cosy room but get rid of pics on fireplace & wall heater, edit pics on mantle, remove plant from coffee table, replace one of the armchairs with a leather pouf? You don't need sheers & curtains - pick one or the other. Adorable room though - love the big mirror over the fireplace

There a lot of quite heavy pieces in this room. If you really want to go for an airy look then you need to change out many of them. Is that in budget? Your expectations of the room need to be aligned to your budget.

The couch can still work with airy. First, edit the books on those shelves and add more interest pieces like the vases, photos, etc. Not much though - the entire look needs to be paired down. Maybe paint out the brick on your fireplace (although if you lightened up everything else, maybe it could work as is), but definitely remove that mirror - it looks dated. If you want a mirror in that space, add one that has some interest to it - a unique shape or interesting frame. The rug is extremely traditional. I would change it to something with a more transitional/maybe coastal vibe. Even a simple sisal, or a light toned berber area rug. The red chair should be either recovered to match the cream one, or moved to another room. I can understand the need for sheers for privacy, and generally I don't mind having a double rod with both, but in this case (at least from these photos) it looks like the sheers are too bulky under your drapes, which don't extend across any way. I would keep the sheers and lose the curtain panels.

Good luck.

A nice cosy room ...
Love the two chairs near the fireplace ...
Ready for sitting
listening toooo the piano player

I would .....as already suggested .take the small pictures off
Of the fireplace
and the wall heater ....
But.... I also would take the small items off from the mantel
Maybe replace with bigger objects....or just leaving that clear
Thus just concentrating on the bookcase ...
Love the idea of taking some shelves away from the bookcase
If possible ...and painting the back of it ...
On looking it appears that you maybe don't close your curtains
Saying this .....
because the curtain rods
Don't seem to be the whole width
of the window
So yes maybe just have sheers
Or if able ...replace existing curtain rod
With full window width rod
Then getting curtains that will fit
And not using the sheers

But of course all depends on your budget ...

I agree that removing all the little pictures from the mantel, fireplace will immediately help with the cluttered look. I think you might have one too many chairs there... I would keep the white one and move out the red one, moving the white one where the red one now is. It's too bad that big mirror doesn't reflect anything...are those things on the dining room ceiling fixtures or vents? If fixtures I would get a nice chandelier for there that would be reflected in the mirror. I think the rug contain tributes to the busyness and would consider replacing with something a little less fussy. Also the bookshelves need to be edited and all the little items could be replaced with fewer but larger pieces. Have you tried the sofa in front of the window? That might open the space up more.

Please could you post a picture
of the other side of the sofa
I see you have a table behind it
But what's beyond that ..
Maybe the piano could be moved there ...
If you have a few men that can help you move it of course
Thus. Having the sofa where the piano is now
Don't see a TV ....
It's not a must have ...
maybe it's just your music room
All this just food for thought

Sometimes it helps to take everything out as if you were going to paint. Leave the sofa and the piano. Then consider what you want to add.

Lots of good suggestions here and I especially like changing the rug to sisal, removal of small items, bringing in fewer larger ones, painting back of shelves to a favorite accent color, removal of piano across to adjacent room (if possible) and plantation shutters to replace the heavier drapes. Beautiful beginning just needs a little refining and brightening.

Trying to not be repetitive as the other advice you have received so far is good. Definitely agree the most with the comment about designing around your budget.

That said, as best as I was able to see the picture you shared, quickly I would recommend the following and depending on your budget:

- refresh paint color in the room to a warmer color of white, keep moldings white, & like idea of painting back of bookcases in an accent color
- replace current rug with a transitional style rug that is lighter in color
- remove the darker upholstered chair from room
- if budget allows, reupholster white chair and sofa to more updated fabrics (think transitional style would still work best). If unable to reupholster chair and/or sofa, consider adding throw pillows to chair in complimentary colors to the new rug, sofa, drapes
- declutter: remove 90% of books on shelves and sparingly decorate shelves with remaining books (distributed amongst just a few shelves & consider laying some of them on their sides instead of all standing upright); remove all frames and other items on top of fireplace mantle and screen; remove picture frames from the heater
- select a few of the pictures to display on the shelf and consider getting new frames for some or all
- remove green plants
- possibly get a new fireplace screen that is looks less heavy
- do a single rod for your drapes vs. the double rod. Use sheers if that is what you prefer, but a raw silk type fabric drapes could be an option
- remove table next to piano from room
- remove table top lamps. If the lamps are a necessity, then consider a floor lamp
- not sure what else you have in the back of the room other than what looks like a highboy style dresser or armoire, but if there is space would recommend moving the piano to the back of the room. Can you remove the highboy style dresser or armoire?
- if keep sofa in current location, declutter console table and feature light color floral arrangement. Consider relocating sofa to wall that piano is against now if it fits. If so, then add side table w/table lamps that are a little bigger than the ones you currently have in the room.
- update artwork on wall (stick with transitional style)

Hope this helps some. Good luck!

--Some ideas:

--Move all personal photos to another room.

--You could have a wide, weathered white interesting frame built for your fireplace mirror. Just place it over the mirror to frame it.

--Paint the red brick white and add some tall silvery mercury glass vases or candlesticks to the mantle. Fill the fireplace with a huge stack of white birch logs. You can get them cut to size at Wilsons.com. Alternatively, place a large white globe lamp, or white paper shade over a small lamp in the fireplace in the off season and turn it on for a soft glow. The black fireplace darkens that wall.

--Fill the bottom two bookshelves with your books, but remove the top shelf so that you can place some interesting, big bold accessories--baskets, pottery, vases on the new top shelf. Paint the back of the bookcases in the lightest color from your rug or the pale color of your couch.

--I like the two chairs flanking the fireplace but would put a bold dark red and white pillow on the white chair and a bold white and red pillow on the red chair--reversed-color pillows.

--If you're considering a paint job, paint the living room a pale, pale gray, which goes well with gold and/or red.

--Instead of gold curtains, get white curtains with a gray or gold pattern, such as these from Ballard designs.

--Re-mat and reframe the art work over the piano in a modern white frame. If you're not wedded to the image, consider going on Etsy and finding something you like that's much bolder in grays, gold, white.

In addition to the good ideas above, because you have dark furniture and plants, you might want to peruse British Colonial rooms for ideas. https://www.houzz.com/photos/british-colonial-phbr0lbl-bl~l_2796

Well, decluttering first: remove at least 3/4 of books, vases, pictures, etc., then remove all the rest and paint walls and trim a light color that coordinates with the sofa if you plan to keep it. I'd get rid of a couple of the shelves in the bookcases, too. Maybe get rid of all of them so that you can hang a nice picture in each alcove.

Lose the rug, and polish the floors. Change the curtains to simple tailored ones that match the wall color. Keep them as simple as possible. If you need a rug, get a small plain one.

If there's room, move the sofa in front of the window and give up the sofa table behind it. Move piano out if you can. If not, move it over to a corner if it fits -- maybe beside the fireplace. Paint the bricks on the fireplace, too, to match the walls.

Chairs... You might be able to put them where the sofa is now, but if you want simple, sell them and get smaller, more straight lined pieces. Otherwise, reupholster them to match, in a plain fabric.

Don't bring back the little vases and things. Keep the piano closed when not playing it.

I would remove piano if possible. Paint the room a real warm gold . Reframe the artwork in frames that complement each other. One looks formal and the other doesn't. Pull chairs and sofa closer together and out from bookcases more. Remove off white chair. It doesn't look like it goes with the couch and other chair. Recover the dArk chair in a lighter fabric that complements the sofa and find a pair of tall narrow lamps to stand on mantle in front of mirror on each side. Take sheers out of windows and just leave panels. Remove pictures off mantel. take out every other shelf in bookcase and paint the back of them in a color to complement the new gold paint color of the room and remove some of the books and display other items such as vases, plates etc in bookcase staggering books a few together with display items.

Remove floor lamps and maybe place one at the end of the sofa table behind sofa. also need a pretty floral arrangement on coffee table by itself.

Also turn rug other way

Move the piano to another room. I placed mine in dining room and created a whole new vibe for the house.

When you remove all except sofa and piano spend some money on added electrical outlets and maybe some overhead recessed lights, then you can get rid of that electrical cord snaking around piano leg, a real trip hazard.