I would not buy 2 new chairs or anything else new at the present time. The Calico Corners chair is nice but it is not for this room. The cream beige striped shades: I'd roll them up & leave only a small amount of shade showing. Maybe roll to to 50% of the length they are now. They are nice, but I think they are a little overwhelming, too. :) Sofa: I'd remove all throw pillows and have only 2 green pillows (repeating the green of the kitchen chairs) and 1 beige pillow in the corner of the sectional (repeating the beige of the rug). click photo Place a white tray on the ottoman. 2 chairs: I cannot see too well. They seem to go really well with the room and do not add more pattern. I would keep them. Art: I really like the art over the mantel. I like symmetry so I'd hang the art are in the center of the fireplace (not too high) and add a rooting plant (ivy? or pothos?) to the vase (for a little green). Place the 2 small frames on the other side of mantel.

I also vote for wood that kids can sit around in a dark shade that harmonizes with your end tables. Consider something big and square with a weathered look so it doesn't matter when the kids scratch or dent it, as they will. We have antique and rugged-looking dining and coffee table, and our now-adult children love to trace the marks left by our late cat on the coffee table and the glitter that never quite came out from their childhood art projects on the dining table. It sounds as though your family will also enjoy a table that will offer some good memories down the road. :)

a white wash, or pickling is not something I think you'd want. they actually have a white wash stain, but that clear coat will have to be completely sanded off. this one is hard to see, but it would look like this: this is an oak floor that was washed w/BM Pale Oak. It's basically a thin coat of paint. as you can see, the grain is still visible. if you paint a cream like Judy suggested, you will still see the grain of the wood. the entire area will look clean and updated. The other option to keep the wood, is to completely strip and sand off the finish do a different stain. the clear coat finish has prob yellowed w/time. If you want a more modern look, i'm afraid the bookcases should be painted. you don't have to do white. you could do a navy, or black, or charcoal. but they look so much better when redone. I understand you have some nice paneling, but doing it in a nice white will completely brighten up that space. the other option I have, is something I've done myself on many pieces of oak furniture. But it would take some work. cerusing. Or Liming. you must take it down to the raw wood, and open the grain. I think to do the entire room would take a lot of dedication and tons of work, but it would look great this is a cerused oak cabinet. There is more to it then just rubbing in liming wax into the grain. you have to completely remove the previous finish down to raw wood, use a shellac/alcohol sealer on top of the wood sanded to 150, and work in small batches w/the liming wax.

Unfortunately, I don't see any good layout where your couch would be up against a wall. Time to let go of that. A floating sofa is perfectly fine. Either keep the TV where it is now and have a sofa in front of it, or move it to the small wall and have the sofa facing it. The TV shouldn't go above the fireplace and even if it did the sofa pushed against the back wall would be too far away.