What kind of budget do you have available? That will dictate what you can accomplish. Then, we need an idea of your personal styles and the kind of room that would feel like home to you.

Going strictly by your username and the rustic nature of the painting you want to keep, I would suggest a vintage pair of skis crossed over the fireplace, with a pair of cross country boots on the hearth and a basket of birch logs to the side. That might be completely opposite of what you would like! If you add some pictures to your ideabooks or post a pic of an inspiring room you might get more useful advice.

Your dining set is to die for but the rug and drapes aren't doing it any favors. Check out MCM dining rooms and see if you like the look, because you've got a great start on it with those chairs.

Hi Lindsey,

Thank you so much for replying to my first Houzz post! You
are very perceptive – we absolutely love the outdoors :) Although I really like
your idea of the skis over the fireplace, I don't think we want the room to look too rustic. I think we would still like the room to be somewhat classic but
with elements of the outdoors.

The first things I would like to change are the carpet and
pillows. If we had to do it over again, we wouldn’t have purchased a black
couch. Should we try to find pillows that match bits of color in the painting?
There are touches of light yellow, soft greens, browns, and off-whites. Or
would be better to have neutral pillows – creams and beiges to soften the dark
couch? Similar thoughts with the carpet – would neutral be more suitable? I was
thinking a mirror over the fireplace with candles…or something along those
lines. We also thought of adding a sofa table beneath the painting where we
could put some outdoor hardcover books and maybe a plant. I do, however, worry
though about distracting from the painting, as we do really love it. Budget for
the living room, including throw pillows, carpet, new coffee table etc. would
be around $5000. We have a local woodshop that could make a reasonably-priced
coffee table and soft table, but again, not sure about colors.

Thank you for the complement about the dining room set! It
belonged to my hubby’s grandparents. We’ll have to think more about your MCM suggestion,
and start adding some ideabook pictures :) Thanks again! Have a good night!

I absolutely love that window in the dining room. I would add 2 mirrors on each side. Would be very pretty with 2 holders with candles in front of the mirrors. Would give them a lot of depth. As for your living room, I would put a deeper hued rug in there to stand up to the sofa. Lovely home.

Thank you for your comment, Cathy! I like your mirror idea. I did a quick search online and found the attached. Is this what you had in mind? For the living room, what what color were you thinking for the rug? Thanks!