Each works for different rooms. Dark colours can add luxury - as they did for our dramatic makeover of a bedroom. The charcoal colour is elegant and calming in both winter and summer due to south facing windows. Light / off-white colours add to a contemporary aesthetic - especially in a cohesive look and feel within an open plan scheme or where it is necessary to draw attention away from a relatively low ceiling as was the case in this dining room we designed in a duplex apartment in the South of France. The problem further solved by low-back dining chairs.

A large mirror opposite the window on the 'dark side', keep all paintwork light / white and a white wooden floor. Scandinavian style has been popular for several years in interior design themes and key inspiration as to how to maximise daylight and hygge during the long dark winter months when the sun barely rises. Painting walls and staining floors in white or pale tones makes your home look brighter and bounces the available light around more. Add a cluster of glossy / metallic ornaments and a touch of texture such as a white sheepskin draped over a chair arm for warmth.... Best Wishes Charlotte www.woodflooringengineered.co.uk

Thanks everyone, this is so helpful!!! Dundrum that made me chuckle. I will stick to my guns but sadly the retailers have an aversion to pistachio. Went round huge Next home store today, tonnes of curtain fabric options in all colours except pistachio!!! Grrrr! Thank you again Man about House, I will persevere and I covet your curtains!!! I think I may well get the original rug you found! Thanks Laura will also look at French Connection, who would have thought! The parquet floors are from 1962 and I am chuffed to bits how they have come up, waited 3.5 years to do them! Angie and celery girl, very good points re rug size, my last Ikea one was definitely in the "not this" category!! Thanks also for the image celerygirl, I like the poufs very much but the trouble is the room is Lshaped and the walkway goes past them Any views on the coffee table dilemma everyone? As for brown sofa wish could replace asap. Would you believe someone gave me a beautiful South African wood sideboard and I kept it for a few years until eBaying it for a pittance! I even tried it in the space, see pic, yikes, I thought it was too dominant but maybe not....!

Great to see all the votes for dark here. Sooooo bored with all the endless white/neutral rooms you see. We’ve just spent a year living in the all white house we moved into, and are finally getting round to decorating. So many people looked at our paint samples and were clearly horrified but we love our new rooms! So much more warmth and character. Just trust your instincts - I find rooms will tell you their character over time. We still have pale colour upstairs - loft conversion, needed to be airy - but love curling up in our cosy living room (Valspar April Rain, budget doesn’t run to F&B!), and our spare room (Dulux Starlit Night 2) feels like a boutique hotel, if boutique hotels came with cats sleeping where they’ve been told not to!