Thanks, mjsee! Unfortunately the nearest Ikea is over a hundred miles away from us so I'm not exactly sure we'll go that route cabinet-wise. As for the walls, I tend to agree even if my first reaction when I saw this room was "Oh, eff my life, we need to paint this ASAP." It's grown on me and I definitely don't like the idea that once I paint it we can't really go back. I could see one day taking it down and drywalling it (the insulation is non-existent as we're in a warm part of California so I'd put some in at that point), but we're not there yet. Nicole--I love that look, I just don't think it'll work in my space. :\ Stacey--thanks! WRT the living space, it's set up fairly similarly to the scene shown: two green microfiber couches instead of a sectional, a black/glass coffee table, and from Overstock. We have a black/dark brown TV table, a desk hidden behind the TV, and generally dark-colored wood or pine bookshelves dotted around the room. Oh, and a massive cat tree. :) I took the shelves down from the windows. The fans we brought in are amazing--dark wood blades with these Steampunk-like brushed nickel bodies. The rug:

Thanks everyone for your comments. I don't know if you can see it, but the green square between the two windows in the FR is a sample of BM Baby Turtle. That's the color I was thinking about painting that wall. I agree that painting the entertainment unit would breakup the Knotty pine overload! I was thinking about maybe starting off with putting a paintable wallpaper on the back wall of the bookcase and seeing how it looked with that painted first - maybe do the Baby Turtle on the back of the bookcase, and the white on the shelves. I was thinking about painting the trim white, but thought it might look stark with all the paneling. The fireplace is very tall. I'm 5'4" tall and when I stand on the hearth, I can barely reach the top of the mantle. To put that flower arrangement up there I had to stand on my tippy toes to just reach enough to place it up there. So, to watch TV up there is impossible. The room isn't that large. We struggled with the furniture placement for hours, but with the wall of windows and the builtin, I'm sortof stuck with where things are. I figure you can sit up on the sunroom chairs to admire the fireplace this winter.

Hmmm...I have an idea. Never tried before, so please do a sample board. Disclaimer, may fail, too. Ok.... So, since whitewashed knotty pine has a tendency to come out pink, maybe using the opposite of the color wheel to counteract the pink would help. Adding the opposite color into the 1st coat of wash, then a 2nd thicker coat of white wash on top. I use this opposite color application a lot in watercolors to tone colors in my paintings which is similar process in whitewashing. Please note again, it is a concept. Please do a sample board 1st. My process before doing walls for clients.. I get 2-3 sample boards to experiment with to test the products & application before going into doing a whole wall. I highly suggest practicing on samples until application works. Then test it on actual wall, let it all dry. see it in daylight & night lights. Once it passes all the tests to client's liking, then go for it full force in confidence. It's a lot of extra steps & precautions, however a lot less unforseen problems later. Hope that helps. Whatever ends up working, would appreciate seeing. Please post after photos. Good luck!

I agree with the comments above. Right now, ALL of your elements in the room are the same brown/red - floor, walls, fireplace, rug, furniture. Personally, I would paint the paneling. But if you like it and want to keep it, consider painting your bookcases a warm white or cream, and using a much larger light colored rug in the room. A larger, brighter, horizontal piece of art would be better over the fireplace. I don't mind the screen or the hearth which both blend well with your brick.