Do you have photos of your place now that you have moved in? The MLS listing photos show pretty much what can be done in terms of furniture layout. Do the shelves shown exist in real life?

Open shelving always looks more cluttered than closed-door storage. Consider getting estimates for new upper cabinets on both sides of the fridge. Include a shelf for the microwave in the cabinet design.

As we add our items it feels messy and not streamlined but not sure what to do with guitars and furniture is very uncomfortable

You have already been told about cabinets instead of shelves in the kitchen. I would like to suggest removing the shelves on the sides of the fireplace. And what do you have under the shelves at the bottom near the fireplace? Are they just consoles? I would remove that too, cleaning up the area near the fireplace as much as possible. Then I would think about moving the TV, perhaps to the corner (and placing it lower). Then I would think about the rest.

Id remove the fireplace shelves. tv on one side , on the other using nice guitar wall hooks. what is the door under the stairs. is it steps or storage? if storage turn that into a coat closet to get rid of the hooks by the door. looks like your are in a place that gets snow so stowing bulky coats away will feel much better.

Definitely replace kitchen shelves with cabinets and if the cabinets are new and you can match id look into converting the lowers to drawers, it will be much more efficient storage.

I am writing here regarding your second topic. I think you can buy a narrow table and put it next to your island, and in the niche where you currently have your dining area, organize a storage area. Place a spacious cabinet in the niche along the wall opposite the window, and add shallow upper and lower kitchen drawers (30-35 cm) perpendicularly, not right up to the window, of course.

You can order all of this at the same time as the upper cabinets for the kitchen area and in the same material/style/color, or vice versa, make something that will be different from the kitchen, but will match the wooden finish of the windows and fireplace.

Downsizing is difficult. Can the guitars live in the bedroom? Perhaps, as suggested above, remove the shelves surrounding the fireplace and hang the guitars on the wall.

I also see that your doorway is lower than the window and this creates an unpleasant difference. I suggest extending the doorway with a plank on top. It can be in the same tone as the doorway, or in contrast, for example, a darker strip of wood.

And it's better to get rid of the wallpaper in the niche.

Take down the shelves next to the fireplace and hang the 2 guitars on one side. Hang art on the other side.

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Thanks for photo and info.

The OP wrote: "furniture is very uncomfortable". If the furniture is uncomfortable watching tv but okay otherwise, then the likely problem is that your neck and back are craned and strained when you sit on the low-back sofa to watch the tv up high.

Three solutions: 1) move the tv to a much lower height next to the fireplace instead of above it 2) buy a recliner sofa (the wall hugger type will not block the walkway behind the sofa) or 3) buy two recliner chairs to put where the sofa is now. Every inch counts, so choose smaller scale recliners, not big soft puffy recliners.

Here's the look of the kitchen with cabinets replacing the open shelves. If also still need extra storage in the living room, you can have built-ins done with open section on one side to hang what seems to be 2 guitars. The built-ins would give you more storage space than the open shelves you presently have.

Question: One of the door under the stairs seems to be a bathroom / powderoom. What is behind the other door? If it's a closet take a picture maybe it can be organized in a more practical way than just a rod to hang coats.

I suggest for very small homes and spaces like yours that you use a monochrome color scheme in a lighter color to make the spaces seem larger and more open.

@lisedv, could you please change your images so they enlarge more when clicked on?

I would find a sofa that can fit against the stair wall and walk in front of it instead of behind it...would really open up the room.

Then the two side chairs can be in a comfortable spot facing the TV at an angle...swivel chairs are nice in this situation. Or add more loveseats for more seating.

Possibly remove the table from under the front window if need be. I like the idea to hang the guitars, maybe where the coat rack is and put the coat rack behind the door on the stair wall.

We removed all display items from a couple of floating shelves in our living room and replaced them with a few coffee table books laid flat...seems to open up the area visually.

When put your floor plan to scale it looks like the 16'6" widht includes the front door and stairs so that makes the living room area narrower. Looks like you have a closet under the stairs you can organize it with hooks or rod and storage and not have hooks by the front door with coats hanging on the wall making the area look cluttered. As mentioned above if you need additional storage, Ikea's Billy Series offers tall bookcases with doors on the bottom section and a choice of open shelves or doors for the top.

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@lisedv. What would you do with the nook?

The furniture you have seem much too big for the space. I'm showing a 24" x 55" rectangular table with 4 chairs of a lighter style than yours.

Another option...

You may also want to consider switching the kitchen counter lights to something simpler to open up that space a bit-in the picture they seem a bit big.

Suggestions to open up space:

--Remove TV from fireplace. Remove all floating shelves and put TV on the console below the floating shelves. Put guitars on the other wall to replace floating shelves.

--Create more of an entryway by front door with a mirror instead of art and hooks you have. Multiple Etsy vendors will make a little slim table like this, up on legs.

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Hooks on stair wall, but keep coats in closet.

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Remove the floating shelves between the kitchen windows so focus is on the open view, which will make the room feel bigger.

--Get much smaller proportioned chairs, up on legs to open up living room space, not necessarily this color but this style. with simple arms that don't take up visual space. If possible, Try out chairs in person to make sure they're comfortable.

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--Nook: Get a small white tulip table and comfortable upholstered dining chairs for the nook. Upholstered dining bench on the back wall. Add bright art. I like this art because it's a landscape--another "window."

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Same look. Measure to see if you can fit a 36" tulip table in the nook.

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I like the real estate photos but not the lamp in front of the window or TV over fireplace. No need for either of those things in those locations.

P.S. Besides the floating shelves in living room that add to visual clutter, the lighting throughout isn't consistent. When budget allows get simpler, smaller pendants and ceiling light with same material finish. The styles are really nice--maybe you could sell some of them on FB Marketplace, but they need to echo each other in style and finishes. The living room light is too fancy and doesn't relate to lights over the island. Keep those but change out nook and living room pendants.

Shape and size like this but metal finish like island lights. Are they a brushed brass finish? If so, then brass finish modern small pendant for nook. If the island lights have some other finish, then get more modern styles, which will work if the metal finishes are the same.

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@housegal200…thank you so much this is very helpful

Everyone I greatly appreciate your feedback and assistance!

Have an overall plan before you proceed so that everything going forward connects. You asked about the nook, but really you should've been asking about the entire space in a single posting. Try not to make decisions or purchases piecemeal, such as buying a light fixture that looks great on its own but doesn't echo the other light fixtures and finishes.

In a small space, keep furnishings, shelving/storage, lighting simple and in proportion to the space. For example, open shelves can work well in a small kitchen so you're not banging into cabinet doors. The ones by the fridge are fine, but the ones between the windows are cluttery looking and not functional. They detract from the wide windows and the view. The living room floating shelves are also visually distracting, so they should come down. Place TV on console to the left, and guitars, if you must have them out, on the right. Come up with a total plan for your downstairs space. Make sure to really declutter before you start so you're not dealing with too much "stuff." Good luck!

Why is nobody considering that "under the stairs" might lead to a basement?

Where the open shelving is in the LR I would do some closed storage to help handle the clutter on either side of the FP