try the above paint suggestion and think about adding paneling to the expose bar end and turn under the dark counter. It will be easier to wash off those shoe marks when kids kick, and you won't have clash if you maybe painted paneling same as wall. Test paint with poster board and see if you like it first. Lighting can really make a difference in the perception of colors, and might fix the "clash". Try warm or cold colored bulbs in those pot lights, and see what happens. good luck

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.

Hi all thanks for the suggestions. Won't be getting eames dsw as they are so many replicas on groupon here . Every cafe has them! Love the other ideas though. Thanks Here are pictures of the rest of the space

Hi, We have recently renovated our kitchen, and have had the idea to turn our living room into a dining room. The idea is, that we would have some really comfy chairs and would be able to relax while sitting around the table; so the dining table wouldn't be only for meals. Then rather than having a dining table, we would have a bench with bar stools on the kitchen/living room wall. (nb the wall is load bearing and cannot easily be removed so this isn't an option). The other option is to keep the living room and set it up with a sofa, coffee table and a couple of occasional chairs. Dining wise we would have a smaller dining table in the kitchen. The living room opens on to the lounge which is set up as a TV room. There is also a guest bedroom and bathroom downstairs; the family bedrooms and bathroom is upstairs. We will also have an outdoor dining table in the undercover area outside the kitchen. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas.