How come the wood trim would limit you? I don't like the colors the previous owners painted either, it shows up a deep coral on my monitor. But you say it's red, huh?

I would brighten it up since there are not a lot of windows in the room. I would go with some neutral color such as a silver sage or a taupe and cream.

I would suggest a black room but again you have no windows, or do you? Maybe they just don't show up in this picture. If you do have a windows, how about doing below the trim black?

Entire black room below.

{{!gwi}}

I have no idea the name of this paint color, but how about a color like this for your dining room, with cream under the chair line?

{{!gwi}}

Thanks for your input, newdawn! The color is more deep coral as you described. There are only two windows in the room(you see one in the picture) and the dining room is right by the left side of the front door/entry. I don't plan on painting the trim as it is everywhere in the house. Your next picture looks good to me and it looks similar to their living room color ( the living room is on the right side of the front entry) So I might try to find that color. I like wainscoting in the dining room but it seems it usually goes with the white trim. Any suggestion will be appreciated!

Oh my. I would absolutely paint. I just finished painting the entire lower level of our house and for my tiny, dark dining room, whose only window is blocked by a giant fir tree, I picked Behr Wasabi Powder. I think it would work well with your trim, although I don't see why you couldn't paint it white in just the dining room, or do you have an open floor plan?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Thank you for the color suggestion! It is a nice color but I hope it won't be too similar to the kitchen color (greenish) which you can see in my photo. I also wonder if we can just change the the color above the chair rail. The ceiling has some beautiful decorative painting (more like red rose/flower) that goes with the wall. I have no idea what color can go with the color below the chair rail if we decide to keep the bottom...

I agree with newdawn, that a shade of white or cream would be lovely. As it is, it's just too, too much, IMO, but if you'd like to keep the color on the ceiling and below the chair rail, I'd just go with a soft cream color. It would look nice with the wood trim, and would allow to custom paint to be noticed, without slapping you in the face.

Take down that dark cornice, and add some creamy silk floor-length drapes. You don't say if that rug is staying, but I'd replace it with a much more subtle taupe, with a pattern that has some of that dark coral and maybe a little green in it.

You've received some very good advise with the cream. I agree that it will help soften the room and allow the other colors to be noticed more without being so over powering. It will also work well with color flow from one room to the next.

Yes, I agree that you should start with cream...I would use cream above, and a richer taupe below to neutralize the whole business, and let the paintwork on the ceiling be the star. Then I'd add cream silk or linen drapery panels, floor to ceiling, hung out beside the windows to give them more scale, and help soften and furnish the room.
(I know...I always say the same thing about full-length drapery out to the side. But I always mean it!)

And I wouldn't be concerned about limited furniture for now. It doesn't look like a huge room, and because the ceiling and wall treatments are so dramatic, I would hold back on cluttering it up with furniture and accessories that may not improve the look. Less can be more.

Thanks for all the great ideas! I post the photos for the living room and the foyer. The dining room is on the left side of the entry and the living room is on the right side. Given this information, will it look good to keep the bottom color and a cream color above the chair rail? Maybe I should forget about keeping the bottom and go for a total makeover....Any one can recommend a good cream BM color that will work for this room? I will go to the store to look for those colors. Please help me get going. Thanks!

Well, that is just lovely! I have no other suggestions, just wanted to say how pretty that looks!