Facing my fears

Ok, here goes, deep breath. I really really really don't want to share pictures of my living room and have been dreading it since I decided to start this blog. When you tell someone you're into interior design, I feel like there's a certain expectation that his or her house be decorated pretty awesome. Well, ours is far from that. I so want this to be a space that brings a smile to my face since we spend a decent amount of time here, but it's unfortunately one of my least favorite rooms. Yes, the woodwork is nice and I love the fireplace and built ins, but it is DARK. There's a lot of pretty, thick trim (one of my favorite things about old houses), but it's not in the best shape, and it's not white. My aesthetic is light, bright and happy. This room is serious and manly. It reminds me of a study or a library. Naturally, my husband loves it. We have a leather couch that worked great in our last house because it was in a white room, but here it's just dark on dark on dark. No contrast. Sadly, my husband is against getting a new couch (what is it with men and leather?!?!) and doesn't want me to paint the trim. I'm not left with a lot of options. How can I achieve my goal of making it light and bright? My first thought was to repaint the mauve-y walls cream (Benjamin Moore Seashell), channelling a British Colonial vibe. That helped some, but it's still really dark and heavy. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

(sorry for the lamp switcheroo)

I'm really stuck about what to do with the area above. It's right off the vestibule and is far from the tv (which is mounted above the fireplace--not my first preference but it was literally the only place we could put it). I had the idea to move the big brass sconce to the upstairs hall and create built ins around the stained glass window. Something like this: 

{via)

I like the idea of an overhead light fixture to define the area and have had a crush on this Pottery Barn fixture since I laid eyes on it at our wedding venue nearly 6 years ago. The one in the inspiration picture above is also really pretty. I haven't even run the built in idea by Sam yet, so he could totally veto it and we'd be back at square one again. I wonder how many times a day Pinterest creates these arguments between spouses?!

Here are pictures of the other side of the room (I'm cringing and holding my breath): 

quite possibly the world's uglies overhead light

so dark and difficult to photograph

The elephant in the room is the giant curved radiator that sits below the window. I feel kind of paralyzed until we replace it with a straight one that can sit up against the wall. Unfortunately, that will run about $700. Also, installation is not necessarily something we want to tackle, so it could be reaaaaaallllly expensive. Thumbs down. This room has such potential, but right now it's not looking too hot. Here's what we want to do:

/ / scrape popcorn ceiling, remove overhead fixture, and install recessed lighting and a coffered ceiling like this


/ / add WHITE (woo!) crown moulding

/ / replace radiator

/ / move couch under window where radiator currently sits and put chairs (currently digging these striped beauties) where couch is

/ / hang curtains (totally undecided on a fabric, but I've always loved this Kravet)

/ / hide tv cords (Sam's area, and he said he knows exactly what he needs to do)

/ / swap out rug with something indoor outdoor

/ / a few new pillows that coordinate with window treatments and rug, side tables, lamps, accessories and art (just a few small things- ha!)

I've been begging Sam to let me paint a little bit of the trim, like the baseboards and door frames, because I think it would make such a difference. I know it's a taboo topic, but if we're going to live here, I want to be happy, and white trim makes me happy. Also, it plays nicely with basically every color, making decorating far less challenging. I'm not sure where we'll end up, but I'd really like to get started soon. We spend a lot of time here in the summer because it stays pretty cool, so I can't wait for it to start feeling more like us.

What are your thoughts on the room? Any ideas? Are you team white trim or team dark trim? I'm telling you, people feel really strongly one way or another.

Happy weekend, everyone!