Mid-Century Modern Living Room Design

We just moved into this neglected 80's home and desperately need help opening it up and giving it a more modern and stylish feel. We are especially looking for color palette/paint selection as well as help with the layout/selection of furniture and rugs. We also have a gas fireplace that is horribly out of date and not very functional so will need help with updating or modernizing that. We are removing the walls that separate the kitchen from the living room to make an open concept. With the removal of the walls we are not sure which wall to put the tv on? The windows to the left of the couch and the wall that the dark console is against (this wall is getting removed this week) open up to a beautiful water view. The wall was separating the kitchen and living room and also obstructing the view. We want to keep the focus on the water and kitchen area as we entertain quite a bit. We want a very clean, open and inviting feel. Much of this is DIY but we are at a loss for where to begin and how to achieve and arrange the look we are striving for. We love the look of mixed textures, comfy but with clean contemporary lines. We have two small children and a big dog so perhaps a white linen or sharp glass corners may not be a good choice for us. :)

We really like Benjamin Moore Cloud White but are open to all suggestions. We tend to gravitate to blues, greys, creams and black but again are open to new looks.

PS
We LOVE Room & Board but did not see their logo on the favorite brands section.