Any photos of suggestions would be appreciated!

First thought is a rug and maybe some window treatments.. Would you consider painting some of the furniture?

Thanks for your comment! I have considered painting but, not sure if I am game enough! What sort of window treatments / rug would you suggest? My house is quite new and not keen on curtains so have roller blinds instead.

I'm not an interior designer but I feel you have to much dark wood.. I would get a bright rug maybe a big indoor plant.. Painting furniture isn't hard.. Just some elbow grease.. I think you need to take away some of the wood furniture.. Maybe paint feature wall in a brighter colour???

And your kitchen stools would be better as under bench ones when you can change them..

I agree with some others, some soft furnishings, window treatments, floor rug and some indoor plants. Maybe some art work. Have fun.

I really like your cabinet, if you are going to paint your furniture maybe paint the legs of the table but leave the top wood, and paint the chairs. Keep your cabinet wood, it would be too hard to paint unless you are really keen.

Ps chalk paint great for painting dark wood

Try adding a full pelmet wall to wall on the window, this way you can pull the curtains fully back to expose the full window.
Plant lush planting to cover the bottom windows.
Target has a variety of baskets and trays to hide the clutter on top of the cabinet. Eg the palm leaf range.
Nelson 1892 clock, also at Target.
Floor lamp, maybe Rakel floor lamp at Beacon in right corner.
Move the spare chair to left corner.
Add complimentary chair cushions, tying lamp and accessories together.

1. A rug in a neutral colour like taupe
2. Agree with a previous comment about the blind - the view from that window is not great so a blind that could be left down but that lets light through could work.
3. Clear the cabinet, particularly everything off the top. The cabinet is a nice piece of furniture so only have pieces in it that you want to show off.
4. Ditch the bowl of fruit on the table. Move this to the kitchen bench and invest in an eye catching centrepiece - perhaps a beautiful candle.
5. Get rid of the paintings and buy one larger piece.
6. Pick a favourite colour from the new artwork and buy some chair cushions and/or a table runner that pulls the room together.

Agree with moving the items on top of the display cabinet. The art work is not large enough for the space, possibly a couple of large posters if there are budget constraints. It's a bit hard to see the overall room but possibly moving the display cabinet next to the window and creating interest on the largest wall space (e.g. photo wall or console ) the addition of a rug would define the space but understand it may not be practical if you have young children eating there often. Indoor plants are again popular so possible the addition of a palm (needs height). Addition of colour will help in accessories (these are also easy to change and cheap if you want to change the look). At the moment the hero of the room is the display case due to its position and size so work from there to balance the room. Good luck :)

Maybe some bright accessories. Agree with pelmet and curtains either side of the window. They don't need to go completely across. Rug and don't have so much on the sideboard. I also agree with painting the legs of the table and the chairs.it would look really chic.

Wuff has a good suggestion. French chalk paint will go over anything and doesn't need any sanding back first. Amazing colour range too. If you are not sure about it buy a small bit of secondhand furniture to try it out first.

I use an indoor/outdoor rug under my dining table. If it gets very mucky you can hose it off! The room looks quite cold so needs softening up. Cushions, a rug and maybe change the colour of the walls to a creamy yellow, which will make the dark wood seem less stark. Sheer drapes at the window may help too. Agree with the others about clearing stuff from the top of the display cabinet.

I also think your cabinet would look more stylish without ornaments on top.

Keep us posted with updates that you choose to do :)

Wow thanks so much for all your advice! I really appreciate it. I agree with the ornaments on the top and too much wood. I have been meaning to clear the things off so looks like a job for today! I think a rug would be a great addition just to find one with the right colourings. Any photo examples of painting the table would be awesome! Thanks again will keep you posted. This is the other side of that room with kitchen island bench in the middle.

Your sofas are quite dark too- you could lighten them up with some cheap cotton throws from Ikea, -and get inspiration too! For painted furniture, search on facebook for the group Upcycle, recycle and DIY Australia. Not only is there a wealth of pictures from ordinary people painting furniture, there is a mine of information on how to do it.

I agree with Wuff. Paint the chairs and table legs. I saw a table in Matt Blatt recently where the table legs were black and the top left as timber. I'm thinking of doing it to our dining table as it looked so good. Good luck.

Rug, wall to wall window treatments, probably curtains because you need to soften the room to match in with the furniture style. Oh! and paint the ceiling a really, really dark colour. Simplify the display cabinet, maybe moving it off centre and creating a larger picture/photo wall area. Painting the furniture may work but is fraught with getting it right and there is no turning back. Good luck.

The room just needs come colour - large prints, large rug under dining suite and cushion covers on chairs.

The room looks cold because you have only a blind on the window. Continuous sheer curtains in a colour other than white or ecru (rather complimenting the new additions); covering the whole wall from ceiling to floor would help.

And as suggested by others - declutter the cabinet - less is more.

Definitely a large rug under a dining table, de clutter the display cabinet and maybe a floor lamp in the corner but get one modern in a very simple style to contrast your classic furniture. And large artwork (posters) would add more warmth to the room.

I agree... Paint the table and chairs. I've just used the Annie Sloan paint range which you can paint straight over the wood with no preparation and no primer needed (yes it's a miracle paint for the time poor decorator http://www.anniesloan.com/inspiration ). Great range of colours and you can use them to suit your style. A friend of mine just transformed a wooden set with the antique white colour on both the table and chairs and recovered the padded seats with a charcoal poppy print, she has a really classic style and I was amazed by the transformation. I have your problem where the room and furniture are darker so I've chosen a duck egg blue for the top of the table and deep grey for the legs and am going to do the chairs in the grey. The blue adds a pop of colour where it was much needed.
I hate curtains when there is a view but sometimes they are necessary for added privacy, warmth or to soften a room, so for me the only solution would be for sheer curtains hung as high as possible to add height to your room.
As for the lounge you want it to be inviting so start by stripping all accessories like cushions etc and clutter out of the room. This will leave you with the bare bones. Decide on a complimentary colour that YOU like. Then start to add back into your room..first with an area rug which this area really needs and I would suggest a round coffee table (will allow flow in the smaller space) and then a side table between the lounge and the window. Add a lamp on the side table and then either some new cushions to tie everything together or if your budget is tight try a pared-back version of the ones you have or maybe new covers. A throw is nice for winter and will encourage you to snuggle up with a book or a warm drink.

This is what I have done so far and it already looks better. What do you think of the chair cover I made ... as opposed to painting the chairs? Should I make them for the rest of the chairs? We are going to move the cabinet down towards the window, get an indoor plant for the LHs of the room and a large piece of art for the wall. What colours would you suggest I look at?

Well done colours depend on whether you are a bold colour person. Egg shell blue is a lovely calming colour. A pale yellow or lemon colour goes with it.

Your living room already looks better.

The chair covers looks great. Remember a little pillow or some foran underneith. You Can allways paint your furnitures later on.

I would definatly buy a rug, or some drapped curtains for a more cozy and Warming look.
Check out IKEA Website, for rugs, curtains as Wells as exterior and otter items. Go for some warm brown and beige colors.

Mirrors and big wall paper coved canvases makes a room appear bigger. If you dont want the paint the wall.

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Very clever, looking good. I'd buy art with a lot of colour, then accessorise choosing a colour from the art work.

Have you ever thought of upholstering seats on your chairs, you seem to be skilful with your hands and doing just the seats would make it more comfortable and you will have whole new look. I would go with some neutral colours but if you prefer bright pick a colour from the large picture you are getting. Just something to think about

Yes, I do like the chair covers. A good solution and you can make them in any colour you like. If you buy a piece of artwork for your wall then you can pick something which goes with that.

That looks so much better. Definitely make chair covers for the rest. I've used aqua accessories in my room- a throw, some coasters and a leaf shaped bowl for the table which has a silver outside. You can always change the accessories with the seasons (I have a red throw for Christmas time) . I'm also having a dilemma with a large window. Initially I'd wanted plantation shutters in white to replace the dark red cedar venetians which made the room gloomy, but I'm now thinking of softening with semi-sheer curtains. It is only partially overlooked in one corner and the rest looks out onto a wall that is less than 1 metre away.

Your chair cover makes a big difference. Make the rest the same (keep these neutral). Go for artwork you love (doesn't have to be expensive) and accessorise from this. Keep your rug neutral too, then eventually if you want to change it and a few minor accessories it won't be such a big deal. I like the idea of a black and white rug in that Moroccan pattern. I'd personally keep away from brown as there is lots of it in your furniture.

P

http://houzz.com/photos/8146984

Apologies for the previous error. This photo is of a larger but similar room. As previously said, a rug and more of what you have done with your chair. That looks great. Larger pieces in the cabinet, agreed.

From the look of the other room I think I can see teal & orange accents in the cushions so if you can find an artwork that incorporates the colours from the other room as accents it will tie the rooms together. :) have fun!

Thanks again for all your advice! This site is amazing. The fabric I am using for the chairs is a sand in upholstery fabric ... this one was just a practice one. I was thinking an artwork using teal /mint green tones. I have looked on temple&webster for something inexpensive and nothing has caight my eye. Any recommendations of other places to look?

For art work or poster try Allposters. They have thousands to choose from.

Or you could look at helenscolour.com soon to be updated with new artwork!