I've used Bejamin Moore Gray Owl throughout much of my home, and I love it. My floors are a similar color to yours, and my trim is also white.

White walls (not pure white), paint your ceilings white, off white or dark trim, symmetrical placement of furniture, if you have older electrical receptacles and switches change them to decora, plain modern door handles, get rid of tiny things, de-clutter, keep your dining room table and add modern chairs, if you have more pics I could be more specific. Traditional furniture looks fantastic used in non-traditional ways. Hope you like some of my ideas.

this layout is just crazy.. I am going to take another picture and i would love for you to tell me how you would place the furniture or any suggestions on what type of furniture to be used would be great. give me a minute and I will have it uploaded

Ok so here is another picture of the living room and it has a slanted wall which I have chest with a lamp, then there is that nook and i have a chair with a small table and lamp.

I think a good direction for you to go is toward a more transitional style. It marries the traditional and contemporary. Since most of your big ticket items are traditional, keep them but add a more contemporary aesthetic with paint and lower ticket items, such as throw pillows, lamps or coffee table (although they can get pricey). A wonderful thing that transitional styled interiors use is a neutral palette. They also tend to borrow from the modern spectrum by editing the accessories for a streamlined, no-fuss, curated look.

In your case, I believe a light warm neutral paint color in bone white, light taupe or rich ivory would work well well with the furniture you have. Take a look at some of these rooms and see if there are elements that appeal to you that you could experiment with.

Here are some with traditional furnishings with a few mod touches. The walls are neutral and the accessories are on the minimal side:

Most spaces are just that...anything you make it. Especially because you have white trim, changing your paint and decor would definitely modernize your space. I often sell what I have in Craigslist and buy large items used on Craigslist and then find decor at places such as TJMaxx and HomeGoods. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions! So I have uploaded a picture of the wall the sofa faces. I did have the 2 cocoa chairs in front of the windows with a round side table between them, but outside the windows is a pool and I felt the chairs obstructed the view of the pool so I moved them. When you walk in the front door your eyes go directly to those windows that you suggested the chairs infront of, and I thought it would be so much more attractive if when the front door opens you see the pool. The small lavender painting is my daughters drawing that she hung there. LOL!

The two chairs before the window will underline the pool view as well as more clearly define your seating area. They won't compete with it. They will also serve as a welcome when entering the room by offering a comfortable place to sit. Take a look at this example; the chairs before the window in no way detract from the view.:



However, if you don't like the two chairs before the window (perhaps the scale is inappropriate), maybe a low upholstered bench would work better for you. Currently, the view is not emphasized. Since the view is a nice feature, something before the window, whether an upholstered bench, matching arm chairs or a pedestal table will act as punctuation to what lies beyond and in so doing will draw attention to it. Three inset Roman shades (similar to the trim color) on the windows would also draw attention to the view.

The drawing by your daughter needs to have a place of honor! I'd be tempted to place it on the shelving surrounding the TV. The great thing about her painting is that it's an opportunity to add its color as an accent in the room. Imagine light bone walls, your tan sofa, cocoa chairs,dashes of lavender and your pecan colored floors. Fresh and earthy at the same time!

As you re-evaluate your color palette, think about what items you currently have that really mean something to you or speak to your aethetic preferences. That's a really good way to establish what colors you want to live with.

btw - you've got great furnishings to work with. Good luck!

Manon offered lots of great suggestions, most of which I agree. However, I would suggest you do not purchase or replace any further items, a more modern look means less 'stuff'. Definitely a no to throw cushions! Keep your accessories to a minimum and I think you'll find it fresh and modern looking.

If I move the 2 chairs back to infront of the windows, what would I put in that funny nook that is beside the slanted wall. I tried to move the chest to that spot but the area swallowed up the chests, then if I do that what would go good on the slanted wall. Adjacent to the slanted wall I have another slanted wall with a wall mirror and the other chair, behind the mirror is the ac return so I needs to be covered with something... thank you all for giving me so many ideas and encouragement.

You don't have to actually put anything there, but do you have an over-sized plant in a neutral pot or tall bamboo sticks in a favorite container? Try it, see if you like it...

Ok so I am uploading a picture of the chairs infront of the windows, I realize that you suggested to put the lamp with the black shade on the table, however it is too big so I will look for another one if I decide to keep it like this. Also, I am not crazy about the 2 rugs criss crossed, but thought I would try it. Let me know what you guys think.

use the bigger rug directly between the sofa and fireplace (not on an angle), put the smaller one somewhere else. The two chairs in front of the windows look great, try the big lamp, I would like to see it. Bigger looks better usually... can you take the single chair and put it in front of your book shelve, just facing the sofa instead of the fireplace?

The rugs are exactly the same size they are just too small, so I will have to get another one. I did change the lamp and the chair, I am not real crazy abou the chair facing the sofa, but it does seem to open it up some what do you think?

I would like to see a better photo of the dining room. It is rather dark and I can't tell what that is on the back wall. Also, I recently saw a dining room chair with fabric covers on the back...If you sew you could make a simple cover with a contemporary fabric that brings in some color.

It does look like it's coming along well. Try just the striped rug, I'm still of the mind of not buying anything yet. If you're worried about the feet of the chair on the wood floors, those little floor protectors work great and they can be picked up at any local dollar store. That lamp is a better choice too, when the room is painted it may look fantastic. Do you need that table beside the couch for anything? Try pulling it out of the pic and see how it looks, I'm looking at it and it seems like other than a few papers on it you don't seem to need it there. Most importantly, how are you feeling about the look? Let me know... :)

did you like the chair facing the sofa?

Wow...your room is shaping up already and you haven't even painted yet! You're working with a great space and really nice, versatile furnishings. I agree with many of the great ideas offered by Manon and Eydie. Karen's suggestion of BM Gray Owl is a great choice for a neutral grey to lighten up the space. It's hard to tell how daylight affects these rooms, so you may need to go a bit lighter. It would be great to see pictures taken during the day.

If it were my choice, I'd go with a very pale taupe or a very pale bluish gray. It doesn't appear that you're shy about color, so try out a few different shades on each of your walls. The exposure in your rooms will make a big difference on how these colors appear.

I can see this room with a rug large enough so the front legs of the chairs rest on it, in a lighter color, maybe with stripes. The one with the squiggly stripes would be great if it was larger.

Some great suggestions for a room that is really nice.

I like the chair facing the sofa better than when it was facing the book shelves, and I like the chair, I'm not totally committed to the chair yet, It's hard to tell from the photo, but how is the scale of the chair compared to your sofa and other two chairs? On thoughts of colour, it would be easier for the bunch of us to help if we knew what direction the room faces? Cool neutrals can help a southern exposure and warm ones can change the whole feel of a north facing room...

Everyone is giving you great pics! Which are you favorites? I looked at your page and saw some of the photos of your pics, but no room shots are there of what you're fond of, upload and we can take a look...

I like the new arrangement, except for the rugs on top of each other. Too busy.

How about having the two brown chairs with round table & large lamp on the side the single chair is on now? Put the single chair angled as it is now, but flipped to other side to open that area. Possilby move sofa back a little - not so tight to fireplace. Definitely get a bigger rug, but textured and neutral, not patterned - having trouble seeing angles walls, so can't offer a suggestion on that right now. I would also paint that door the same color as walls to de-emphasize that and have windows more of a focal point. To update the bookshelves, remove the trim peice at the top and just have it squared off - much mor clean lined that way. Use tha back of book cases as an accent with paint in either an accent color, or slightly darker than wall color that you select. The single chair looks like a really interesting fabric, but it is hard to see - maybe use the least prominent tone in that on the walls? Seems like it is in the grayish family.

Oh my goodness!! Every one is giving such great ideas. Ok so for the direction of the room, looking out the windows you are looking south, if you are on the sofa looking at the shelving you are facing west. So as what do I like, the picture above the chest yellow flowers (yes I know it needs to be hung), I love bright flowers they make me happy. I love color reds, and orange , but for some reason I always go to browns I think it is because I am not sure how to incorporate flashes of color. The color that we choose is going all over the house with some variation (the office, dining room, and kitchen).