You have a lovely home! I especially love the artwork over the fireplace and the ceiling.

Hi Skooz-

If your ceiling wallpaper is in good condition and is well attached to the ceiling, you can paint over it. That will really lighten the room and make it feel much larger.

The lamps on your console table while lovely, are too large for the table and also contribute to the boxed in feeling of the room. I would find another home for them, perhaps on a side table somewhere, or a large nightstand.

I think there is nothing wrong with your wood pieces, and painting them would not really change the feeling in your room.

What would really help is changing the fabric of your dining chairs which ages the room.

Professional re-upholstering is rather expensive, but you could make attractive slipcovers for not much money.

I would also remove the animal rug from under the dining table.

Although it is attractive, it is too small for that space and makes it look cramped.

I can't really see the sofa and the other chairs in the room, but you might want to think about recovering those , perhaps with nice slipcovers as well.

That will really brighten up the room.

If you want to see what I mean, look at your kitchen, what a nice, bright and airy look it has with those light stools and contemporary pendant lights.

Then you can use your love of color and pattern in the throw pillows you select.

Also, the picture over your fireplace is a wee bit too small relative to the size of the mantel.

What you can do to compensate is hang something on either side of the picture, such as a decorate plate, or display something on a bracket.

If you need light, that would be a good place for an attractive electrical sconce on either side.

If you can put up more photos showing the room from more angles, we can give more suggestions as to how to arrange the furniture to give the feel you want to the room.

You have a beautiful home!

I agree with most of what loobab has pointed out. Before starting, remove all but the basic furnishings fron the room.
Does the ceiling fixture provide the light you need? It looks more like a foyer light that a living area light. Look for options in the Houzz market.
Is a rug under the table necessary? Even replacing the animal print will chop up the space.
If your dining chairs are solid and in good condition, reupholstering would be worth the cost. New fabrics are easier to keep clean slipcovers tend to look tawdry if used everyday, plus you have to keep clean by laundry or drycleaning, a long term expense and hassle. I the chairs are not in good condition, might be time to replace.
As far as the ceiling wallpaper, here is a funny story. My son was 4 years old and his bedroom ceiling had a small print wallpaper that scared him. My husband removed it but it was the old style paper I think was glued to the ceiling and came off in 1/4” slivers. Hire removal by professionals. 😉

I agree to paint over the wallpaper. But I also think you really need some cab lighting in here. Don’t see any? Do you have? You have a nice amount of natural light but not enough. Pretty space and your house has tons of awesome character love it!

I love the wallpaper. Instead of making another bland room, I would add texture with nice textured grassy wallpaper on the walls. It would add warmth to the room. Keep the character.
If you absolutely are tired of the wallpaper, I wouldn’t paint over. It needs to be removed.

What a lovely home with great bones! You have received some good ideas. I would remove or paint over the ceiling wallpaper, remove valance on kitchen window(dated), and replace the ceiling fixtures in living room and dining room. The new light fixtures should be different but compliment each other with the one over your dining table hung approximately 36” from table top. Also, larger artwork over your mantel and a refresh of your upholstered furniture will help too. The rug under your dining table is fab but too small. Choose one that is large enough that when the chairs are pulled out, they are still sitting on the rug. Great time of year for a project like this- have fun!

No suggestions...I love your home...so charming and inviting.

Thank you everyone. Anna George, Loobab, Valinta.

When one is living in the same place for 9 years, and have moved it around every season, one becomes bored and accustomed to every piece. There is only so much I can do differently anymore. I found out the Farrow and Ball wallpaper is a pulp paper and was never primed, so successful removal will be iffy. Like I might have to have the entire ceiling skim coated, primed and painted. $3,000. gulp. No one mentioned the Ben Moore Bar Harbor beige walls. Could painting the walls a Sherwin Williams Cream help lighten the look while still working? I change the Art work all the time. The dinning chairs are Lee and in good shape. The aqua ultra suede is getting worn. I am still not sure if I know what will work. Uncertainty keeps me stuck.

If I'm understanding the photos correctly, your sofa area is directly in front of the kitchen, while the dining table is more in front of the stairs. Yes?

If so, layout thoughts: consider switching the two areas. Keep the console table (with the floor plugs -- great forethought!) right where it is, and keep the rugs where they are (but turn the big one a quarter turn). Center the rug and table with the axes of the antlers and the fireplace.

I think the lamps are a nice size for the overall room and the console table, BTW. Better chunky than skimpy :-).

You don't get much bang for your buck with your current TV table. Find it a new home? I'd like to see your TV on the piece that's now in the dining area in the right of your photo, aligned on the same axis as the fireplace if that's possible. I'd like to see the pine drawer set where the TV is now. Take the other wingback chair and position it to the left on the window where its mate currently sits and tuck the small chest that's now under the console table between the two. Back the sofa up to the console table.

Thoughts about colors: while the papered ceiling is unusual, it's not horrible. However, the red is a bit bossy, and the color and pattern skew your room more toward "country" than the "modern, airy" you're seeking. I agree with several others who have suggested painting over it.

The mix of warm and cold tones in the room is the most distracting element for me. Much of the trim appears to be white. At minimum, with the beige in the rug and the brown leather (and the wall color which work with both) it should be off-white, and could go a darker cream. That still leaves white in the blue and white table lamps, but not much you can do there.

Painting those pine pieces could help make them a bit more contemporary. I'd try to match the console table rather than introducing a color. But elsewhere, would love to see more of that aqua, maybe in a few pillows?

Hope you try pushing things around (great Covid lockdown project!) and post new photos!