I'd agree with adding darker colours to the mix... if reupholstering things is not in the budget just by adding chocolate, charcoal or navy blue to the chair and bedding will help. Add some rougher textures, chunky knits, pin stripes, vintage linen and right on trend velvet.... Adairs have a sale for another couple of days on their linen and other products https://www.adairs.com.au/search/?q=Vintage+washed+linen Accessories to consider are things made of dark marble, timbers, geometric shapes and gold... A bold feature wall could give some mood to the room again in the above colours.

Have you thought about wallpaper? feature walls? Our wallpaper peals on and peals off with easy. You can do it yourself without fuss or extra cost. We also custom make our designs to your chose of colour and size for free.

Keep it light otherwise it makes the low ceilings feel even lower. I will share our story in the hope it may help you! Picture 1. We moved from a house with high ceilings to one with low bedroom ceilings and it felt claustrophobic for a while (2 years we put up with it). Our bedroom, when we moved in, had burgundy walls, dark wooden doors into the ensuite and wardrobe, b&w zigzag curtains and pink carpet (yes someone thought pink carpets and burgundy walls would be a good idea!). The one redeeming feature was large glass sliding doors that led out onto a covered deck which provided a view and let in some light (which pretty much got swallowed by all the dark features). We faced our bed towards the doors when we moved in to have a view - as who wants to look into the bathroom like the previous owners did in the picture! Transforming the space: We pulled up the carpet and laid medium coloured wood floors (dark floors were too much for this space and needed to work through entire house), we painted the whole room including the ensuite and bathroom slatted doors white - all of which transformed the space in a way that really surprised me. A tallish wooden bed head and antique dresser, along with tall (rather than wide) artwork help add height to the room as do the doors now that they are white. To keep a feeling of warmth in the room (sorry minimalists out there) I used linen bedding in greys and used blue accessories in rugs and cushions which compliment the artwork which we picked up from a painter on the streets of Paris (framed on our return). We used a muted rug on the floor to bring elements together and for warmth for our feet as we live in a very cool climate during winter months. I simply wanted colour that wouldn't overpower the space. Since pics were taken: We have since started revamping the outside deck and removed some of the lattice which has brought a beautiful flood of natural light flooding in and a view of the garden. Our next step: will be to add some white linen or silk curtains at the highest height possible to maintain an illusion of height. We will extend the curtains to land either side of the doors when open, as while we now need to have them for some added privacy, we still want the light and the view most of the time including when the deck is lit up at night. We will keep the curtains light as colour would encroach on the room size which isn't very big. Our dream addition is to replace the sliding doors with white French doors. Hope this is helpful.

Thanks Margot. I think I've more or less got it sorted. The only challenge remaining, I think, is finding a way to give it a visual lift. It currently has floor to ceiling tiles in a standard size, square, and a very uninteresting colour with no texture - but in very good order. Very dull! I hate grout in showers so I'm thinking maybe some Mr Wetwall panelling or something similar over the tiles in the shower and on the new wall formed by moving the linen cpd, plus on a part wall along the long side of the shower to replace the glass screens that I insist must go (I'm a lazy cleaner and I hate cleaning glass!) Hopefully that would be enough to relieve the dullness of the existing tiles. Then some feature shelving over the new bath tub perhaps. Not yet decided whether to install a freestanding back-to-wall bath or a drop-in, but the latter might provide scope for some more feature tiling or panelling around it. I want to open the room directly to the outdoors but the current window opening is only 1200mm wide and the wall is 8 inches of solid concrete - not easy to cut to enlarge the opening - so I'm looking at either a hinged door with window inset into it or a standard size glass swing door with a narrow window beside for ventilation. My other challenge is doors for the relocated linen cpd, as the existing mirror doors have got to go! I loathe them. As the cpd will be visible from the living area, it needs stylish doors.