Hello kellyi. The living room needs straight, long drapes in a simple pattern, I think. No swags, no tie-backs, no extra anything. I'd look for something with a light, off-white background as the room is a bit heavy with brown, and perhaps a geometric pattern that introduces your favourite colour. It could happily be green, but the room is so neutral it could be anything. Pick up that colour in a couple of throw pillows, which could also be patterned, or plain. On the lighting I think you could probably get better advice from someone else. But I'd also like to suggest big art for your fireplace to hang just a few inches above the mantlepiece. Again something modern, light and bright. Preferably with a touch of brown in it but other colours predominating -- including the curtain colour. I think these are both charming and cheerful, but of course nothing is more about your personal taste than choosing a painting. These are on etsy.com, in the landscapes section.

Greys can be tricky and "read" so very differently in one space to the next, depending on the light. Dulux Raku or Malay Grey may be worth a look for deep tones. Also, check out the colour atlas at the paint store as it will give a lot more choices then the display of sample cards or brochures. This will also tell you the Red, Green and Blue value (RGB). You'll want the blue value to be less then the red to get a warm grey.

I think the more modern look would be to do the ceilings and walls the same colour white. Follow Zest’s advice and paint up some sample boards and move them around. I just painted a room Whisper White and I love that colour but it has a westerly aspect and is throwing more yellow than expected. Natural White is Dulux”s most popular white so you probably can’t go too wrong with it but it’s so personal. Finally, don’t rely on posted photos. Your phone or computer screen has all sorts of colour bias that makes it fraught for judging colour.

Hey Dounia The colour and the way it has been painted is very much what we saw in the late 90's and early 2000's when we all went through the textured paint feature wall craze. But, saying that Paint and design technology have come a long way since then and I would encourage you not to give up on the copper idea and use a modern approach and product. Dulux have recently added their new range of Design Effects, Here's the copper and concrete look. There's also other options available at www.dulux.com.au. You can email them for a copy of their brochure or they are readily available at Bunnings in the paint section. Thanks Paul