Did you use glare?
Also, the exterior as said is too dull for the interior exposure you'd have used there. Even a grey overcast sky outside windows when exposing for your average indoor shot will blow out quite alot!
I think the edited version is getting there, mainly because the brightest parts are whiter.
If you blow out the background and then alter the white balance manually to get things that looked white white it will be alot nicer.
Note: Maxwell NEEDS white balance
Generally though, lovely work!
Dave