I need some inspiration

the stupid living room that I hate,  yes I do need those giant speakers, because I like to listen to records, rather than CDs. 

 Our house is large, which I like, but we have this really stupid living room that is an odd shape with a fire place and big windows, that make furniture placement really hard.
I am not one of those talented design people, either, so that contributes to the problems, as well as a the fact that our furniture is old and funky and shitty and ugly.
The livingroom is making me insane, just bothering the hell out of me every time I walk into the room.  The giant wooden box, with the curtain, is hiding the tv.

The living room  becomes an issue for me every year around this time, when I am about to host people. 

I feel ashamed of our crappy living room, and the shabby furniture and become totally overwhelmed with schemes to make things better.  I have washed all the curtains and slip covers this week, which makes things slightly less dusty, but hardly better looking. 

the sun room, with windows on three sides, and the green sofa that Mark will not let me get rid of, despite the fact that I hate green.  In his defense, I do like to lie on that sofa and read sometimes.

 The living room is attached on one end to what is supposed to be the dinning room, but we use it as a sort of library / playroom for the kids, we use the sun room for our formal dining room, and mostly dine in the dining area in the kitchen.

Freyja and the dog have nothing to do with this post, she is just demanding to be shown, in return for letting me type.

looking into the playroom, and seeing a king's ransom worth of Playmobile houses and castles, people and animals. 
The arch is making the ceiling look low, it is acually a nice high ceiling,
which almost makes up for the lack of decent overhead lighting. 

Some day my children will be older, and I will not have to have toys in the playroom and then perhaps I will use the dining room to dine and the sun room to read and bask in the sun.