I'd not previously experienced carpet in a dining area until my parents built their house. It's probably okay in an adults only environment. Just add children to create squashed food thoroughly rubbed in, beetroot and similar stains, and/or marks that no-one knows how they arrived and science hasn't worked out how to get rid of them. They have what started out as bland beige carpet, now it's multicoloured and "interesting" (for want of a better term). God Bless the Grandchildren. :-)

Hi Crobr3, You have a lovely living and dining room and I love the dining table! I agree with vee_2596 that the coffee table should be in a similar wood to the dining table and I like the style of the first image that LouieT posted. If you could find a marble top coffee table with light wooden legs that would work perfectly. As your dining table is in a light wood perhaps White Thonet chairs could work, this will complement the light wood tone and keep the room fresh. Below are some other coffee table and dining chair options. Good Luck with finishing your living and dining room, I'm sure it is going to look beautiful. http://www.freedom.com.au/furniture/living/coffee-tables/23277953/stockholm-coffee-table-oakwhite/ http://www.freedom.com.au/furniture/dining/dining-chairs/23437449/brandon-dining-chair-whiteoak/

Other colours that work with red are turquoise, apricot, peach, any blues, yellow, even some pinks and greens. (Look to gardens for inspiration, or Old Masters paintings). I'd find patterns with combinations of those, or Vys colours, in a rug, and chairs or cushions.

To be blunt -- the room isn't really big enough ! So you have to sort out priorities , and space . You have a dining table , and a computer desk . Can you get rid of the computer desk , by having your computer tower mounted behind the couch or similar , and a wireless keyboard and mouse that you can use on the dining table ? Mount the monitor on a wall , or if you don't need in depth graphics , I understand you can use your TV ( I've heard something about the 'refresh rate' is less on a TV ? ) . Maybe even have a monitor but also the option of using your TV ? Could you use a 'breakfast bar' , probably where the computer desk is now , I know its not sociable all staring at a wall , but it would/could serve as a brakfast bar and computer workstation . Could you get rid of the dining table and chairs , and have a large coffee table , or 2 smaller ones , and eat 'casually' ( my polite way of saying eat sitting on the couch ) ? Even mounting the TV on the wall will let you get rid of the cabinet , but I gather you have gaming consoles in there ? And the present arrangement with the pot plants uses some space -- maybe some shelves with them on will still retain the plants but free up floor space ? Just some thoughts off the top of my head .