Help!!! Ideas for making a brown living room look good?

You're right I did have that living room in the 70's. Can you paint? It's the cheapest way to make the biggest impact. Your pictures show this room flows into the dining room. Keep the love seat where it's at and move the couch to the biggest wall, opposite side and hang a big picture. It will open it up. If the wall in the dining room stops I'd make that my accent wall. Maybe paint it a nice chocolate brown, it'll blow that wall out. Check out the candle wall art below. Ditch the blinds. You can get curtain rods cheap and it will soften it up. Here's a link. good luck!