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.

You need light and bright. Being rented is tough. First change out the drapes with to the floor length. Cream with a horizontal stripe of brown to match or furniture. This will 1. get rid of the horrid things hanging there 2. pull the initial visual to that wall instead of the floor. Tall and high colors ( mango, aqua, yellow) decorations on your mantel with shorter cream and brown items. Then a large square table in the middle, painted distressed cream, with high color items setting on it. DIY project or Ikea. Green is the number one calming color, just don't let it put you to sleep. :)

I would embrace the element, but I would get rid of the wood chips. I'm thinking back fist sized river rocks. Then I would get a tallish flowering tropical such as hibiscus and add a few ivy plants to grow between the rocks. Additionally, a small water feature might be nice. For me, the bigger problem with the entryway is the door. You have an obviously contemporary home, yet you have a -very- traditional door. I would want a wood door with some sort of art glass element in it. The wood would of course need to be stained to match the existing woodwork. The door will be some big bucks, but it would remain regardless of flooring changes. These two doors are not specific recommendations, but examples of the type of entry door I have in mind. Best wishes!

We are a little biased, but wood floors are versatile, durable, clean, and timeless. Whereas carpet will eventually need to be replaced, high quality wood floors can last forever. You can install radiant heat under the wood floors if you are worried about them being too cold during certain times of year, and you can easily install area rugs over the flooring. Wood flooring is also more versatile than it has ever been so you can create any look. As an added bonus you can easily sweep and mop your wood floors, whereas with Carpet you don't always know what is lying below the surface. Good luck!