I love your home, and love the woodwork. It probably has darkened with age, and could be nicer if stripped and refinished, but with 4 younger kids that is a project for down the road. For now, I am glad that you are not painting it. You have gotten lots of great suggestions, but many of them seem to be things that at this point you cannot do for a variety of reasons. Since you are suggesting that some of the fixes will be temporary, until your youngest is a bit older, I am thinking in terms of working with what you have, rather than making some changes now that may not work down the line when you are ready to really alter things. Since this is your family room, where all of you gather, imo we need to think in those terms, more than about what looks pretty. I get the impression that you don't use your front door often, since the loveseat is currently sitting there. So, despite the fact that I love the fireplace, you said it is non-working, I believe. It seems to me that for now, the place for the TV is in front of the fireplace. Straight on, almost as a replacement. Don't paint the brick, either. The one thing that could be nice is if the TV stand were a bit lower, so that the top line of the tv sat just below the mantel. With the tv in front of the fireplace, we need to move the viewing angles around a little. I would try the couch all the way back at the end of the room, in front of the double window. Move the torchiere down to replace that little table that is sitting in the corner. It seems like you should have enough space, with the couch against the end wall, to leave the sofa table where it is with the lamp on it. Take the loveseat and put it on the front window wall where the couch is now. Use the little end table to the left side, right by the entry, and add another table lamp (stolen from somewhere?) on that table. Keep the loveseat and table pushed as far to the left, close to the door, as possible, to give the tv visual 'breathing room'. Get rid of the runner in front of the couch. Leave the blinds, I think they are fine, but get rid of the window scarves. I would stay away from curtains, but would consider adding a simple valance above the front and end wall windows, hung just below the picture moulding. Nothing gathered, but rather something flat with pleats. Something like this style: premier stripe inverted pleat valance I would take down all the things you have hanging on the walls in there and re-group. It appears you have a mirror on the wall behind the door, which seems pretty much unusable. The framed art is marching around in a row, and is spaced too far apart. Consider taking the pix that relate to one another and making a grouping of them above the sofa table. I would take down the mirror over the fireplace for now - maybe it can find a new home elsewhere in the house. The tv will kind of dwarf anything that is framed up there, so instead try the large candlesticks to one side (but not all the way to the edge), with a richer color for the candles. Add a lower, wider vase or planter with some taller twigs and green grasses, etc in it, to bring some color and softness above the tv. Think about adding some other items to the pretty shelving besides framed pix - maybe some books, a couple of interesting pieces of pottery, etc. Look for things that pull out some of the colors that are in the fabric you want to use. As for paint, I would use a warm beige color on the walls, and go two shades lighter above the picture rail, same lighter color on the ceiling and on the entire fireplace area above the mantel only. I love greens, but looking at the wood in the room, especially in the closer shot, it feels like beige/gold would do more to bring out the richer tones in the wood. Be sure you have the highest wattage you can get in the lamps. Don't use the ceiling fan lights for lighting the space. They only create glare up high and shadows down below, unless you have them on a dimmer and can get a soft light effect that just kind of washes the ceiling. I think once you add some warm color with the paint, and bring in your pillows and accents, the room will feel warmer and more friendly.

My long-term plan would be to install a vent hood. Besides all the advantages of real venting, you could replace the upper cabinets with white or whatever color you chose. You only want to paint over a factory-finished cabinet as a last resort, and especially not the base cabs where water exposure and drips occur. You'd only need five new cabinets--three on the window wall, one to the left of the fridge, and an over-fridge cabinet. All cabs would go to the ceiling. The first cab would be a few inches narrower to give the window some breathing room--I really dislike windows crowded by cabinets. The cab to the right of the window would also be slightly smaller, subtracting inches for the window and a properly sized vent hood. That cab might now be a single door, which opens toward the stove instead of a right-hinged door opening in your face (single door, less $). Eliminate the useless over the mw cab and use a chimney hood (savings of several hundred $ that goes to the new hood). You would install a full depth cab over the fridge, making the fridge look built-in and updating your kitchen. The thing that jumps out to me as dreary are the sconces. Change the one over the table ASAP.

Our Benjamin Moore paint store has a woman who will come to your house and help pick wall colors and help with the flow from one room to another, as long as you purchase the paint from them. You really need someone to be there in person to see how the house flows and especially how the light varies from room to room. Trim/door/window paint color kept the same also helps the flow and even “white” trim can be tricky depending on the mix of cool vs. warm tones - especially with neutrals and you mentioned gray.. The two Benj. Moore trim paints recommended to me were Simply White or Chantilly Lace which work with warm or cool neutral tones.

Hi Gina S how wonderful to have a lake house! i wouldn’t touch the fireplace or the floors..have the paneled walls painted it will really lighten up the room....pull colors from the brick like grey and taupe...carry it throughout than just add In the blue..be careful with the addition of reds it will start looking like a Fourth of July house😉. Stick with all the neutrals the color should come in last with art and pillows....add a big neutral textured rug in the fireplace room...just hold off on adding color until all the main pieces are added and the walls are painted.