I have a house with mostly traditional European furniture. My occasional super modern pieces, like a Poltrona Frau chair or an acrylic console edged in a neon color is like a punctuation mark that brings a certain tension and interest to the room. Matching is not the highest imperative in decoration.

Zalco, I always like how you word things! Your house sounds awesome.

Jinx, thank you. That means a lot coming from someone I admire.

Since we don't have photos, this all speculation but what we often see when people post that they are tired of traditional decor is that their rooms are filled with visual clutter.

Once they brutally edit the decorative items, update the window treatments, etc. the room looks suddenly looks fresh.

Paint is an inexpensive way to update a room as well. Right now warm whites are popular and they look great with traditional wood furniture.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your space.

Despite the windows, our house gets little sun due to trees. The wall color changes seasonally & day to night. Hoped for light beige/taupe but get alot of yellow and green undertones (Sherwin Williams Netsuke) depending on time, day. Room arrangement is difficult as my husband is an audiophile who builds speakers; his brown chair is placed exactly where he wants it. I want to lighten things up and get a more contemporary feel on a somewhat limited (not extravagant) budget. Where to begin first? Appreciate your help.

You have a very nice room, there are a few simple inexpensive things that might help make the space look more modern.

To break up the visual bulk of the sofa replace the brown pillows with something lighter. Consider painting the traditional fireplace screen black or replace it. Bulk up the mantle with something chunkier and more modern. Spend some time styling the bookshelves. Stack some books on their sides, add a few large, brightly colored decorative items to the shelves. Nothing wimpy.

I assume that replacing the sofa is a non starter- it's very dark for that space, so, if it were possible, that's where I'd start. I'd probably put the bookshelf in another room and leave the cabinet by itself on that wall. And I'd hit the thrift shops and second hand stores looking for a teak coffee table more compatible with the credenza. Maybe lower the art over the sofa a bit.

I was in a funk when I bought that ugly sofa but will work on other things first. So much brown! I also am very tired of the cabinet & considering placing TV on fireplace wall vs. no tv and large decorative fireplace wall item. Our books & records are important to us; we don't have space for bookshelves elsewhere. This room is used primarily for reading, listening to music, talking with friends. Will rearrange shelves as suggested by deegw (above) & add some colorful decorative objects Paint the shelves? Will definitely replace fireplace screen as well as wrought iron railing going upstairs. Any advice for end tables, lighting/ lamp ideas? I like the teak coffee table suggestion; I was also considering large ottoman. Accessory color ideas? The dog stays!!

Thank you. Appreciate your comments so very much.

I appreciate the importance of books - I have bookcases in hallways, the living room, the dining area, the tv room and the bedrooms ;) I also have quite a lot if vinyl in some of those bookcases. And then there are the cds... It's just that, to me, that wall looks kind of disjointed - the pieces there don't have much in common with one another, and that makes it look a bit cluttered.