Hi David. An exciting new project you have there! Here are my initial thoughts: Living room: I would lose the warm tones and pattern, as I think this is what is making it feel dated for you, and introduce some grey and white, with possibly a touch of petrol blue. Shutter style blinds may be nice for your windows - you can get well designed yet affordable slatted blinds that resemble shutters these days. Again, I would stick to white and keep it fresh. I would build in a chimney breast for your TV, and how about a modern style log burner? Prints work well on cushions, so if you did want to re-introduce some pattern into a more modern setting, I would mix geometric printed cushions with simple plain ones to break them up. There are lots out there at the moment. If you wanted to keep the oak floors, you could look into sanding them back and grey-washing for a modern feel or indeed keep them oak. Just by sanding them back they will begin to feel a bit more modern. Note - oak changes colour over time, so if in direct sunlight it will start to go a warmer colour. Bedroom: Remove arch if you can, which would open the space up quite a bit. Perhaps the curtains could go and you could go for a fabric roman blind instead - this would soften the windows a little, yet still feel modern. Plain white waffle bedlinen is always a good move, and if you like a pop of colour, layer it with a throw and blanket, as well as three - four cushions, stacked in front of the pillows. This could introduce a little colour for you. If you stick to cooler colours, you could keep the oak floor if you wanted to, as it may balance out nicely. Can't quite see your pendant light in the shots, but perhaps white origami style pendants and lamps with soft glows would be nice. Keep it fresh, yet soft as this is the room you want to relax in. Greys and tonal colours work well in bedrooms. Not sure if you were planning on keeping your furniture or not, the black could work well for a modern setting, but if you were, you could look at white or grey gloss styles as options. This will keep it looking clutter-free with streamlined pieces. Hope this helps a little. Fi

Hi Thank you for the feedback - it is really useful. The room is very large - the photograph only shows a small section, which unfortunately doesn't feel cosy. I have panelling around the rest of the room but wanted this wall to be a feature. Clearly not the right thing to do. I am going to zone off the stairs and add a mock chimney breast as I feel this will create a more comfortable living space. Donna

It does depend on your taste, but I would go for contrasting rather than matching art - something that really pops out of the wall. We have a similar colour scheme to you in our sitting foom and I have gone for abstract art (which I recently discovered a love of). Sorry its not a very good pic of it, but I love the picture, and the colours suit and contrast with the room. There are some really good online retailers - this one was from King and McGaw.

Thanks folks. I like the idea of dark green and dark grey and agree that pictures could look great against them but I wonder if the darkness might become wearing over time - but I do have another room where I have used William Morris 'seaweed' paper in plum/brown colours (ish) between the skirting and picture rail and it does have a strong contemporary feel next to the white and I do love it. I have considered colours like F&B 'arsenic' and even ochre/yellow suit but am not sure how long I would enjoy them for. I think it would help if I decided what paintings were going to be in there but I'm a way off that decision. In contrast I have also been looking at F&B pink ground and similar as lighter warmer options as their are some peachy pinks in the painting that is definitely staying. I can move sofas inwards but there position in the room is unchangeable due to their size and the Bay window. My instinct is to remove the 2 chairs in the Bay and replace them with a pair of semi upholstered occasional chairs to soften the space. Thanks for all advice- v much appreciated.