Thank you everyone for your great ideas! Actually, the room is not as dark as you think - the window is east facing, and we do get a good deal of sunshine through it... I think the pictures don't do the room justice. I do agree, dark furniture does make it seem very dull though. OK, here is what I am thinking at the moment... Unfortunately, the sofa does not fit quite right againt the opposite wall, neither does the love seat by the window (I've measured everything up and the sofas are of the wrong sizes). I'd like to replace the love seat with a couple of chairs (as the love seat is quite chunky, and does dominate the room as you walk in), but I can't justify spending the money on that just yet :( I am planning to buy a bigger rug (thank you for the suggestion, ren2513), I do love the white/cream as we have now, but will go for something with a bit more colour through it, and definitely replace the coffee table with a bright ottoman (thinking something along these lines at the moment http://www.marksandspencer.com/oval-button-footstool/p/p22344378001 colour Measham,Ochre)... And I'd like to move the existing rug behind the love seat. I'd also like to either match the wall paper or a few pictures on the wall to the ottoman (colour-wise) for some continuation. The ceiling lamp shade will be replaced with something a bit more original (this was fitted in a rush when we moved in, with no thought behind it!) All the speakers will go, as I don't think they look right in the room, and will be replaced with more descrete ones :) We are keen to replace the TV stand with Skovby TV unit and a display cabinet (in white oak), so a similar idea to what was suggested by Sauve :) thank you! Haven't decided on the 'behind the love seat' arrangement just yet. Thanks again for the suggestions everyone :)

As I said above (before I was logged in), do not scrape or sand the artex under any circumstances. We got over a similar scenario when converting a former vicarage into a children's nursery a few years ago where the original 1860's ceilings had to be upgraded to give 60 minutes fire protection. The building was grade2 listed, so the cornices couldn't be touched. The conservation officer agreed that we could fix another timber moulding to the ceiling end of the cornice that the new plasterboard could butt up to and form a 'lip' that the plaster skim could finish to. The new ceiling was 15mm lower than before, and didn't look out of place. One thing we did have to consider was the additional weight we were placing on the floor joists above. Our joists were ok and yours probably will be to, but just bear it in mind. From the pictures it looks to me as if the right approach would be to apply strips of wide (100mm) self-adhesive scrim tape to all the cracks and joins in the original ceiling, apply a good coat of Thistle Bond-It, or similar, to the whole ceiling area inside the cornice and re-skim to a flat finish. Just check beforehand the reason for the cracks; tap the ceiling, or push it with your fingers to check it hasn't lost it's bond to the lathing timbers behind. If it is loose it will need to be replaced. Older houses! Don't you just love 'em!!

Dear @judibutler I assume you are referring to a wall which is wholly above ground and that you have completely ruled out damp tracking into the wall from above. A lot depends on the size and thickness of the wall and other factors, such as if the building is listed. Damp penetration (driving rain) through granite walls has been an ongoing problem in church towers in the southwest of England for some time. Ironically the problem often seems to get worse after re-pointing in lime. Granite is fairly impervious and was often in laid in large blocks meaning trapped water has little chance of getting out through thin mortar joints. Historic England held an excellent conference on the subject in 2013; the transcript of proceedings can be found at: http://content.historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/research/damp-towers-conf2013-programme-transcripts.pdf A roughcast lime render coat may help, but there could equally be voids in the wall which are holding damp and may need grouting. However, grouting is a very tricky and expensive technique which should not be undertaken lightly, and only works if one knows exactly where the voids are. Over-cladding the whole wall with semi-sacrificial weather boarding may be a last resort. This and rendering are likely to require planning consent. Depending on where you are located, a company like ArchiMetric (www.archimetrics.co.uk) could insert some interstitial moisture monitors into the wall to try and find out exactly where and when the damp is getting in and how it is moving through the wall, but this may be expensive. Some localised investigation by dismantling pockets of stone may be useful. The Society of Ancient Buildings helpline (mornings only on 020 7456 0916) may be able to help with specialists in your area. Most importantly try to get an understanding of how water is getting into and moving through your wall before you embark on anything. If your problems relate to below-ground damp then a different response will be needed.

Just so you know, these parts are made on a tool called s spindle;e (small scale manufacturing). if you really really want to get the shape "just so" the supplier will be able to have a profile made for you, a new profile blade for a spindle machine will cost between £200 and £300. They may also have a minimum order OR they might ask you to pay a modest amount towards "set up time" (changing the blade over, etc.) I use Ternex in Welwyn for this sort of thing, their existing profiles can be seen here...https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploitspace/albums/72157669236158295