Our Functionally Opulent Family-Centric Living Room

One of the first rooms we tackled when we first moved in to our 115 year old Dutch Colonial home, the color for this room was inspired by a set of pillows I'd picked up at a specialty shop. It is the hub of our home and our family life, where the ins and outs of our days occur and where we're lucky enough to have friends and family sit and enjoy our home with us.
There hasn't been much in the way of hard core renovation in this space (aside for closing off a doorway to be able to create a bathroom on the other side and the tiling of the mantle), but there is definitely room for it. The ceiling is a dropped panel layout and we hope to replace it with tin tiles. The floors are in desperate need of refinishing, which we hope to make a more dark ebony color. I also want to add a simple chair rail across the room to give it a little more architectural detail.
This is the space that probably changes the most, as about every six months I rearrange the furniture to better suit our family's needs. We also have alternate sets of slipcovers for our couches because with two kids under four, five cats and a fat Chihuahua, things get messy easily.
The hope for this room, however, was to create a beautiful space that was also comfortable, inviting, and reflective of our family. I believe that communal living spaces should reflect everyone who lives in the home, and that includes small children, so yes, we have toys and books and such out. We live a real life, not a magazine one, and this space is as much my kids' as it is my husband and I's.