven to sit/lay on and will zap your productivity if used during the wrong time of the day. :) My short list: Pull the couch and rug up to allow for a generous walkway behind it (rear couch legs off of the rug) De-clutter bookcase and remove stuff off of the top Center TV between windows Change pillows to add texture Add meaningful art (non-symmetrical layout) Obtain a snake plant for my empty pot Long term list: Evaluate windows treatment options (wood shades or drapes) Add an accent chair (love this one) Possibly replace bookshelf with something different I will update this post as things come along over the next few months. I currently have a huge Christmas tree in the room right now which halts any rearranging but after the holidays I will give it a shot. If anyone sees any patterns or pillowcase recommendations feel free to let me know. Also if anyone views this post later then feel free to add your thoughts. I love hearing everyone's perspective.

Read the Housetweaking blog from early 2011 through 2016/2017 or so. Dana and her husband bought an old, ugly midcentury and DIYed it into a really cool space - keeping the midcentury vibe but not being 100 percent married to it and doing it on a budget. They've moved on to a different house but all the old posts are still on the site. https://www.housetweaking.com/current-house/

Gray roof is good. I would not go with the black trim. Black paint and even black metal fades or oxidizes and shows spider webs, dust and damage more than lighter colors. Maybe a gray-blue or gray-green trim? To me, cream siding close to the brick color would be good with an interesting trim color, but it would have to be a good match. And maybe paint the stone in front by the trellis the same cream. There is a school of thought that garage doors should recede, so match the siding, but your's are front and center so you may as well make them look interesting. There is the concern of maintenance requirements on exposed wood garage doors, though.