Ok, well apologies in advance, but pics are making the walls look more washed out then they are, and I possibly could have gone one more shade darker in Sherwin Williams...but furniture is dark, and I did not want it to look oppressive.(ignore my recliner, please, LOL--and my couch is not raspberry colored, but deep wine...ugh, limitations of cheap camera). Anyway, I have several Karastan carpets, same pattern, but despite them having every color imaginable, only certain wall colors work with them. I opted for SW "bagel" in LR and "Earl Grey" in DR.--basically going with a complimentary color scheme (orang-ish and blue-ish). Again the DR looks darker in person. The only thing that bugs me is the whiteness of ceiling...but I was not brave enough to do the color on ceiling trend. Beryl, I doubt that this is very much help, but glad to share pics. Incidentally, I have several decorating books from the 80's. I find them much more fun than modern ones in that things like your hall tree, especially since it is a nice piece, could be incorporated in your intimate space by hanging fun collections from it (like funky old hats) or ornate walking sticks in the umbrella holders, etc. I just cannot seem to banish clutter, so I embrace it. ;-)

@mcom_ie, I have said in many other posts that I'm a neutral kind of girl but more and more I'm seeing colours that drop my jaw like your picture of the entry. Would you mind telling me what the colour is on the walls and the skirting boards and door if that's different. I planned to stick with very neutral colours but this colour is quite stunning. I also plan to have timber floors but don't want the paint to take on a yellow glow from the flooring. As for your original question on this post, I agree with Sophie from Interior Decorating with her suggestion for a bench seat but not a chair in the corner, if you look for the right bench that's not too wide, it shouldn't be in the way but otherwise a narrow hall table or hall stand as suggested by SophieHicks would look great to If you have a little hurricane running around, a simple outdoor cane/ratten bench seat will withstand the rigors of your child and look quite smart too. In time as your hurricane slows to a gentle breeze, you could put the cane bench outdoors and replace it with a bench just like that pictured in Sophie's post.

paint the end door a striking colour, horizontal stripes on the ceiling, and 3 large pendant lights. not sure how adventurous you are, but you could consider painting different colour "zones"- 3 different colurs as you walk down the passage.....possibly even 3 short carpet runners. i love the idea of wainscoting-but you will lose precious centimetres. You can get paintable wallpaper wainscotting.

I've just come from a showing where an old timber house was lifted with downstairs built in modern with all polished concrete. They also had a concrete kitchen bench but kept upstairs traditional with VJ board walls and ceiling and carpeted floors. In my opinion is did not work, was a confusing mix of industrial with traditional. It almost felt cheap as if the builder couldn't be bothered to spend more on timber floors or even tile - even though the polished concrete could very well have cost more. I think dark timber is definitely your best option as it will blend better with the cornices and skirtings. Hope that helps.