Your new rug, sofa and chaise are great.
To give the room a fresh less traditional look, I would take out all of the small frames and objects and plants. Aim for a more minimal streamlined look.
I think the furniture placement could be changed to open up the room more.
Could you try moving the two leather chairs away from the fireplace and move the chaise to the left of the fireplace? The leather chairs could be grouped at the camera end of the room with the small table.
I would chose a glass and dark wood coffee table or consider having several square ottomans that could be used to rest a tray and moved around as needed.
The lamps and overhead lighting do need an update. What do you think about drum style shades on the central light and on one new lamp.
An accent colour or some pattern or texture would add interest.
Replace the art - the frame of a picture over your fireplace needs to be longer horizontally eg landscape style rather than portrait. The art over the sofa looks too small. You need one larger piece or two to three square pieces, hung close together.

Such fantastic ideas! Thank you!! I actually did have the chaise to the left and the chairs at camera end but I had a little trouble with where rug ends and where dark chairs start? And my family's complaint was that person in the chaise could not view the TV behind them. but this room is not the main tv room tho so I am goin to try again.

Hi! Beautiful room! :) What about replacing the coffee table with one round ottoman?

http://deciture.com/shop/furniture/7/farrow-round-tufted-ottoman/

How about the sofa facing the fireplace, the two chairs on the sofa wall and the chaise angled toward the fireplace by the window

This table would look both contemporary and rooted in the past:

http://www.arteriorshome.com/shop/furniture/tables/product/6238?malcolm-cocktail-table
you can source Arteriors products through a local interior designer.

And this may be gorgeous too... http://www.arteriorshome.com/shop/lighting/lampfloor/product/79825-344?waldo-floor-lamp

Why don't you try a fabric square ottoman with a large tray on top instead of traditional coffee table..also the light fixture on fan should go and you should add inset lighting..it gives immediate new modern look and great ambiance

The rug doesn't coordinate with the wood floors or the color of the walls. I don't know how you feel about painting the trim and wood on the fireplace, but painting it all in Benjamin Moore's White Dove would brighten up the room. If you don't want to paint the trim, I think you should replace the rug with something else. It just doesn't look right in the room.

Love the red in the room with the art on the mantle and would love to see more of it with pillows.

I think that the focal point is the fireplace and those great bookshelves and windows. Play those up. You could even paint the fireplace. You may want to revisit your furniture placement, and maybe even find a different room for the chaise. Maybe try facing the sofa towards the fireplace. The chairs can still be on either side of the fireplace, or put on sofa wall, or one on each end of sofa facing one another. Different ceiling fan/light. The one you currently have is just too "wimpy". The pic is good, but take the plants off mantel. I think a small round ottoman for coffee table would be nice, and versital. The expensive items that the designer suggested, could be copied for A LOT less. Run to HomeGoods, or a furniture consignment store. Good luck

Editing the knick knacks and introducing some color is an inexpensive way to add character to this space. Perhaps move the red artwork to hang over the sofa and paint the fireplace wall with a shade of red from the painting. Hard to tell the size of the artwork currently hanging behind the sofa, but it would pop if hung above the fireplace on a red background. Extend the red to the wall behind the shelves and organize them with fewer photos and some of the mantle objects. Lose the large plant on the mantle and move the small one to the coffee table. Also move the magazine rack so it sits next to the sofa for a less cluttered look. If you think it still needs more, paint the coffee table a dark brown high gloss and/or cover the white sofa pillows with a fun fabric that has some red in it.

-- The furniture placement is right. Placing the sofa facing the fireplace is stopping a welcoming feeling when coming into the space. You might however, move the chairs and chaise closer to the cocktail table - pull them away from the wall - group them closer together.

Persian rugs are timeless and you might want to rethink using it again. The rug you have on the floor now is really not adding much to your furniture or fireplace wall since it is light. A darker, more colorful rug would "present" those elements better and add more pattern/color to the space..

The artwork over the sofa needs to be larger and hung about 6" above the back of the sofa. Black and white prints would instantly give you a more contemporary look.

Add books to the bookcases, along with a few of your photos. Plants in the windows should be bigger, and in matching, wonderful pots. Some colorful art glass in the windows would add color to the space.

Painting the woodwork and fireplace would lighten up that end of the room as well as update it into the transitional look

My first instinct is to paint the trim. I would also go for a neutral "greige" color- so popular and some complain it's too popular but you really can't go wrong with the revere pewter/ white dove combo! It would be fabulous!

I love you huilt-ins! what a fun space to work with for you! My first thoughts lookinh at your room was, a large mirror above the sofa would bounce light around the room. A more rectangle shaped art piece above the fireplace, and repaint the bricks, pulling a color from your rug, then add a pop of color with two brighter pillows on your leather chairs ( replacing the busy dark patterned lumbar pillows) and another on the sofa with a throw! ;) Lovely space!

Ha! Auto correct is tormenting me! *your built-ins * looking

some ideas by Galilee lighting

I think the changes in your room look really nice. I would think about a round or oval glass coffee table for the centre of the room. The following is a link to one that came to my mind http://www.portfoliointeriors.ca/product/living-room/coffee-tables/magnussen/copi-cocktail
I link the idea of using a softer metal than chrome to frame the glass.

Great room with great potential. I agree about painting the trim white and would also include the walls and the fireplace brick. I also agree about the mirror over the sofa to reflect the light. I would suggest you move the two dark chairs to opposiie the sofa side by side which is a quite contemporary look and is a cosy chatting or reading area. The chaise can stay where it is but maybe with cosy throw ( muted check or stripe or . I am anti the red idea and feel you do not need cushions as there are enough on the sofa. For light fittings I would suggest chrome or brushed satin - something funky and an Arco type floor lamp in the corner beside the fire would look great. I would lose the coffee table and replace it ( if you feel you need to ) either with some mirrored side tables to the same height as your sofa and armchairs or alternatively with a big boxy table which will also give you some extra storage. Finally, invest in a larger piece of artwork for over your mantlepiece as the one you have is, in my opinion, too small or of course, the big tv - snd put some colour in the room by putting art glass onto your shelves - blue for cool. I am going to learn how to manipulate images so next time I can do a mock of the room so you can see what I mean rathe than it just be in my head !

What about a round ottoman and some pillows with pops of color to add contrast

Know what you mean about contrast but I think colour from the art glass ( can be big pieces so not lost in the scheme.) weill do the job and not end up on the floor ! Not a fan of too many cushions and I am starting a trend of less is more in the cushions department !

What a great room. I'd love to come over and sit and have a cup of coffee with you! For a pop of color you could put a fun wallpaper in the back of the built ins.

This could be a celebration of nature, balance and a warm gathering spot - your favorite room! Here are some suggestions. Fill the area above the fireplace visually with with a sizable horizontal format painting on gallery wrap canvas (no frame and no glass) with colors that you love - check with local artists and find a unique painting that speaks to you. Take your color cues from that painting and carry it through with round pillows and a throw - moving that color through the room and softening all those squares and rectangles. Wrap the fireplace above the firebox with copper or aluminum or sheetrock - the pattern and repeat of the bricks is too fussy. Get a different center table - something round - position it directly under the fan. I would use a steel firepit with legs with a round glass top for an unexpected and artistic look. Fill it with rocks or pottery or sticks - anything natural and interesting. Or a big round ottoman. Play up the symetry of the windows by pulling the chairs forward and equally spaced on the firebox - close to the round center table. Get a much larger painting on gallery wrap canvas for the wall over the couch to balance the large door on the opposite side of the room and all those windows. Replace the uplight lamp and the hanging lamp in the corner by the shelves with quality matching streamlined floor lamps. If the fireplace is non funtioning take away the tools - or if funtioning replace with a new streamlined set of tools. If non functioning load the firebox with real logs or big river rocks. Move the magazine rack into the corner by the couch and the shelves or just use the lower shelves in the corner for your magazines. Take all of the tiny frames - family photos? - to another room where they can be better appreciated by the family members. Replace with some interesting dark color pottery from a local artist - that will balance the television. If you don't need that much seating I would be tempted to move the couch to another room entirely - it looks too big for that wall. You can always replace it with an upholstered bench or stools if you need more space to perch on only from time to time. If the fan is not needed you have a great opportunity to hang a round drum fixture over the center table and add another circular element to this room. This room can be great!

I think painting the trim to match the moulding would have a big impact. It certainly would brighten up the room and tie the neutral color scheme together. So cozy!

I like the Sandy G. Ltd. suggestion the best. Notice what they have done to downplay all the window casements and trim. All that brown woodwork closes the room in too much. Remove much of the furniture and definitely add color. I like the idea of painting the brick a turqoise"ish" and updating the shelves. My trick is to do several arrangements as thumbnails on paper before sketching it out more thoroughly. Biggest mistake I see people do is to buy things they think they'll like and then trying to "make" it work. But above all, have fun with it. I hope you find something you can live with!

With the dark mouldings, fireplace and dark brown chairs all at one end of the room it appears off balance and chopped up. The bentwood pendant light fixture suggested really draws attention and becomes the focal point instead of the fireplace. Room doesn't appear to be very wide so I would suggest a rectangle metal and glass top coffee table. The larger art work suggested connects much better. Think a sisal area rug with a choclate brown binding would compliment the room style you are trying to achieve.