I love your fireplace. I would not alter it. The door and the floorboards draw your eye straight to the fireplace. I wouod definitely alter the light fittings. I would have the tv on the dining room wall to the right of the arches. I wouod have one lounge on the window wall opposite the tv and a chair in the corner if there is enough room. I would have an eyecatching wing back chair to the left of the fireplace opposite the dining room and white lacy soft curtains softening the window wall. To the left of the fireplace near the dining room arch you could add some interesting decorating piece. I would concentrate on making the fireplace wall the focal point of the room and the tv corner a secondary focal point that is soft and relaxing. You could trow down a couple of beautiful, thick, soft floor mats to soften the brick and provide a texture contrast. Overall, I love the room, it has character and strength, its not boring and mundane. Good luck! I hope you find something that suits both you and hubby

The lights! Not to my taste... Then the pale timber cabinetry, this is a great alternative to boring laminex! & it looks good with the brushed stainless. I wonder if it would show fingerprints... my greatest bugbear in the kitchen

A rug under the table will cause problems when moving the chairs. To be safe and no nuisance, it has to be a huge rug. (A large round(!) floor cover....?) I like the street lamp. But I guess it is a STREET - lamp and makes the room rather sterile. It is kind of tallish in the corner and enhances to large distance to the ceiling. bring something else down from the ceiling. I guess you don't want a lamp because you have downlights. Do some search for some nice art, which does not move (shadows) in the light. Or use a beige old fashioned chandelier. Go bit by bit. And think about the carpet before you get it. Work on flow and lightness, delight, round parts, oval to balance the room. If I painted something, I would paint the stark white frames a little softer/toned. The white is a hard contrast. So is the black. (And I would probably paint a half wall white.) And the black ornament (light?) that comes down from the ceiling must come further down, should be larger. And then I would play with the room for dinner situations..... you can bring all the colour in you like. I wonder what the room looks like during the day. Try taking the (beautiful) mirror out and hang a canvas. The plant on the table looks forlorn. The Arabic lamp in the left corner looks lonely too. this would be a nice corner for a piece of furniture. An extra chair finds room in spots like this often. Do you have enough space when serving food? (Can you get light switches in a colour like the walls?) I would probably take 2 chairs out unless they are constantly needed and take the placemats off. Put a larger item.... maybe a plate of fruit in the middle. The repetition of chairs and placemats enhances the very formal atmosphere. I have just seen a cream coloured chandelier. Glass is too stark and black not suited to brighten the situation up. I love the room for its sheer size and uncluttered atmosphere!

I would declutter to much is going on in this room. I love the blue chair maybe you can add some nice candles on the coffee table and books and the throw should not be in the middle of the couch probably different colour through maybe the same colour as the blue chairs. Also get rid of the side table and add maybe a plant and also get rid of the mirror in the corner.