Hi everyone, we have moved in! We didn't manage to paint before we moved and think we will go for a staged approach - above the wood panels first in a warm white then decide on the panels. I'm having a bit of trouble working out what kind of sofa to buy and how at arrange the lounge. All furniture except coffee table temporary in photos and would love some ideas!

Mona you have seen exactly the dilemmas I'm facing with this room so I really appreciate your comments. I was focusing on no1, but really 2 and 3 are on my mind too. In terms of getting some continuity between the rooms I was planning on recovering the dining chairs in a fabric to tone with cushions/throws on the white couch, ottomans in a matching tone, and pulling this colour scheme through into cushions in the formal lounge. I love the spring colours at the moment (greens, blues etc) which you can see i'm playing with at the moment but you might be able to see the painting in the formal room which is orange, red and yellow with a blue/purple base. So I'm very keen on colour and so tired of the brown carpet and neutral walls. I was also going to restain the dining table and chairs to a dark mahogany colour, and change the bar stools to something more modern. re: rug closer to sofa, I've done this and it looks off-balance with nothing else in the space. It seems to work better in the middle of the carpet area at the moment. Perhaps thats because I haven't ordered the ottomans yet. I don't want to add a coffee table to this room as prefer Ottoman to put feet up on. I've attached a pic of a rug, do you think something like this would work better? re the wall: yes this is the major for me at the moment. It is a TV room so tv and speakers stay and I wont be adding any custom cabinetry. The idea was to increase the space in this room by removing all of the cabinets and they are now in the adjoining room. The speaker covers have not been painted as I needed to work out what wall covering to apply, and colour etc. so once they are painted the wall colour they will blend in better. The idea of shelving has merit, I'll have to have a think more about that... Any other thoughts you have are appreciated.

Might I suggest a more contemporary picture frame mantel with mosaic stone tile between that and your firebox? Love the near craftsman window shapes flanking the fire wall . . . use the height on both sides, / shallow shelves on one side can visually frame a swing arm for your television and give real storage on the other side.

If you are going to the effort of retiling the fireplace surround, would you consider going to a bit more effort and creating a full wall unit which incorporates the fireplace and the TV, with extra shelves and cupboards to display and store? (I also have reservations about the heat and the TV and associated wiring.) This may also address the lack of symmetry associated with the location of the fireplace, if that is a consideration. Do you use the fireplace often enough to justify keeping it? Alternatively, a wall unit on the left hand wall, which is where the power and TV points seem to be, may be the best solution - as previously suggested. All the best.