I am not sure why MCM would not work in this house.

I agree that the blinds need to go.

The big TV overwhelms your fireplace, unfortunately, and those cables...ay ay ay!

The color of your rug isn't doing the room any favors. It just seems to suck the life out of the place.

That sectional looks perfect for lounging in front of the tube. I'd keep it for sure.

At first look, aside from the vertical blinds which I agree should go, and perhaps the coffee table and floor lamp, I don't see much in the room that would lock you into MCM -- that is, pretty well everything there could individually blend into the more transitional feel you would like. So I think the first thing you might do is look around and ask yourself which pieces you would really like to keep. Then you can build around those to recreate the room.

This room, below, is still pretty well MCM, but I love the way that the cushions and, I think, the lamps, bring a touch of current style. In your case you could push that approach much further. I also love the colours but if you want to keep your art in the room, that will have a strong influence on the colours you use. Also, in your room, I think curtains replacing those blinds would be a great transformer.

You love MCM and you have MCM furniture but you want to switch to different style ?!! Please ship your furniture ,art and lamps to me :)
I would just get different rug and get rid of the vertical blinds , get fresh coat of paint and then just do some minor tweaks and accessories.

Keep the comfy sofa, darken the paint color to a cooler gray shade of the sofa, add a patterned and colorful rug, replace verticals with drapes or fabric roman shades, clear out the bookcases and style them with 1/3 books, 1/3 decor and 1/3 open space, wall mount the TV above the center bookcase, replace the two chairs with a pair of swivel glider chairs, pop in a couple of stools/hassocks for extra seating, add new end tables and lamps. Tables should be at sofa arm height or an inch below. Table and lamp together should reach a height of 58-64" above the floor. Replace the pole lamp with an arc floor lamp to hover over a larger coffee table. New art above mantel and on the other two walls. If you like a neutral space, here's an inspiration for you.

I'm seeing lots of neutrals, textures, and a touch of sparkle. Am I way off base here?

You all have been SO helpful!! Basically the ONLY thing I want to keep in this room is the couch...so in a sense I have a clean slate. I love the use of gray and those neutral colors but with kids around and friends over often my husband and I fear a gray rug getting dirty quickly. The couch doesn't get dirty easily fortunately. He suggested starting with buying a rug, then the main furniture, and accessorizing after that. Thoughts? Is there a way to do the look below with a dark rug?

Decoenthusiaste: did you mean to post a picture? Want to make sure I wasn't missing anything.....

I Love this inspiration room & I think you can come pretty close to that feeling w/ changing to drapes & addition of a sheer panel of curtain added to the French doors attached w/ a small rod at top & at bottom. Purchase a large new area rug w/ similar pattern to the insp rm & clearing a lot of the bookcases down as suggested by decoenthusiaste. Look at Ikea for drapes w/ grommet tops to hang from just below the ceiling to kissing the floor. Their drapes are very reasonably priced, have varied choices & good quality. What have you done w/ the TV placement?

Why a darker rug? Cause of the kids? Buy nylon. Easy to clean & wears well. Or pure wool (pricey).

Some inspiration

I like your furniture just a new coat of grey paint and some photos/artwork on the walls and maybe in that right corner you could get rid of that white blind and put a more modern blind/shade?

Got it decoenthusiaste...where can I buy an inexpensive nylon rug? Should I start with a color palette then buy the rug and bigger furniture? I struggle with seeing how the tans and grays can intermingle.

Go for a rug in oriental patterns or a modern rug with many colors. oriental rugs go with absolutely everything. and in wool they clean very well. just avoid lilim and flat weaves, those are murder to clean. (I have 4 boxer dogs, the rugs survived from puppies to old dogs)

and some more. (some in animal print.)

With kids, patchwork rugs are very forgiving of stains (). Here are a couple fun prints ( I also like tone on tone ( ).

What wonderful posts. Desirestyle, just to answer your question about a dark carpet in your beautiful inspiration room. I think it looks great -- a bit less airy than the original, for obvious reasons, but it certainly works.

Yes Rina thank you for posting this!

Yes, I posted this one.

I am thinking of using a more calming color palette with grays creams and browns for the new living room. I am lost in terms of what rug to start with (pattern or solid). Any thoughts?? Also, I am hoping to pick up a darker brown for the side and coffee tables to match the fan.

Would this kind of thing work for you? I've gone with a tone on tone brown pattern for the carpet, bolder patterns for the cushions, and a shot of colour in the art, which also has creams, greys and browns in it. I'm not sure of the colours because of course what I see on my screen isn't necessarily quite what you have in your room. I've just worked with the colour of your sectional as it is on my screen, hence the pinkish tinge to the background, representing a possible wall colour.

Rug: http://www.rugstudio.com/surya-mystique-m-5174-area-rug.aspx
Throw pillows:
Coffee table: http://www.wayfair.com/Wildon-Home-%C2%AE-Highland-Park-Coffee-Table-611983-CST2872.html
Curtain: http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/waters-and-noble-grey-herringbone-blackout-curtain-collection-347310
LS Lowry -- A Village Square: http://art2order.next.co.uk/scripts/zoom/zoom.pl?pid=91502

This could work...so incorporate the gray into the pillows as well?

Just change the art.
This painting can make a big difference.

It's in black white and sage colors. It's hand painted and for sale on houzz.

If the couch is more of a cool gray, I am wondering what calming and cozy colors would work best in the room??

Sage

Desirestyle, yes, I would include grey in the cushions too. I agree that sage is a good colour to warm things up with the cool grey. It's also a good colour to use in the cushions.

I see you like mid-century. Me too. Still works in this space though oversized sectional maybe too big. I would keep furniture but change the horrible vertical blinds. Must remove table in front of window, as it looks forced to fit into space. Main thing is to change wall color to something that compliments the furniture... Maybe a a nice sandstone earth tone?

David32591, we are moving away from mid century modern. I am exploring options to redo the living room but trying to figure out what colors to use with the cool gray couch so that we create a calming cozy atmosphere. Do you have any thoughts? Sage has been suggested.....