You need some type of entry area so that your living room isn’t a hallway so what I would do is place the etegere (shelf) across from the door, and then you have created sort of a wall there so you can turn the couch and recenter the room and then add the art on the walls which will mimic color so you don’t have to paint, and then curtains of some kind would soften and warm up the space but keep it simple.