Em - sorry you got pounded with our latest sales lurker. Real designers and gifted hobbyists want to help you here. The color in your art over the fire could be your inspiration for color accents, and I do think that full length panels on the windows might be a good start to help it feel warmer this winter. I wouldn't expend money on blinds, only drapery panels but you understand your privacy situation better than I. Run the curtain hardware well past the window, so when the sun is out your panels can stack back to the sides. What do you think about adding some blue-greens? If we get a muted enough one, it will be lovely on the walls with the mantel wood tones and should harmonize well with all the neutral upholstery, wood floor and rug., as well as deal with the gray stone and silver fun ball well. The sofa wants to breathe a little away from the wall I think as well. A narrow end piece there (maybe a yard sale find that you paint a deeper shade?) and shifting the rug away from the wall will help the room itself feel bigger because everything won't be tight to the corners. Something like this for the walls - ben moore wythe blue http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/wytheblue#ce_s=wythe and for the end table piece - bm azores http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/azores the deeper tone for a furniture piece that needs some camoflauge . .you can then add curtain panels in a neutral that works with the sofa upholstery tone. I see you have somelovely fine art - Van Gogh will always outpace the rest. A simple wood frame can be stained to match the gorgeous wood on the mantel piece. Your home has some lovely detailing. Might I suggest you drop the art over the fireplace about 12" and layer one additional piece leaning on the mantel? The starry night piece also needs a frame and perhaps a different wall paired with the earth chart for contrast and whimsy - you can alway mount something like that with spray adhesive to a painted heavy cardboard or frame it in a much larger frame with a custom cut mat. If I were adding a third neutral here with the suggested blue green I would play off the gray slate of the fire and use charcoal. Charcoal, cream, pale wythe blue-green . . then the art will bring the color in.

Hi Zoe, Congratulations to you both on your 1st home purchase. Small designer furniture is what comes to mind. 2 seater sofa, lamp table, floor rug, small coffee table and a TV entertainment unit that fits the common wall at the kitchen end. Light coloured furniture & decor and the clever use of wall lighting will help make the room seem larger. The good thing is you can spend up big on the small amount of things you need to buy. Below are some images that I've found online that could be of interest to you. Links as follows: http://ynnu.net/tips-in-decorating-small-living-room-design-with-modern-furniture/elegant-grey-sofa-furniture-and-indoor-flowers-plant-in-small-living-room-decorating-design-ideas-2012 http://www.besthomedesigns.org/start-small-living-room-decorating-ideas/small-living-room-ideas/ http://abanthome.com/living-rooms-ideas-for-small-space/ http://www.a-v-designs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Very-Small-Living-Room-Ideas-66.jpg

Lucia, a girl after my own heart! Your duck egg blue and tan are spot on, I would consider these classic, which is a contemporary way of presenting traditional elements into your design. To keep your interior looking current, consider the duck egg to be inclined towards a grey base, less blue, so it will team well with the decor available in store. The tan would look sumptuous if you use suedes, upholstered ottoman as a coffee table, perhaps one with the buttoned top which can also be a storage item. Layer textiles, tactile fibres, like he suede, velvet in scatter cushions, and embellish with trims, ties and edge details. Layering means you need to be clever with coordinating patterns, prints and colour. Stick to two. Te tan and the duck egg, now be comfortable to vary these colours in strength and build upon a neutral bad of an offwhite. Consider that this interior needs the right bones to build upon, so request higher skirting board, and architrave of around 90mm minimum with a simple, but shaped profile. Consider plaster details beyond cornice, maybe create a dado rail around the room at around 750mm nigh, to make the ceiling feel higher, hang drapes from this level on rod, consider pellets, and layer your window treatments, so start with. Roller blind, then side drapes to frame and a pelmet to define them all. Use these chosen fabrics in cushions, and keep a simple or bold fabric for large items, like a stripe on armchairs, print or velvet on your ottoman coffee table, and a solid linen or worn tan leather sofa. A classic look is light filled not stuffy, so use reflective materials, glass vases, clear candle lanterns, pendant lint fixtures etc, mirror and metal frames. These will brinng the bling and shine into the space, the soft fabric will be sumptuous, and the backdrop should support this style. If you do wallpaper, I suggest creating paneled areas on your walls, out of timber quad, you or a handyman can do this, and paint the entire room, but paper inside these panels. Perhaps a large rectangle on your central feature wall, with two smaller (slimmer) side panels that you could mirror, and install wall sconce lights to them, it would look amazing, and add the architectural details that a classic, and refined interior demands. If possible, consider a fireplace, to create the focal point and depth and dimension to your space. Yu can use this to feature art, an opulent, extravagant mirror to reflect a gorgeous chandelier or light fixture, or a tv if you must. The rest, I'm sure you can manage. Good luck.

It's easier to comment on suitable chair fabric after seeing the exact style of the other furniture items you decide to buy Ange, as there are so many styles of 'industrial' to choose from. If you like the fabric on your sofa cushions, you could always try to find some old chair/s at auction or Op-shop and have them re-covered in a similar material. That may be relatively cheaper than buying new. You may find your Kilim rugs at an auction too.