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.

Definitely hard surfaces all the way - you can refinish them when they get tired and are really practical for children/pets/outdoors lifestyle. We used a mixture of new polished concrete, exposed flagstones and original elm boards at our miner's cottages and don't find it cold or austere.

I tend to think it's really worth deciding what it is you want to jump out and be a feature and what it is you'd rather wasn't noticed ;) If the rug is one of the loveliest things in the room and you want that to feature more (plus set against parquet floor which is lovely too) then I'd probably choose a colour that doesn't overpower the rug. Saying that and putting rug to one side I would personally be inclined to keep a dark shade (particularly as it appears to set off the sofa nicely) - maybe Stiffkey Blue or Pelt by F&B would work. If that would still overpower the rug (and this is to be a feature you want picked out) then go light and perhaps take it onto the ceiling too/ pick out the coving/ picture rail/ skirting and doors with a different shade. I did my lounge in Blackened (walls + ceiling) with Cornforth on woodwork/ doors / Wimborne on picture rail and coving. I would personally lose the curtains/ pelmet - looks a bit 'heavy' and quite dominating - however if those are lovely (hard to tell from pic) then again to make them more of a feature then go light on the walls.... Hope helpful - good luck!

Hi Simone, We can't help but love parquet in a hallway and feel it would work well with the traditional look of your carpet and stairs. What colours are your surrounding wood floors? You're right that parquet wood floors have a mix of tones which could help the hallway to blend more seamlessly with the others. Here's some inspiration: Goodrich Natural Oak Goodrich Coffee Oak I hope that helps! Best wishes, Hannah | Woodpecker Flooring