Missmjbs I totally understand your angst, and here's what I would say. Your room looks great as it is, its definitely not offensive and I would happily have a cuppa and a chat in there. Saying that I agree that it needs more work to make it the place that you would totally love. My favourite type of interiors are those that look like they've evolved over a period of time and not the ones where the owner goes and buys everything to match and beautifully coordinate and call it done!! Don't get me wrong I admire these interiors a lot and tend to decorate my own spare bedrooms in this manner because its a lot quicker and easier. I think you should deal with one thing at a time instead of focusing on the overall picture and take your time deciding every single piece that comes in that room, don't rush it. Enjoy choosing and educating your eye by doing a lot of research. I live by a mantra as far as my interiors go, if I absolutely love it then it will work. And I think this is important because our living spaces should reflect us most of all and relate to us and our lifestyles. So tackle that wall because it seems to me its the thing that bothers you most. Get your colour or wallpaper up and live with it for a while, you will know if its right or wrong then if you feel it doesn't work then you can look for a tv unit as an alternative. I would be inclined to buy (ikea malm are a favourite of many style lovers) or indeed have a handy hubby build you a set of simple consoles and position either side. Use some art work above to fill the wall around the tv and make it less obvious stuck there on its own and a couple of lamps and I think that wall could become your friend. As for my upholstered ottoman thank you :) , it was a rescued orange pine coffee table from a local skip, upholstered it myself in a gorgeous quality zebra fabric to pull in the dark colour from my painted Chinese TV cabinet turned booze bar (wish I could replace it). The nail trim made it look like I bought it in an expensive shop and it takes our feet every day watching telly :) Phew sorry for the war and peace :)

That is a better shaped sofa a more modern shape, in my opinion of course. Going down that theme personally I would go for some modern art... it is obviously impossible to predict what your taste in art is but if you stick to neutral tones it's a start. Size... again difficult as I have no dimentions, but here's an idea on a style from my portfolio: I'll guess this is too deep and long but it's a question of style and colour first the rest can come later. Most artists, including me will be happy to work with you on something that fits the space perfectly and that will need some discussion in the privacy of email or telephone.

Thanks Sherbert for your kind words. I love this room too. :) A few people are recommending Little Greene for paint, so will definitely purchase from there - especially as prices seem quite reasonble for luxury paint. In terms of the desk in the window, I'm not keen on that idea as we have a separate little cubby hole under the stairs which we'll use for a desk :) Also, we have two Moray armchairs arriving soon, which will either both (or one) be by the window along with a little table with a lamp on. In terms of the alcoves, I'd like to keep these as symmetrical as possible - we have the same alcove layout for our dining room (which is through from the lounge) as per this image. I'd like similar display cabinets in the alcoves in the dining room, and then keep the alcoves alongside the chimney breast clear in the lounge. I have looked at Purbeck Stone from Farrow & Ball for the chimney breast in the lounge which I think would compliment the colour of the sofa and chairs, which we could then accent with soft furnishings and ornaments/vases. Do you think this colour would look too dark in the lounge? Thanks.

Does the chimney breast not go all the way up?, because the plans don't quite line up. Another consideration is are you able to move plumbing and drainage to the opposite side of the house, and regardless of budget, wanting to deal with that kind of upheaval? Of course, the obvious thing is to make the ground floor extension into one room, but I think little adjustments like lining up the inner entrance hall and opening that up would be a minimal approach to making a big difference. Here is my pop at it, but trying to not move services too far or move supporting points (of course still needs new larger lintels or more, but basically in the same places). I just moved living areas to places that the natural light already serves... and no dark corridors added.