it seems to me that nothing in the room is bad... it's just that nothing in it is dramatic; there ain't no statement there. maybe you could consider painting one wall - behind the couch or behind the chair/opposite the couch - a really vibrant color?

for example, what's that red in the first photo? could you go with that and have a really popping wall with some light accessories against it? or maybe you could veer away from the reds and go with a blue of some kind? i'm thinking that you could have a vaguely ocean-y feel with that sandy tan and a light blue and the black.

whatever you do, it seems to me that you need to do some kind of color somewhere. and, whether or not you paint the wall, i think the room would also benefit from some art/fabric/something hanging on said walls. whatever you choose, though, good luck!

Paint is the quickest and cheapest method, but I don't think brown is going to liven up the room. Choose an actual color with some verve - be a little daring! You can even first get the small samples they now sell to try out a couple square feet of a few colors to see what works best with your furniture. You might even be able to get away with just painting one of the larger walls and still have an impact. My other suggestion would be to get some art up on the walls - even just stretching some nice fabric on painting stretchers to give some variation and pattern. Everything in the room is a single color of this, a single color of that - it needs some texture or pattern to get some interest.

Paint the nook

Chocolate brown will not clash with the sofa; pick a lighter shade of chocolate

Cover the furniture with sheets, blankets or throws

Ikea has colorful curtains 2/$10 and paper panels that look like jute. You can adhere to the wall for texture

Cover that door with a patterned piece of fabric

Put a picture frame or mirror on the wall by the window

Add a plant

Agree with above, and wonder about replacing the lamp shade as well. That could be relatively inexpensive, especially if you get something from a garage sale or thrift store ...

you just need some colorful accents! sew your own brightly colored slip cover for the poang chair, hang a more colorful curtain. go to the goodwill or dollar store and get some cheap frames. spray paint them something fun and fill with colorful art.

when you have your color theme established, get a more colorful pillow for the chair, a throw for the couch, and paint the billy... or cover it with contact paper.

flip through this house tour:

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/032808mariasilverlake

they have white walls and lots of white furniture, but have a lot of bright, colorful accents to really make it all pop. those hot pink lanterns are from Urban Outfitters. Their bargain basement has lots of similar colorful bits that will bring something nice to your place. And if colors that bright aren't your thing, this can still be good inspiration... make it your own with whatever color scheme you love.

Start with the bookcase.Take everything off and declutter it. (One episode of Myles of Style arranged the books by color.) Then find a picture, or a group of three pictures/posters that is/are as wide as the bookcase for above the bookcase to make a statement. (try posters.com) Choose the posters by colors and you can repeat the colors in pillows on the chair or couch. Add decorative items on the shelves by color.If you don't sew, get some napkins at Homegoods or Target and use bondable tape (done by ironing) to create them to cover the pillow forms, which are available at sewing shops.

Colors don't clash - but I think i'd paint the room something other than brown since you already have so many neutrals in the room. Orange? Turquoise? Sky Blue? Pink? Red?

"New uses for Old Smoking Paraphernalia" from AT has lovely tangerine accents with a deep charcoal couch. For the walls, possibly? Marimekko or Ikea (some more traditional patterns there) would be great on the previously mentioned stretcher frames and pillows. The problem with fabric would be that anything with a white background would not be happy with the beige curtains and chair, though a little tea stain could remedy this problem on a small scale. Pick up the wall or accent colours from the fabric with planters. You may wish to consider the amount and direction of your daytime light. If most of your light is from the north (as lovely and soft as this is) and/or there is little of it working with a colour like blue for the walls would be difficult. But if you are not home during the day this may not be a consideration.

First thing I would recommend is to change the curtain to one with some color and/or pattern. I would also put up one or two large (or cluster) framed artwork by the chair and sofa. It doesn't have to be expensive and could be a large framed poster of something that inspires you. Next I would clear the clutter off the top of the book shelf and add a few items like a vase with (real) flowers, candle stick holders, etc. think in proportions and rule of three. A large, decorative mirror, above the book case would create a nice focal point for the room and enlarge the space. Next add a variety of patterned, decorative pillows to the sofa to break up the black sofa. If you still think it needs something, then I would say painting the wall behind the sofa a cool color if your accent pieces are warm or vice versa. Hope this helps and hope you'll show us what it looks like when you're done.

Might also want to get some doors for those Billy bookcases to help hide the clutter...

I have a friend that placed fabric on small curtain tension rods and covered some of the openings in her bookcase. It covered up the worst sections of clutter in the case and added some color to the room with the fabric print. That might work for your case.

A print or painting over that chair by the window would look cool. You could add some color to the curtain you already have by adding some wide ribbon (with iron-on adhesive if you don't sew) to the top and bottom, and use the same or complementary ribbon as the tie-back. The ribbon could pull a color from the adjacent print over the chair.

The bookcases are fine in and of themselves, but they are overloaded. I'd get one more and then re-arrange what's on them. Perhaps put one by the chair for a reading nook and devote it to books only, and then use the others for a mix of books and objects with some blank spaces.

Paint those walls a yummy orange! It's cozy and warm at night and will make the room glow during the day -- it looks EXCELLENT with black furniture, too.

And I second adding the doors to the Billy set. It'll cut the clutter in a big way.

Paint the walls Hermes orange. Swap the lampshade for a black one. Voila. You've got style.

Thank you everyone for your great comments. I look forward to sharing with you some of the changes that I have made to my living-room ....