Would you consider chalk painting the furniture white or off white for a start and reupholstering the chairs. You might like what it looks like and keep them for a while.

If you’re going to replace the furniture in the future, I wouldn’t bother painting it. You can mix traditional and modern furniture. I’d reupholster the chairs in a modern print. Linen panels in a solid color from the print on the windows. Pick a paint color from a different color from the print. A simple parson's table, in a wood stain that’s darker or lighter than your table, for a sideboard. A large, LARGE, abstract artwork on one wall. I think you have a small child? No rug until the baby can feed itself without a big mess. Keep it simple. It’s a nice sized space.

Thanks for the ideas! I do think reupholstering the chairs would make a difference

Here’s a recent did it room we did in a spec house. You can check out more ideas in our profile, but this is one of my favorites.

Ucello - just exactly how will that help the poster. A room with no furniture in it.

Angel - I was just offering an idea on how to add interest to the walls and ceiling, as well as an updated light fixture. While it’s not a modern style it does lean to transitional. My assumption was that the poster would fill the space with new furniture of their preferred taste.

Thanks everyone. My biggest dilemma I guess is - do I need to put something in every corner? Furniture and art? We have a bar cart on one side, and I don’t want to put random furniture in every corner (however I realize I at least need another piece in there), for the sake of filling up space...I am appreciating all suggestions of ways to make a room look complete. I am having the same issue with our living room - big empty corners (as traditional, non-open concept homes like ours have lots of walls!)...and I also lean more towards a more modern/minimal look (which works better in open concept homes of course..). I also agree that things like wall details (paint/wallpaper/wainscoting) and window treatments help flush a room out so thanks for all your suggestions!

And I was thinking of wallpaper to punch it up.

Some ideas modern but some with a twist of traditional

Couple of more photos

To answer your question about if you need to have furniture on each wall, the answer is NO! Start with just one or two pieces, and live with them for awhile. A lovely painting can fill an empty wall without having the room feel cluttered.

It's not the corners that you want to decorate, it's the walls. Leading into the kitchen where you have the bar, it would look nice to have two matching buffets on those walls with artwork above it.