Thanks for posting new views of your room. You are right, nothing can go in front of the paneling, and we won't block the built-in cubby. In that case let's work with the rest of the space. I found a picture on Houzz for your gallery wall. I think this will allow you to bring in color and texture and interest to your wall without taking up space like furniture would. Try to play with portraits and a couple of paintings in there too - mix it up. Otherwise I would not put anything at the top of that landing (I'd remove that console table). That picture wall should be enough visual interest to your space and it'll draw the eye to the furthest wall as you walk in your house. I would try a small piece with closed storage between the bottom steps and that door by the entry. It looks like the space is no wider than 26", so it'll be a challenge to find something that fits and is tall enough. I would not use the wooden piece you showed above because you want wider proportions and fairly narrow depth so you don't bump into it as you walk by. (something like this ) I would hang a mirror on top of primping. By the cubby you could add a single seat stool. I'm not particularly suggesting these colors for the stool and bombe chest but something along these shapes. At this point if you do that big picture wall and add these two pieces of furniture and a mirror, you might not need to hang anything on the wall above the cubby. Also, I noticed your chandelier is quite substantial for the space and hanging pretty low. Would raising it a little or replacing it by something a little smaller be an option?

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.

Yes benches are counters .... thanks for clarifying yoboseiyo! we have no high cabinets for the kitchen at this stage, we plan to do some kind of shelving but are waiting until the new "counters" and range are installed to get the feel for what we go with. Hard to get a photo at present as we are mid reno, the cabinetry is all installed....with no bench top yet.. we have our old cooker in the dining room and the new big range in there too as the area its going into is being tiled. The range will be the dominant feature in the kitchen so once that and the counter tops are in I'll take some pictures Organised Chaos!

There is nothing worse than ceiling-mounted lights--harsh shadows, flat lighting. They are strictly for utility. I would put a large-ish, shallow cylindrical shade on them and put nothing more than a 15-watt bulb in them. Use them strictly for lighting your way as you walk through the room. I agree with Vincent; the chair in the corner doesn't fit at all, nor does the one under the A/C unit (put that one with its mate behind the love seat). And the curtains look smooshed. I think the problem with the bookcases is that they are uninteresting. Did you buy books-by-the-yard? What are all those identical books? They are visually uninteresting. I'd get rid of some of them and get some colorful ceramics/glass/photos. The room is absolutely overwhelmed with furniture. It needs one less love seat. Do you really need all of them? Pushing them against the walls/curtains so tightly just visually emphasizes the fact that there is too much furniture. I don't think a mirror above the fireplace will work. When people are sitting down (which is most of the time), all they will see is a reflection of the ceiling--the plain, white ceiling. Get some real art in there with some color.