Good Morning! Just thought i'd weigh in with my thoughts for you... I think that for the size of the room, you currently have too much furniture in it - in terms of seating. And the pictures don't quite show - but what is the relationship between the seating and the TV? Personally, I like a sofa and the arm chairs and would possibly consider losing one of the sofas. Pazz's suggestions are great and relevant. I would upsize the rug and purchase it in shades of blue/grey and bring out those colours in artwork and other soft furnishings such as cushions and lamp shades. Also change the orientation of the rug and coffee table to work with the room rather than fighting against it. I'm not a huge fan of wooden furniture pieces except if they are a highlight - If it was my room, i would paint the coffee table and the TV unit - there are plenty of paints on the market that don't require a massive amount of prep work - such as chalk paints. That would also soften the look. Overall - consider how you use the space currently and how that room interacts with the rest of your home as a whole. Good luck! Jo

Although, I love soft, pale, barely there yellow, the canary (egg yolk as I call it) yellow is just too garish. I do like the mint green and I'm finding lots of sites that are showing myriad options in décor for it now. I imagine it's one of those "get it while it's hot" colors but it's a beautiful one to me. I've used the hot pink in much smaller doses for my daughter's room when she was little but I doubt I would use it in large quantities. I also deal with blue best in small doses.

Thanks everyone for some terrific ideas. Could I ask annb1997 if you meant painting the stairs a dark colour or the walls? The stairs are timber but they are not a particularly nice colour, that is why I thought Jap blacking them would look dramatic and contrast with the main white wall. I agree that the other walls need repainting or perhaps a dramatic wall paper but with so much to choose from its all overwhelming.

So much potential here. Start by buying an interiors magazine eg "inside out". Choose something in a slick modern style in colours you like. Now find a similar colour palette already put together... If you are new to decorating, grab an interiors paint decorating catalogue from bunnings and choose a colour scheme out of it that more or less matches the inpiration magazine pics. Now collect samples of bench tops from kaboodle in bunnings... again use your magazine inspo as a guide for something similar. You can paint the cabinetry with white knight paints..see cherie barber youtube clip on how to. Update tapware to modern black. Curtains ..for starters..try to get off the rack s old sheers from freedom. Black or white or neutral .