I think you need to loose the courtins. I did that in my northfacing room. A bit more light. And if you can, mix some nice framed mirrors with your art on the wall. I used also a bright tone carpet. Hope this helps :-)

get rid of the curtains , maybe change the color of your picture frames on the wall to a lighter color. Maybe get rid of that dark piece of furniture in front of the window as it blocks the light , Would your husband let you paint the bookcases? or can you move bookcases to another room? Some decluttering might help. I would get rid of the pedestal in the corner with the vase on top of it.

I think it is a beautiful room. Do you think the unit is too dark?

If you got rid of the bookcases or move them to another wall you could have a huge mirror opposite the window to bounce the light. I have mirrors opposite some windows in my house and it really does make a significant difference to the light in the room

Starting at the window, I would take away the dark piece of furniture. Then I can't tell what is in the corner at the end of the couch....A small end table with the lamp would be enough...take down the picture above the lamp. Couch with pictures/pillows looks nice. End table with lamp nice but take picture down behind it. Take away small table with vase/flowers on it. Declutter your bookshelves.....too many pictures...Pick out your favorites. And no pictures on your end tables.....need space for drink (coffee, soda, etc) Your two chairs are very nice but how about facing them toward the couch....side by side with a small table between....something like a ceramic garden stool or a glass topped table. Would be a place to put a cup of coffee on. A glass topped coffee table would lighten up and reflect the light in your room, which is very comfy looking....just need less in it....JMHO.

This might be opening a whole messy can o' worms, but would your husband be OK with (you) painting the big unit opposite the window a lighter colour?

I would definitely paint the bookshelves/unit, maybe a nice creamy colour to pick up the chairs and accessorise with some red, also to pick up the chairs x

The room suffers from a feeling that every space had to be filled. Eyes need some blank spaces to rest. With that in mind, do some major decluttering. Too many pictures, photos, extraneous tables, and dried plants take up space. As others have said, remove photos on the sofa tables--leave just a lamp on each one. Put white shades on the lamps. Get rid of the dried plants and stands in the corners. Move the piece in front of the window to the left of it and move one of your existing art works over that.

If you're not too attached to the art work over the couch, a beautiful wide, horizontal mirror over the sofa would pull in light from the window and from the two lamps.

Those yellow curtains and the gray walls aren't working working well with your tan couch and red and white furniture. The rug doesn't quite work either. A cream rug with a subtle faint red or terra cotta geometric pattern would work better.. The colors don't need to match but they need to complement and harmonize. Can you repaint the room in a crisp white and add white curtains hung from way above the window? Then you've got red, white, and tan. If you get a coffee table get a glass one to keep things light.

The storage display bookcase is overwhelming, but if it's your husband's treasure, then it stays. But cut down by at least half--more--the number of photos and accessories you have there. It's just stuffed with things. Fewer items will showcase each of your best photos, etc. Is there a back to the bookcase? If so, you could try putting removable wallpaper on the back--maybe in white with a subtle red pattern on it.

I am usually not a fan of a couch in front of a window, but wonder if it would work in this room. Then the two large pieces are facing each other instead of ganging up on the lighter areas of the room. Maybe the chairs could work there together, under the gallery, or the chairs could go down by the book shelf???

THANK YOU EVERYONE for the feedback! I went out today and bought some gray/pebble paint and some light mustard-y yellow. My plan was to paint the wall behind the sofa and the window wall with the gray...and paint the end tables white/distressed with dark wax... (leave the bookshelf alone although between me and you I can't stand it). I think the yellow/grey/rust color scheme is pretty.. Maybe it's the curtains..maybe I should accept the fact that I got those wrong and move on. Just hate to waste money. Stay tuned... I'll fix it all and show pictures. PS - My 72 year old mother LOVES this room and doesn't understand why I have a problem. ha ha ha ha ha..

The large dark piece opposite the window is soaking up all the light that enters the room. If you can't paint it, use luan or foam core to line the back walls of it with color by either painting the luan with your accent color or wrapping the foam with wallpaper or fabric. If you're stuck with the unit, spend some $$ and light it withe LEDs. Style it with 1/3 books, 1/3 decor and 1/3 open space. Photos don't count as decor here; they are sentiment and should be severely limited to a layered grouping of 3 in varying sizes on one shelf of the outside cabinets.

Declutter. Empty that bookcase, paint it white, then return about 1/3 of the things you have in it now. Pare down the art and the stuff in the corners. Then think brighter rather than lighter.

WOW - Look at that white bookshelf...I would consider LIKING my husband's bookshelf if it were white! He claims it was $$ so he would never let me paint it. BUT wow - this is good evidence for him to see.