I'm back again. I am having so many struggles with picking the right gray (as evidenced by by the million sample cans of gray paint in my house and painted on poster boards) I still don't feel qualified to offer any advice on your space. I didn't read through a lot of the responses. I just stumbled acrosss this article, perhaps it will help you. This woman is an expert. Speaking of my gray drama, I was lucky enough to be at the taping of the new Nate Berkus show yesterday. There was a moment that he allowed for a Q&A, and I am kicking myself for not asking about "The Perfect Gray" and "paint color on the ceiling". The question that was asked was the most ridiculous question ever--so long winded that it didn't allow for any more questions. ugh. Here is a little blurb about ceiling paints: Here is a link that might be useful: Colour Me Happy

Amy, I looked but could not see her suggestion listed. I thought that i was done but Last night your situation touched my heart because I remembered how I felt about my room and feeling blocked. So I put together a rendition with the thought; "What would I do if this room was mine and my husband's?" So with your blessing I will take some pics of what I did just for your consideration. Remember, these are only my suggestions but the final decision is all yours. So let's see what you think and what will really work. In this the focus is the layout of the room the furniture is relevant but secondary because if we can get the room to do what You want than the furniture will literally fall into place.

I haven't owned one but what you describe fits the LoveSac Sactional to a tee: https://www.lovesac.com/sactionals.html you can remove the fabric covers and wash for the entire sactional, they have high wearing fabric choices, you can customize the depth somewhat and they can be built to various configurations... the only thing I am not sure of is whether you can have a high back on it but the images look high to me.

Definitely don't paint the shelves! It looks nice like that and gives off a vibe of a nice discrepancy with the wall. place things you like AND look appropriate, as it looks to be a little bit more on the sophisticated side. I would also recommend getting some leather(black or white) furniture to go with it. chairs like lc3 or lc2 loveseats (replicas so you stay budget-friendly, personally recommend BCN designs)