Hello Lisa..thanks for your comments - so kind of you. The pictures are not good (sorry) and to be honest whilst I'm renovating I don't have the courage the post much at all ..well at least until it's finished but here are a few enclosed. My real idea is to get a discussion going that we might all enjoy. and yes how light strikes (as in angle?) can impact on even the paint colour etc. I see so many questions from readers about wallpaper paint colour etc and yet experts and skilled people such as yourself will know that it's the cohesion that has to work and light can play such a huge part. A wallpaper can be purchased and then prove disappointing if used in different a light as can paint - which is why we use your good services where possible! I've a pile of boards each with different colours (I use linen style artists boards as I can shift them around - I leave a white border on them to allow a suitable contrast) The small bedroom picture with the striped curtains was more to show that curtain colour - it's now blended with duck egg blue paint (sorry it's a New Zealand company called Resene's so it won't be known of there but called Robin's Egg Blue), ivory carpets which I had edged in a green/blue wool. Before these drapes (Laura Ashley) were in a different room and just didn't work. The bedroom hasn't been finished (See? I'm still a tad embarrassed) but I mentioned these as with incandescent lights this curtain colour did not work at all. Taking my courage in both hands and uploading a picture of the main living area which is to be painted next to do away with the strong saturated green..very dark and gloomy as the natural light is very limited. Hoping you can't see the paint splotches on the wall. Another lesson I learned is to paint a surface white and THEN paint the choices. If we don't do this the original surface colour 'bleeds'. So I really hope to have others including myself recognise that we have to have one eye to the climate and outdoor colours all the time as well as the same paint colour possibly being different from room to room. Regards...and thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

Despite previous opinions I have to say this - DON'T GET DOWN LIGHTS!!!! We had them in our previous home. They were constantly blowing no matter what kind of bulb used. The casings kept breaking. This meant we couldn't just change the bulb ourselves. It drove me mental. They spotlight certain parts of a room instead of lighting the whole room so when one of our main "culprits" kept blowing in the kitchen, I had no lighting above that bench until we could get an electrician in. More than one electrician told us they are a serious fire hazard. I will never have them again!

I'd like to suggest that the most important thing here is more about who is using the room. If It's a child's bedroom use lovely children's curtains - there's so much around and any pattern could pick up the wall and floor colours. If a guest room and not used often I'd suggest a beautiful velvet or good quality Linen and forbid the little ones from going in to that room!!!!!! alternately a blind attached at floor level could be raised or lowered so the view is still there but with privacy from waist height perhaps. Good luck. Bee

Congratulations on your new home! Now, go cancel that order! Just kidding. Kind of... I really do think, after reading your posts, that you will be happier with the grey couches. Personally, black couches in general seem very bachelor pad (ish). That said, I know there are gorgeous black leather couches available. For a super modern industrial place, maybe. But beach, or that kind of vibe? I am not sure how you would pull that off over the years. Grey or tan (neither are my own favorite decorating colors, but still) would be oh so much better as a neutral for pulling in different color palettes with pillows and art, etc. if you decide to change up through the years... black might make you feel stuck. After reading through what I have written it seems a bit funny, as black is my personal neutral in clothing, jewelry and the like. But as I look around my home there is no black to be seen. Hmmm. In any event, follow your own intuition here, and don't feel like you have to fill the space before your home is even completed. Especially if you are having second thoughts. And remember, this is supposed to be fun for you! When in doubt, leave it out! At least for the time being.