Since you are replacing the red and the rest of the room is black, white or neutral, have you decided on another color to go with the black and white?

Also, do you have any idea what is under the carpet?

Here's the dining area. As you can see we have something of a mish-mash. I believe a kindly design term might be eclectic maximalism....
How do I get cohesion going here?

There is concrete under the carpet. I would love wooden floors but they are not allowed because of lower floor noise considerations.

Mpg - that blue/ teal colour ....

Well, I happen to love "mish-mash" and think your dining room is lovely and very cohesive. Perhaps covering your red chairs in a deeper blue than what you have in your dining room would be a good spot to start. If the possibility exists, hardwood flooring instead of carpet might be a good base for your living room furniture which apparently would also have to extend to the DR. Using blue as your main color, you then could pop in some other colors in small doses to add some interest and fun. Use your own favorite color or colors for those pops.

Last pic just for context ....big room " hallway ".

I'd replace the carpet with hardwoods or hardwood replicas.

Living needs a MUCH larger rug - large enough to touch each sofa's front feet & ideally go under the red chairs.

For chair coverings & new carpet, I'd select something with at least a little bit of the DR chair color in it to help provide more continuity b/t the rooms. Patterns will be the most forgiving of life's little "oops".

Sorry, just saw your wood floor comment. There are some VERY good lineo-type products that look exactly like wood without the sound issues. I have them in my baths & no one has ever noticed that they are not the real thing.

Ok... you were typing as I was. And sounds like we are at least thinking alike even if you're not allowed to go with the hardwood. Since you can't go with the hardwood, perhaps a nice, textured tan or cream the color of your gorgeous puppy's coat would be a good solution.

Life has plenty of oops here- dog, cat and granddaughters who like to use the coffee table as a stage to dance on :). It's made from the stage floor of an old theatre somewhere.

I agree with adding patterned pillows to your couch. If you opt for a new rug as above suggested, perhaps consider a round rug. Those are my absolute favorite for creating great conversation areas and taking away the boxy edges the more traditional shapes create.

You could also consider a different fabric for your curtains to bring your color into the vertical plane of the room. I would suggest looking for transitional to modern patterns to accent what appears to be your more modern style in the living room yet still connect with the transitional style of your DR.

Curtains are new- there are 60 metres of them. Do you know if it's possible to reuphoslster those types of chairs? I like the blue idea.

I would think any good upholsterer could do it. Have no clue what the price may be though.

And here's the cat - he's HUGE and he sheds black fur daily...

I see you have a hide pillow on one of the red chairs. I would bring a hide rug in the same undertones as it will also camouflage the cat hair. another easy camouflaging can be done with shag rug but it is difficult to clean. hide rugs are long lasting and will give a rich look to your room. How about getting a wingback chair in navy or leather ( Ikea has great wingback chair in their new Stockholm collection in beautiful bright colors) you could also stain your table a darker color and have a bright center piece on it.

hmmm....color suggestion on color and fabric .....will take a little time and get back to you on that.

I think you should get rid of the two red chairs and trade it in with something new! I mean based on the style of your two sofas I believe that adding two chairs with a print on them and dark legs. wood be amazing. and a nice wood floor and a rug to add that "cozy" feel we all strive for.

jacquipru: Found your thread! Given grandchildren, pet colors, furniture and so forth....for new carpeting I would look for something more dynamic than a single color. A closed loop tweed weave with charcoal/slate blue/camel elements would be my choice. If you are brave, go for a tweed weave with a simple geometric pattern that is linear, with the pattern line running from the back (by the sideboard) toward the window wall. With a more interesting base flooring, I think you could eliminate an area rug in the living room altogether. It might make the room seem larger.

I don't mind the red chairs all that much. I see there is a happy occupant in one of your pictures. Good TV/laptop chairs are hard to find! Unless the leather is worn out/ripped, could you find a cleaner/reconditioner to use on the leather to bring them back to life? You could, indeed, do some patterned pillows incorporating the white/black/blue/red...maybe even a tick of olive green. If you've got a standout red piece similar to the chairs, you could put that front and center on your wood sideboard across the room. Also, if you spray painted the hardware on that lighter wood piece black, it might be a nice tie in.

In your other post there were two white stacked trunks by what looks like a staircase. Rather than have the tall DVD shelf, could you stash your movies in those, and put in the general location as the shelf--as part of a group with the print on the easel?

Sorry I totally lost momentum yesterday. Every time I took stuff out it kinda looked sterile and impersonal, especially when I took out trip memories or photos ... I really struggled and in the end read a book! Back on track today but still dithering and as I do a corner the rest of the room screams to be 'realigned".

Nwduck ; We live in Auckland New Zealand. I had BC, but I'm recovered now. The trouble was I lost my job and have struggled to get work since. Budget ? Beer or champagne? Sauvignon blanc? I don't want to purchase much as I feel we have too much already, so when the time comes to replace the chairs I would like to get something good quality as a bit timeless? No ikea or pottery barn or pier 3 here :(

Well, I managed to decorate for years without many of our more famous chain stores! Although how I found things without the internet amazes me now. I was thinking of a classic Eames chair/ottoman as replacements. I looked at ifurniture.nz, and they have some replicas in Italian leather at what looks like a substantial discount. They have them in black, camel (although it looks rather green to me) and cream. The cream could be very smart. Alternatively, a Scandinavian style, tall back bentwood chair could work too. :)

WOW! I just looked at the white Eames chair. I absolutely love it! I wonder if it's white/white or cream white? I had never heard of that site.

Since they have it photographed against a very white background, my guess is it's creamy white. The chairs and ottomans you have looked very similar, so I thought you might like it. And it is a classic, for sure.

I'm thinking that a MANDARIN ORANGE, MANGO, Butternut SQUASH type colorations would look modern and good in a fabric for chairs with the amount of black, white in room. We started seeing various yellow oranges from "the east" influences more than a decade ago and its still timely.

Maybe look through Robert Allen fabrics for inspiration?
http://www.robertallendesign.com/Collections/Color-Library-Magic-Hour.aspx

jacquipru: Just for fun, went looking for carpet in your neck of the woods....hmmmm. Maybe there are more stores not on the net. At any rate, there was one I found that is "rather" like what I was thinking at carpetcourt.co.nz. It was Norman Ellison Carpets Akron Kent. That one is a dark/light mix in a linear pattern.

You would think that with 20 million sheep, we could have better carpet design .......but it's all plain. I want a subtle pattern too ...
I'm going to check out those chairs today :)
Here is the actual colour of the carpet and here is a photo of the enormous cat who pulls up the carpet when he is happy to see us. I think we will try to stay away from loop pile next time. Either that or get rid of the cat and that can't happen cause we love him and so does the dog

Seiglerdesign: those fabrics are utterly beautiful.

Oh I have not even touched the surface of fabrics that are available and beautiful. But, best to qualify further if you are recovering or buying new chairs before we get too excited or caught up in the beauty of the products. I love fabrics and the chemistry and technology that goes into modern day fabrics would astound most people. I'm not even talking about the residential fabrics like the Robert Allen collection I showed you. I'm talking about the fabrics for the hospitality and medical care industry. Now if you are interested in MODERN look fabrics I would send you to Maharam to look at their 20th Century Modern collection. Some of those are the real deal by Eames and Girard. Anyway, when you get further along in your plans then I can give better input.

So, you need more sheep? :) We have friends with multiple pets, and they used frieze carpet in the family room (twice) and swear by it. I must admit it always looks nice. They are pretty tidy people, so for all I know they vacuum like mad. After seeing their first go-round, we put it in our bedroom re-do. Feels fantastic on the feet.