Carpet. Ugly, grey, literally-threadbare carpet. It is something we intend to get rid of, but carpet here isn't easy, in choice or available installers. But we'll go again with it, with something industrial-strength like we had at a previous house, a warm, dark brown most likely, to deal with the dogs and the dirt and the everything else that still manages to get inside past the mudroom.

The photo below is my suggestion for colour of floor. Furniture should be darker - similar to below. For the rug - choose one colour from the artwork and find a similar coloured rug. Don't put a mantle over the fireplace - it could be a health hazard - bumps and bruises. Blinds - unless you want them to make a statement I think white - to match window frames would be fine.

I think Riven refers to the texture of the surface. Ours looks and feels like real timber, and is not a flat shiney surface like most Laminex. Still very durable and water proof. I believe that it should only be used on vertical surfaces, which was not problem for us. Floors are a real personal taste thing. We got samples of the flooring and samples of the Sublime Teak, and then procrastinated for weeks. Our flooring has texture to it as well. We also had help form a great designer who worked in the tile store we used.

I would be using the slate as a starting point for your colour inspiration. If you look carefully there are some great olive and eucalyptus colours to draw from. The white that you have is too stark and contrasting to the feature of the room which is the beautiful floor. The stained timber works as it complements the rustic look of the floor, and there are some similar colours in the floor. If you wanted to spend some big dollars I would look at upgrading your toilet suite to a cleaner, more contemporary pan and a concealed wall cistern. Changing the aluminium sliding window to a stained timber awning window to match the architrave would be a nice finishing touch. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls