The listing photos are altered in photoshop and in most cases not representative of the real colors. I think you have a very special new home and you need help making the changes you want. I would hire an interior designer to help you with color. It could be spectacular... like magazine quality. Those sistered ceiling joists are perfect for hiding some lighting.

If you can I would edit this post and deselect the 'living room' category and publish it instead in 'Design Dilemma'. OR just scrap this entire post and publish it there. You'll get much more help from that group.

Blues, greens, and turquoises, go with your wood. I wouldnt be too quick to paint the ceiling either. Its actually a very nice looking ceiling. All the paint in the world will not brighten it up, even if you painted the entire room white. Paint wont make it look lighter, only lighting does that. Get an electrician in there and have some lighting wired in, before you paint or redo anything.

I disagree with the rec for blues -- blue is only going to accentuate the orange tones, IMO it isn't right for this space, either. Greens would look really good, though. Perhaps dark warm grey (no light greys, blah). I agree with embracing the lodge feel -- it's what you've got so run with it. I think it's quite a handsome room, I'd love it in there! Also agree you need to add lighting if it's dark, I would add pot lights in *dark brown/dark bronze* -- DO NOT PUT WHITE POT LIGHTS IN THAT CEILING, you will totally sh*t up the beauty of it if you do that.

What is that multi-colored cabinet? Is that a built-in? It looks totally out of place. I'd definitely remove that, or paint it to match the vibe of the room.

BEST WALL PAINT COLORS to Pair with Wood Trim | Julie Khuu

Do you have a picture of the space that's not from the real estate listing? Hopefully empty of the previous owner's things.

I love light cream walls with oak trim but it's really hard to get a feel for your space from a photoshopped picture with all the owner's decor.

I would not change the ceiling. IMO overhead lights contribute nothing to atmosphere; they aren't worth the cost, trouble or cutting holes in the ceiling.

Instead, layer lighting with sconces, lamps, uplights -- everything on dimmer. Candice Olson does layered lighting masterfully altho the woman does like a pot light. Link: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/candice-tells-all/our-favorite-lighting-ideas-from-candice-olson-pictures

Any color that contrasts with the orange tones of the wood will amplify the orange. That's how color works. To limit the visual impact of hue, you have to limit contrast.

For example, a not overly bright off-white from the same yellow to yellow-red hue family range as the wood. Color range ideas:

Thank you all for the comments- I completely forgot I had posted this (it has been a very long few months!). With all this feedback and upon further consideration I think we will leave the ceiling, though we definitely need better/more lighting.

I am all for embracing the rustic cabin feel, we quite like it and it is a true farmhouse for us, I just dont love this room and I need to make some changes.

The drawers are built in of sorts, we removed the big cabinet at the end but the drawers are still there. I want to try painting them before we remove them, they are handy but definitely out of place as they are. Removing them messes with the floor unfortunately so that is something we’ll have to deal with eventually.

I really do not have any good photos of this room, I’ll take some tomorrow though! And I’ll post in the design dilemma category because i have some other issues with this room that I need help with. We did actually hired a designer to help with the kitchen and bathroom remodel, and some layout options for this room, but her suggestions were underwhelming so we didnt get into paint colors (other than a quick suggestion of white) with how much we had already spent for her work, I’m not keen to go back to her for more help (we used her for our prior home and she was amazing. This time it was not).