Congratulations on your new home. You have a fantastic room to work with. I would start by finding a nice large area rug to ground your living room furniture. Then choose a color from your rug for either wall paint or accessories.

I agree that this looks like a beautiful room. I think you did a great job on the colors. they may not be what you're used to, but they look great together.

Brace yourself. I'm going to give you the opposite advice of what everyone else will probably say: Don't change anything.

Okay, that's over-simplifying. I would probably recommend some kind of simple window covering, like white blinds or curtains. But I hope you can learn from my lesson and not do what I did.

I went out after getting our new house and bought 3 area rugs. Yup. 3. One for each bedroom and one for the living room. Then I bought throw pillows. I didn't like those, so I took them back.

Oh yeah, I bought dining room chairs. I like them, but they're already getting destroyed by the cat, so that's not great. Oh yeah, and then there's the bed I bought for the guest room. A year on and that's gone 'cause it was really to big for the room anyway. The rugs are up, because of issues with them rolling up, and the one in the livingroom was getting stuff spilled on it all the time.

Come to think of it, the ONLY thing I'm still using is the sofa.

So learn from me. Don't go out and get things to furnish your house.

Instead, live in it for a little while. Learn which rooms are warm and which are cool. Experience the light in the rooms, and give yourself permission to look at the color on the wall without hanging paintings over it. Sit in a room and see what bothers you while you're watching TV and what you love about the kitchen.

Then, when you know your house, fix the things that bother you. Buy a rug if you don't like the cold floor in the morning. Put up a painting that someone gave you as a house warming gift. Or spring for that expensive art piece you've wanted but couldn't justify until now.

Don't feel pressured to make your house look a certain way. Practice keeping it tidy and clean, and then, when you've lived in it for a year and it looks way different than the photo above (because in a year, it will look way different), then ask yourself if you'd like to spring for a new rug, or if you love the convenience of just sweeping when the floor gets dirty.

I strongly recommend the book Apartment Therapy for anyone who has just moved into a new home. (Great house warming gift!) It will give you really good in-depth answers to all the questions you asked in your post. You'll have to read it, but you'll love your home so much more if you go through the process. It even includes planning a party at the end - and that's the kind of book we should all read.

I hope this helps. Good luck, Pat!

Lydia

Nice room! I think you need some end tables and lamps to add ambient lighting to the room. An area rug would be nice, and one larger piece of art over the table on the left would be nice to help balance the tv on the right. I happen to like drapes and think they'd add some softness to the room too.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. The idea is to buy new furniture for this area and move this old couch to the second floor. We will eventually replace the dining table as well since this is a very old one. I also wonder which color/ material should I buy the new coach (fabric instead of leather? Light gray or taupe?) and tables ( wood/ glass) rug (light gray or light beige?) I am not sure where to start! I also thought about repainting the walls, but I want to make sure about that since I will have to paint the whole area...I will definitely add some drapes in the future.

Some more pictures...

I think this one might be better

I would recommend some neutral colored drapes on the window to create softness and height. Below is a before and after of a job I just finished. The homeowner was amazed at how much difference the drapes mad in the space.

I love your room! We have a similar color scheme going on except my walls are supposed to be a greige, but they look more beige with the natural light.

Only thing I would do is add a couple of small rugs, and create an additional light source in your ceiling. Would put up a contemporary fan with a light, or just a modern ceiling light -something like THIS.

Are you wanting to replace both old couches. (Partial sectionals, I think they are?) Will that give you enough seating? Because I'm seeing one long couch facing the fireplace with the chairs on either side, facing each other. And I think you should get a fabric couch, close to the colour of the fireplace -- that way, if you do want to change the wall colour, the couch will still work with any colour that works with the fireplace and floor. I do like the contrast your existing light furniture gives with the mid-grey-brown of the floors. You absolutely could use a colour in your couch for a different look, but I think you like the neutrals? Something like this would play up the airiness of the room, and form a great backdrop for your art (large) when you choose it, whatever colours the art displays.

https://www.allmodern.com/furniture/pdp/hammondale-pin-tufted-convertible-sofa-wrlo6780.html?piid[0]=22801009&piid=22801009

https://www.allmodern.com/furniture/pdp/janelle-coffee-table-wrlo1949.html

https://www.allmodern.com/rugs/pdp/wade-logan-berenson-cream-area-rug-wlgn1168.html

Put your sectional back together

Select some art for the wall to the right of the fp

get a larger coffee table that is within 18" of the edge of the sectional

Your tree would have looked better in this location in the room.

Consider drapery panels for the windows to add texture to the room

Try getting a large rug for the space, and putting the sectional back together.

So delicious patterned Roman shades would be wondrous on the windows!

Not only do they add wonderful decor, but privacy as well.

If patterned fabric is too much for you, something clean with a bit of decorative trim would be dynamic as well!

Lovely room! I see you like red color. So here we are...I would not move together sectional, you will block walking way.

Wow, thank you so much for the great ideas! Thank you Celerygirl and BeverlyFLADeziner for putting this together!!! This is my old furniture and I was planning to have them on the family room and buy some new ones for this space, but now I am not sure anymore! Yes, celerygirl, I love grey with red and blue :)

here we are with blue :-))

Thank you for the great advice, Lydia Derhake! I like the idea of living in the house for a while and then decide what to change or buy. I am planning to take that route. I might buy a rug and the curtains for now. I am also planning to buy the book you suggested. It seems very interesting. Thanks!

I would want the sectional together--that is what is was made for and will always look odd not together--but I would swap it with the two wing chairs. Sectionals are for TV lounging, it makes sense to orientate for that. The two chairs with a table and lamp between them, in front of the window would really open up your view. I agree the fireplace and floor colors go well together..but the walls are off. Painting is no quick fix but it is least expensive. Drapes and a rug are a must. The acoustics in that room especially with small children about would be grating.

Ok. So I believe I should start first with the rug. Below a picture with two color options, one more towards gray and the other towards a tan. I will probably buy a size 8x10. Any suggestions? Regarding the painting, I agree they are off and it really bothers me, however I decided to go to a cool gray, since I have been living with “beige” all my life and couldn’t stand it anymore! however, I Wonder if having new furniture in the two walls between the fireplace would help avoiding to paint all the walls again...

Thanks celerygirl. Just to clarify, the rugs in the picture are not the "real" ones for this space, I was just wondering about the colors (tan or gray). I will definitely buy a bigger one. :)