try Benjamin Moore Key Ivory West for the walls - it's a soft color and will brighten the space, but will work with other colors. Put a funky rug on the floor. Go to Marshalls or TJ Maxx or IKEA and get a comfy chair with a a small table next to it. If she has any artist friends at school, have her ask them to do an oil or watercolor of something she likes in a large canvas for over the bed (don't frame it). Replace those lights. Or, for over the bed, just print out a bunch of 5x7 photos of friends or whatever (black and white would make a statement) and arrange them in whatever frames you like. Going for neutral or soft colors will enable you to use accessories for color and change the look when it gets old.

Beautiful table. I don't particularly like the metal/cane chairs. Too 'light' in appearance. Do you use the chairs by the window? I think they are too close to the table and they are too big in comparison. Could be the angle of the photos though, may look different in real life. I don't think your ceiling is too low to hang a pendant above the table. How do you change the table position? If you only turn it around, you can still keep it centered under a light. If you move it to the wall it's another story of course. The two paintings above the console should be hung lower and I prefer them on one level. You can add table lamps on the console and a floor lamp in the corner between the windows. If you use the two chairs, I would add a table in between and angle the chairs a bit. I'll see if I can find you other dining chair options.

Great space, love the room.. Have you ever considered painting the ceiling in a fun, vibrant color? Might be just the thing you need to brighten up the space. If you are in the market to look for new furniture pieces, be sure to check out www.bryght.com, they have stylish, modern pieces without the markup. Happy Decorating!

Try this. Hang the television to the right of the wood stove on the wall opposite the french doors. Use the wall with the high windows for a looong sofa and add two chairs across / angled slightly - low back so you can look over one to television. use console / sofa table on entry /bed door wall just past where entry door opens so you have a lay down surface. Forget glass, it isn't for this era and won't make it feel bigger. Paint ALL french doors inside and out and small windows and entry door same color and trim same color too. Try a charcoal rather than a black - something in the blue-green-gray shades like new providence navy. do all the walls in kitchen and living in a warm white - this tone has the wood as an undertone - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/woodash then, for the cabinets . . do a bungalow thing and go deeper on the cabinets to a classic drabware tone - with the wood walls and floors / try bm bracken biscuit http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/brackenbiscuit these will all go together like gangbusters, keep it light and bright but interesting and work with a new blue green gray back door in a tone like bm beach glass http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/beachglass templeton gray as a counterpoint on some craigslist piece of furniture . . add warm undertone tan and oatmeal nubby tweed upholstery to start . . the teal navy gray will work with the black iron stove and accents without going black. start keeping the left door to the kitchen closed and get a door stop to hold the other one open permanently . . this will work because you need a little more wall to make the tv work well - in the kitchen, pull your table away from the wall just a tad - consider a padded bench on the wall to provide a kind of sitting space in there and put the chairs across - if you shift your television to the wall (high enough the heat is not an issue , you can still have big speakers work well - and remote the media equipment - run the wire and patch the holes. Hang it mid-height - eye level when you sit plus 15 degrees . . check out the amazing sconces you can put on the entry wall - shades of light petersik pendant with home-made trim wood brace to pump it out from the wall since the power is high? over the console? round wood table in middle - even a hd butcherblock round on a painted drum base in trim tone? With those tones - teal gray, biscuit, creamy off-white, muted blue-greens - paint your white chairs and a hand me down bench wythe blue and find a graphic sunbrella print with a little blue green, chocolate and orange for cushions and pad skirts with velcro at the table . . make a galvinized pipe leg / plank 1 x 12 / clear finish console for behind the door . . now you are cooking with gas . .