Definitely change the rug. Rectangle and larger.

Thank you. Great idea. Wondering if I go neutral or bold

Why does your fireplace look so very fake? The gray brick doesn't seem to link to anything in the room.

Thank you for the mock ups! Very helpful.

The fireplace used to tie in with the old couch. But I see what you mean now

May be paint shelving with dark/black color

or warm light theme

Love Celery’s suggestions, dark and moody look great

What Beverly said. The fireplace is cheesy and the wall color clashes with the cognac couch. Cognac is a beautiful color, IMO.

I like textured chunky pillows on leather - I think they’re a nice contrast to its slickness.

https://thedecorologist.com/the-right-pillows-for-a-leather-sofa/

in terms of number and size for a sectional Arianna Belle has a good guide

https://ariannabelle.com/pages/pillow-size-guide-for-sofas

Love the academia theme— I was thinking something similar.

The guide to pillow size is very helpful— thank you

IMO if you need to move a pillow to sit down you have too many. No staggered wall hung art and hung much lower where the center of the pices are at eye level usually 60-65" from the floor . I love noguchi coffee table with sectionals if that is what you have now . Maybe a nice arc lamp to get light into the area where needed like the coffee table The TV could have gone on anoter wall and the furniture oriented differently and I agree that FP just odd is it actually real and functional? So the pic lala posted is exactly why you think about pillows and throws both of which in thta pic will need to removed if someone actaully wants an arm rest .

Fireplace is very real, functional, and actually in need of a cleaning after a winter of use. The brick is whitewashed because I don’t love painted brick. Not sure what else I could do with it. TV sits too low, I know. Maybe put on a wooden mantel overlay?

And we have my husband’s grandmother’s Naguchi in storage! I think my kids are old enough now (early teens) for us to feel safe in using it

Introducing some black features in the room is always a good look with cognac leather

I like Celery's suggestion of going a bit dark in the room. Dark walls would really be a great backdrop for your leather sectional. I also Ilke the idea of a zebra skin rug.

I have a zebra skin rug (faux) that is hand tufted. It's quite something

I love cognac leather - very versatile = works well with many other colors/looks/styles.

The first thing that I noticed when I saw your photos is that the bookshelves appear to be IKEA Billy bookcases (or similar type ones). It would make a HUGE difference (and is inexpensive) if you added trim/moulding in order to make the bookcases look like actual built-ins instead of inexpensive shelves placed against the wall.

There are many, many examples where people have done this themselves (vs. hiring someone) - it is not difficult.

You can add doors as shown above and in the photo below:

You also can add trim to the front of the individual shelves to make them look thicker - it makes a big difference in how they will look (much higher quality).

Kilim pillows are wonderful. Nice textures and colors. Nice and puffy and can actually be supportive.

Use the leather bench for extra seating or to sit tend the fire.

Curious where the sofa is from?

Sectional is from Valencia. Lots of horror stories online about delayed delivery but we got ours in 2,5 weeks

Celery's dark academic look is everything in here! Lately I'm smitten with Farrow and Ball cardamon color. It reminds me of what Celery's rendering has.

The white wash on your fireplace feels very washed out and unfortunate. But, with a darker color wall .it might pop in the right ways.

The floor lamps look like an earthquake just happened! :)