Critique...suggestions? Yet another blank slate

I have a plain ol' living room. It's BLAH. I have eggshell walls, cream coving and a white ceiling. I have oak floors. My fireplace is funky. It's a burgundy colored porcelain (WTH??). Apparently the previous owners thought it was a good idea to rip out a beautiful cut stone fireplace and replace it with this monstrosity. Complete with pink marble mantle. Good grief.
http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/InteriorPics/photo#5031889925342454786

Anyhoooo... we moved in 18 months ago. My mom bought us these beigey-bronze jacquard curtains and sheers in the same color. They cover my windows, but they are very blah. My living room is currently furnished in Early American Poverty.

Here's my idea.
On the wall with the fireplace I want to do a faux finish...I found Behr Bellagio faux that has a burgundy base, cream as the second color and metallic gold as the accent. It looks kinda marbelized but not really. I know that sounds stupid, but I can't find anything online to give an example. On the other three walls I would like to paint an almost dark khaki/tan with olive undertones.

This is the wall I am talking about:
http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/HannahBasketballHouse/photo#5031890522342909026

This is the most of the rest of the room:
http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/HannahBasketballHouse/photo#5031890445033497682

View from the dining room looking into the living room:
http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/InteriorPics/photo#5031890041306571794
I would like to tie the dining room into the living room, but it doesn't have to match exactly. My dining room furniture has to stay...it's heirloom from DH's grandma. It's a dark mahogany and I'm going to recover the dining room chairs (currently a cream background with multicolored needlepoint). No color in that room to work around ( I have burgundy sheers w/a burg/gold brocade valance on a corner window. Also willing to Freecycle those :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/InteriorPics/photo#5031890668371797106
Excuse the hideous table cloth!

Any suggestions for window coverings?? So not a fan of what I have, but they fit the budget when we got them (free). I don't like blinds of any sort... The only color I really have to work around is the burgundy fireplace (in a few years that will be changed) and I have ordered a tan microfiber sectional sofa (getting such a good buy, I can't pass it up). I'm also getting a recliner for DH, but haven't picked it out because I'm not sure what color... Other than that..I'm game! Did I mention that DH bristles at anything other than off white and solid colors??? He's my biggest hurdle.

My house has unique setup. It's a ranch built in 1952, but the layout isn't all "straight' for lack of a better term. It's more like a capital J (with a line crossing the J). The living and dining room are separated from the rest of the house by a hallway. At one of the the hallway are two bedroom that come together like a sideways "Y" (the bedrooms being the two forks of the Y). The kitchen (which was entirely white) is at the other end of the Y.
http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/RedKitchen/photo#5031891175177938066
It's red now :)

whew...this turned into a novel. Sorry!