Lime green. Ferns. yellows, oranges red are vintage colours to pick up in a large rug. Add large colourful prints in simple black ikea frames. paint your own canvas or get a few friends to do some instead of painting the walls. just a few tulips or daffodils at the moment will add zing. A white painted coffee table with magazines with colourful covers. just add frivolity & the black will act as a foil for colour. I also love Gold with white for a modern twist. As it is a rental don't invest money in stuff you can't take with you. Only buy what you love. remember the interior design adage: Every room needs something black. (albeit not this much, perhaps!) It will be fine.

What a beautiful staircase! It is stunning! Project Home UK suggested a stair runner going down the middle of the steps would perhaps be more effective than a fully fitted carpet. We supply carpets and floorcoverings throughout the UK and Ireland and can also offer a bespoke stair runner service where you choose any one of our floorings or carpets (as long as suitable for stairs of course) and pick a border to go around the edge. We have some beautiful examples of customers 'in-situ' runners in our 'in-situ' ideabook which may give you some inspiration? We recently did a photoshoot in a location with a similar staircase to yours, photo below, where we used a bold striped runner in 100% wool, with a simple whipped edge. The second photo is of a grand central staircases in one of our retailer showrooms which has the new Quirky B Fair Isle Reiko by Margo Selby running down the centre - beautiful! Take a look at our website, www.alternativeflooring.com, to see our full collection of floorcoverings and have a play with flooring and border combinations using our 'Make me a rug' designer. Have fun!

A room will naturally feel warmer when the floor is carpeted and your feet will enjoy sinking into a nice velvet or shagpile especially in the bedroom, also your downstairs neighbours will appreciate it, but nothing quite compares to the look and feel of a beautifully stained or varnished solid wood floor and a well laid and maintained floor will always add value to a home.

I have to agree with Crafty Countess about having a vinyl flooring. I would recommend Loose Lay by Karndean. The range comes in wood plank and stone tile effects, does not have to be glued down except around the edges of the room and damaged "tiles" can be easily replaced. They are made for commercial use, so are very durable and will retain their looks for years to come. From our own tenants, I've found that white or off- white works best. You'll never get a colour right for a tenant. In the past, we've hung curtains, which our tenants always ask to take down and put up their own. We've painted lightly fresh or richly cozy feature walls, which our tenants have asked to paint over. So we always use a neutral paint now. We allow our tenants to hang pictures, providing they repair and paint the holes when they move out and use wall stickups that they can take with them. The less colour you put in, the more you allow your tenants to make the space their own.