Nicole, what direction do the windows face -- north, south, east, west? I think your third inspiration picture is lovely and also the easiest to follow. The wall color, white fireplace, and adding crown molding are all fairly easy changes; the paint color in that photo is SW Agreeable Gray. Of course, it depends how much light your living room gets, because that inspiration room looks as if it gets lots of natural light, in part because it has windows on at least two different walls. What's harder is your sofa. Have you noticed that the sofas in your inspiration pics all have white slipcovers or are a very very light tan/beige? So if you're committed to keeping the couch, you're already losing a major element and there's a good chance the style will be off from the start. I'm not sure if you know, but that inspiration picture is from this IG, https://www.instagram.com/bluebarnandcottage/ More on the house here, http://www.homebunch.com/beautiful-homes-of-instagram-50/ The blog post has lots of details for the living room, from paint colors to sources for the rugs to how they did the fireplace.

Ok, working on this wall with 68” wide buffet. The art on the wall is obviously too small, but wanted a frame of reference. It is 25”h x 37”w. Should buffet lamps stay or go? Art horizontal or vertical? Ceilings are 9ft. Need to keep mahogany dining room, but trying to lighten things up. Love the suggestions and ideas from this group. Thanks for any input.

Oh wow, it seems like you just moved into this place.  How exciting.  Keep the space minimized as you have it.  I would actually remove the TV too and just stage as a sitting room.  When in doubt, remove.  You want it to be non personal.

The term "coastal grandmother" is a bit tongue in cheek. As posted up thread the Nancy Myer movies probably epitomized the look - especially the kitchens in the large homes often set in the Hamptons or equivalent. Large white kitchens with glass uppers and they resemble the standard "white" tract home kitchen just as much as the gray kitchens resemble Martha Stewart's original gray kitchen. I don't know why certain posters feel a need to deride current terms for style trends. It is shorthand to describe a certain aesthete. I believe the same poster recently questioned another current stylstic trend. The reality is that most people on houzz understand what "coastal grandmother" is or it can easily be googled if someone is totally clueless. While there might be quibbles about certain aspects, the reality is that if you talked to a knowledgable designer and told them you wanted "coastal grandmother" they would be able to produce a design board which contained the appropriate element. Ironically there was a recent New York Magazine piece on "coastal grandmother" as a more encompassing life style look - clothing and hair etc. Coastal Grandmother An excerpt Do you long to quit everything and make big salads by the ocean? Do you find great appeal in putting on a white turtleneck and sitting barefoot in the sand? Does the idea of drinking white wine while sighing wistfully into the middle distance make you … a little horny? Great news, sweetie. You are a coastal grandmother. The aesthetic — which doesn’t actually require you to be a grandparent or live by an ocean — has been gaining popularity on TikTok with people showing off their fancy cookware, giving tours of their grandparents’ beachy homes, and displaying their collection of striped button-downs. “Coastal grandmother is a lifestyle and aesthetic that embodies elements of coastal living and homemaking,” TikToker Lex Nicoleta, who takes credit for the term, tells the Cut over email. Nicoleta is responsible for some of the most popular videos under the hashtag #coastalgrandmother, giving movie recs, outfit ideas, and kitchen inspo to fellow aspiring coastal grandmas. If you, too, would like to wrap yourself in lightweight sweaters by a beach, here is a guide to embracing your inner coastal grandmother.