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.

I think, like you said, due to the fact that there's a larger space when it comes to the hotel lobbies is the reason as to why it works. I think that no matter what you put on the walls (whether it be concrete or marble) will result in tiles not working out. The industrial look tends to be exposed brickwork anyway, or cream or white colours so maybe that's an option you could look into. What did you end up doing?

My very first thought was to paint the ceiling white. Some colourful artwork would be nice I think. I see you have some blue cushions, so some art with that colour would be helpful to tie it together and also a rug on the floor. What about a lampshade with a shiny chrome stand A tallish plant or two in white or pale coloured pots placed somewhere on the TV wall. I see something else on the back of the lounge suite that looks an interesting colour. Wouldn't hurt to bring that colour into the room too.

Hi Lina, i see what you mean about the awkward layout. Although it seems great to have some much room for transition it doesn't leave a great deal for functional living. Is there any wall behind the wicker chair? I'm wondering if reshuffling the tv to be on the stair wall would work?