Yes stripes are lovely - but they are still plain! Florals present a more complex, interesting and spirited style! I love the mix of colour, the non-uniformity of design and the fact that they can offer a contained platform for what is often the only pattern in an otherwise non-patterned room! Here's a small pic where you can just see my blinds. The interior designer was insisting on beige and white stripes (similar width to the blue ones above) as she said they would go with whatever decor/colour I used in the room and would still look contemporary in 20 years time. All I could think was that I will hate their boringness for 20 years! I chose a botanical print - as I think it won't date. The duck-egg blue background is calming and the detail has allowed me to pick up on lots of other colours (such as burgundy rug/lounge).

The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year." In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

Look on eBay then go to @darren Or look on Temple and Webster they have some great paintings and Wallpaper!

I love what you've done so far - I would, however, change the light frame to a black one and add matting that is the same colour as the red in your hallway print that will tie your hall way and dining area together in a subtle way as well as making the print bigger - you could take the matt out by upto 15cm (more if you're brave) and the frame width of between 2cm up to 10 (again depending on how brave you are). As it's a rather large wall you can go bigger with the matt and frame as your wall can take it and you've been restrained with the rest of your colour and material pallet. Your plants are lovely but they're lost down on the floor in the corner - if you can boost them up (I've found pots turned upside down work and have also been known to use old pottery sewer pipes painted - they're totally clean of course!) so that they're a feature rather than an afterthought.