Stay with brown or paint white?

I keep going back and forth with this one, should I paint all my wood furniture white, including my wall shelves or keep them brown?

here is what everything looks like now...

But I am really wanting to paint the shelves and all the picture frames a really creamy white/ivory...kind of like this but more realistic :)...obviously!

Something similar to this...

(thank you Young House Love for the pic)

Plus, I am really wanting to put my headboard bench out on the front porch and replace it with an entry table or an antique desk.  But then would I paint the desk the same creamy white or leave it in its original state?

I am thinking I want this look instead of the bench...

(thank you again Young House Love for the pic)

Basically I want more surface space to decorate large items on, my wall shelves are limited height wise.  Plus this is a good representation on the collage frames being all white instead of brown.

I am really feeling claustophobic in the living room lately, I can't tell if it is just a re-decorating itch or if the brown is to dark with the dark wood floors. 

Will anyone help?  Please please leave a comment this time and tell me what you think I should do.

:)