Dear fellow decorators, Thanks so much for all your responses! I knew I could rely on you guys. Thank you very much for the inspiration pictures, "jejvtr." I absolutely love them, and the look depicted in all three of them is pretty much spot on what I was envisioning. However, I am realistic and I know that our end result will probably not match what is in these pictures, because yes, the stretches of brick to the left and right of the main flank of brick are uneven. Also, I could remove the hearth, as you suggest, "egganddart49," but there are electrical outlets on both sides of the hearth, so I am certain removing the hearth would require electrical know-how, and DH and I are not up to snuff with that. I don't mind having the fireplace as the focal point, anyways-it's inevitable, and with a nice large painting above I think it can look nice. "Jakabedy," our house is actually a two story traditional colonial built in 1940. I do appreciate the MCM style, although our family room is not that. It was an addition consisting of a family room built on a concrete slab with a new master on top. I think whoever did it just took various elements popular at that time (floor to ceiling fireplace, large patio windows, wooden paneling, etc.) and mashed it all together. Cheers, Anna

Keep the stucco, definitely - yeah it does require some occasional maintenance every ... oh, half a century or so... but it really is a quality item. Either patch and repaint, but make it an earthier color that realates better to roof and brick chimney - eg if green, a browner/richer/earthier shade of green. Or if you are resurfacing entire house, they can color the stucco itself to leave you with a more maintenance free surface that has a more of a natural masonry pebbly surface that can be VERY attractive. Im curious do you know what the original color or finish was? Not that you have to replicate it, but it can be helpful to inform you what the original intention was and look up pictures of other stucco houses of that era - could be Im way off about my inclination toward earthier colors for stucco. Your houses era/style, midcentury modern, is very fashionable these days and in fact a lot of contemporary architecture and home furnishings replicate or are inspired by that era.... so you really cant go wrong by remaining true to that style. You say "modernize" but IMHO, getting houses back to their roots and making changes that are harmonious with and true to the original design esthetic is usually the best choice. That in itself will make your house look totally refreshed and "new." Actually I cant see any sign of swirl marks in the photo - I don't think changing that would have nearly as much impact as repairing the surface & refreshing the color. BTW, I do agree with above posters that it is a very attractive house as is!

OK, good feedback. thanks. How much wall is on the front door side of the entry before the opening begins. I can make a change once I have that info. How wide is the arch at the bottom? I have mixed feelings about the radiator cover. I have had a condo with radiators and I liked the covers because you could give them some use. I put granite tops on them and was then able to use them for some books, and plants. I can't see what the top surface is? You don't gain much by removing them IMO. I would paint them your trim color since they are basically trim. As to art, the size somewhat depends on what you are looking for in art. I have done all kinds of widths of art over mantels. The basic tradition is to have the art be approx. 2/3 as wide as the mantel. But with yours, I think you could go a bit wider and higher if you find something you love. Sometimes you find something you love and we have to create the visual space we need for the proper balance by adding candle sconces or tall candlesticks or some type additional element to properly proportion the area above the mantel. I would start by looking for something about 38-40" wide. How much space is there between the top of the mantel and the ceiling/crown? Your current tapestry? is too small as you probably know.

@Groveraxle: thanks! I hope they have something like this color fabric iption in Crypton! Wonder if my photo is depicting a different color (cos of lighting). How would you describe this color in my photo (I am no good with greige, blue grey, charcoal etc descriptions.. for me it is light grey, med grey and dark grey: terrible, I know!)? here is a link from the store website, does it look the same as my photo? : https://www.jordans.com/product/living-room/sectionals/rowe-townsend-3-piece-sectional-lz1662207 Also - for the cabinets: what height would be ideal given that there would be a couch close to it? and other side a TV needs to be on top...