Now it's beginning to work! Luv the rug! A few more red showstoppers, and I luv the post about matting your family pic, and larger frame for it. Looks like you might be a bit uncomfortable with the great post idea of moving your sofa out into the room away from wall. If so, could you accept putting it diagonally from the entrance doorway, across that corner where it is, stopping at the edge of your window? That's a bit of a move outward, still can see the fp and tv, and show off your new rug, which could go diagonally in front of the sofa. Then, if you like that, after a while you could move it on out as Deb K suggests. Sometimes intermediate steps are more doable for us than those big changes.Same with painting; if you could first paint just the fp wall, then later paint other walls...seems some color would really make it more homey. Would you cosider a quite contemporary fixture for the light in the center ceiling? Maybe a bit of red could go there!

And the seating areas are different, don't try to make it look like one area. I would put minimal ( if any) teal around the black sofa. Do your dining room. Then give you living room the same respect, it is it's own space

Awesome Houzzers, thanks for the responses. Overwhelming consensus seems to be that they dont work (at least without distressing the table, which sounds complicated). I am now thinking maybe I move the sofa upstairs and buy it a new coffee table along the lines suggested by maureen and lee lee (thanks). In the living room, I could then leave the oak coffee table, together with the armchair that works with it (it has a similar oak frame and is covered in natural linen). Then I can find a new sofa to match the coffee table. Any tips? The coffee table is 1200 x 1200mm. You guys seem to think that is ginormous - how big would the sofa need to be to look proportional? I am thinking of an L shaped sectional. Possibly also in some kind of natural linen fabric? The living room is big (5m x 8m?). Thanks again - much appreciated!

Not keen on tiles ... prefer a smooth surface with no grout lines to try and keep clean