be careful about painting the walls too light when you have such dark furniture- most people think it will make the room lighter but in fact will just make the sofa look darker and I suspect you won't like the contrast. I would choose Charleston grey for the walls, Strong white for the paintwork and coving then Clunch for the ceiling and above the picture rail. Don't forget you will need an accent colour- teal, plum, yellow, Navy, in fact loads of colours work. You will also need some pattern. Bring the pattern and colour in through pictures, lamp shades, Rugs, cushions, throws etc.

Oh dear, so many votes for changing the door! I really think we've left it too late. We're due back in next week...this is why you should think of living room layout at the start of a project! Ultimately, the middle (darkest) room will be the t.v room - don't know if this changes anything?but for the next few years it'll be a playroom so we can shut the door on the smallies' mess. My husband always wanted to close up the door on this front room but I resisted as I liked the idea of entering the rooms separately. Was I wrong? We are a family of 5 with extended family visiting frequently so quite a lot of seating required. It seems that if I'm not willing to move the doors at this stage, then my least bad option is the corner sofa under the window, TV in opposite corner, perhaps with one door always shut into the playroom (there will be glazed panels at the top of this door so luckily light can still get through). The lady in the sofa shop suggested then placing perhaps a table and lamp in the bay, is this the best we could do? To add to the pressure, there's a sale on the large sofa, reduced by 1k, but only until the end of the week! So not much time to look into option of built-in day-bed. Thanks so much for all your advice!

Hi. Is everything already ordered/bought? I might look at linen for the curtains if not to add a different texture. Does the fireplace actually exist? If it does I might have the furniture arranged at right angles to it. Have you already looked at sisal or sea grass rugs? I think the texture adds warmth. I might be tempted to add a little more colour, aubergine would work for a pattern in cushions, art etc. Do also mix up the textures for cushions, throw etc and add some pattern. I might also add brass or gold for a mirror, picture frames etc as it will look great against the olive. Plants also add life, at minimum I'd add a large potted one by the patio doors.

Did you have wallpaper originally? Looks like the wall has been stripped and I was going to suggest......well, wallpaper. Something with a natural look so it doesn’t distract you when watching tv. So things like grasscloth, concrete effect, brick effect etc., nothing with glitter or a metallic sheen. Actually brick slips or slate brick slips would look really nice, depending on budget. A couple of low side tables either side of the tv unit to help disguise plug sockets and a tall indoor plant next to the patio door will finish things off nicely. Hope this helps, here’s some inspo.