Only 4 pics loaded, at least on my pc. Are u open to doing the walls in a soft white, ivory or very faint grey?

Hmm, I loaded 8 pics...but yes, I was actually thinking about gray (it'll have to be kinda cool and match oak well). There are also little specks of gray in the brick and carpet...so GOOD eye!

Deco, I don't have any experience with the new UV film...I'm assuming it is better than the old stuff that bubbled? Do you have any recommendations on the best place to get it? (By best I mean the most helpful :)

Yes we will watch tv there...the plasma is sitting on the hearth at the moment....I don't mind couches, but only two people ever sit on them when we have company.

Sorry, I keep thinking of things...lol. This is our main entertainment area for guests, we have an awesome family room for real movie nights... :)

Do you like the 4-chair arrangements? That might work in one of your spaces..

There's nothing wrong with beige, but contrast is required and texture.

Deco, I have a great space for a four chair idea! Thank you. The "dining" room which is not really a dining room (too small), but has a set of french doors! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Wow, thank you for taking the time to do that Bev. I adore that mirror and light fixture. I see what you mean about texture. Deco kinda gave me permission to NOT paint above....(at least that's how I'm taking it)..and to focus on the content first (and the sun issue). Eventually I will have to paint though....beige doesn't inspire :)

It is not your Grandma's UV film any more, but I'd have a professional company with a guarantee do it for you. As for seating, I find that people, when given the opportunity, will leave an empty seat between them so they can easily turn to each other to converse. If they're forced into side-by-side seating it will be less conducive to conversation. Sounds like the dining room is a good place for the chairs idea. When I see this arrangement with the large china cabinet, I suspect this was also a dining room at one time. The mix of different chairs appeals to me more than a matched set, but that's just me!

OMG!!! I have the same problem in my home. I've been pounding my head against the wall trying to find great colors that are also acceptable to my husband. I did paint the guest bedroom a very pale yellow and it looks great. The hall bath I painted doeskin which has a bit more gold or rust tone and ties into the slate tiles. It looks good too. But the rest of the house is a challenge.

Here is a solution for your "poster" need.

www.laqfoil.com

I've never seen anything like this before, amazing.

Chiflipper, that IS amazing!! Right now I order posters made from photos and wrap them around canvas (I will have to stretch an 8 x 10 canvas because they are hard to find, and I can do it cheaper), then I either leave them or put a medium on top that makes them look like a painting. I really love that foil stuff! Thanks for the link.

We had the 3M brand UV film installed 11 years ago in our morning too. It faces south and is loaded with windows. Our hardwood floors have not changed color at all, and the room is no longer unbearably hot in the summer. It's a great product.

This is an idea I use to help with painting rooms: Western & southern facing use cool colors, Eastern & Northern facing rooms, use warm colors. I also like using white that is very lightly tinted with the color. Go a shade lighter on the ceiling (never go flat white on the ceiling). Pick up a folder of different shades of whites.

Do go with sofas or sectional rather than a sofa and a love seat. Add chairs where there is room. I like the idea of remote control pleated (horizontally) light controlling window coverings above the French doors & use 108" length drapes on the other windows. Highly vaulted rooms can be a pro or a con if not decorated properly.

Morning room. Not morning too.

Very much agree ... so "over" white trim and white painted wood cabinets, too.

All that natural light makes for great spaces.

As I understand it, there is a UV window treatment available that will decrease likelihood of future sun bleaching of your floors and furnishings. You might check into that.

If you choose shutters (think bi-fold closet doors) for your windows and patio doors in any room with the high ceiling and windows above, you could open and close and dust the higher ones with a long tool rather than climbing a ladder.

My idea of practical as I age and get better acquainted with arthritis is to avoid climbing ladders as much as possible -- -- every visit from Old Arth'r is a real pain.

One idea for removing blah beige without painting is to pick one wall for consideration as a place to put a mural of either a wooded area or a beach scene -- perhaps something with a great and glorious red sunset. I understand they're available in peel and stick wallpaper. Search "images for wall murals".

Another might be uncommon wall shelving.

http://www.lowes.com/creative-ideas/images/2013_08/Fall_CI/lighted-vertical-wall-shelf-102052470-hero.jpg

Begin a sun catcher collection to add color to the window part of your walls.

For the kitchen, there are a lot of bright and bold colored trivets for the walls.

A really nice quilt can brighten a bedroom wall. An afghan or uncommon horse blanket could brighten a den.

I like "thin metal wall art" -- search that -- some can be colorful and quite beautiful. They're also not shaped in square or rectangles so they can be chosen specifically to suit an odd shaped wall formed by large ceilings and angled rooflines and staircases.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81jJuHPm6BL.SL1500.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/62/00/63/6200639eb2b7f3769cc23fd4360bd222.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b0/d7/7c/b0d77c068715574913b095265bf465ec.jpg

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/8029010/P15390310.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61dKpJpSn1L.SY355.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/be/c6/5a/bec65a1c5331fb6a94a49b33de09af16.jpg

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/5196071/5196071/Ash-Carl-Zion-7-piece-Metal-Wall-Art-Set-P13028672.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uGofz2KsL.jpg

Have you and your spouse considered taking art classes and creating your own color in your choice of material for your walls.

Thanks JW, I'm already researching what is available here and will add that to the list!

Sandra, that makes perfect sense! Cool colors for "hot" rooms, and hot colors for cool rooms :) Thanks! I'm really leaning toward a very light gray for the walls with more of a violet undertone....but first I have to find my furniture.

The room looks much bigger in the photos than it actually is....because it is a walk through to the kitchen...I'll post measurements tomorrow...I tried making a floor plan and er, it's not awesome :P

Sometimes you need a vision to get things moving!

Looking at your lovely large room and the items you like, the love seat and full curtains, I found this picture that might inspire you. Do not look at the color but do look at the funiture, the fireplace in the corner and the curtains and lighting. Things that coordinate with your beige walls, with your grey furniture, and lots of texture.

Buy the two sofas and pair of chairs as shown in the picture to fill your room, together with Hubs, and that you and Hubs like in grey, beige, or greige, and go from there with everything else.

Add curtains in same color as sofa but with different print, do the rustic lighting as shown, and some light painted, distressed furniture and neutral sea grass rug. Only do curtains on lower windows and do remote roman shades on upper windows and French Doors for light control in Woven Wood pale to relate to rug on floor.

I think it could be very nice. Check out more info for more picture ideas. Love your house; enjoy!

Ethan Allen is doing some great greige French type rooms.

pick paint last. you can match to furniture rug drapes etc and it is hard and can get expensive doing it the other way round.

Thanks soosun! That room is certainly my style...I've even been looking at having a coffered ceiling installed! My roof is not "vaulted" in the traditional angled sense, but is just very tall....so it will look brilliant! (I will have to put this at the bottom of the list since every room in the house has to be re-done/updated.)