From the pics, the room looks like it is mostly used by the kids--play kitchen, laugh/learn house, kid's table. As such, for me, I would decorate it more like a kid's room. I would put brightly colored pics on the wall and use fun funky curtains.

That is just a personal preference as I, myself, love "fun" fabrics and my husband does not--so the playroom would be the one place I could indulge myself and give the kids a fun room.

So, for me, the fabrics posted feel much to heavy and formal for that space.

Here is the look I like:

Thank you for your input kristine! Yes, the fabrics I posted from CC are too formal feeling.
I do want a more casual, cheery look, but I definitely don't want to decorate it like a kid's playroom. My kids are growing out of the "Playroom" stage & many of the outgrown toys have been(and will continue to be)removed from the room. I think I want striped curtains, but that couch color is throwing me off!

To expand your color field, you could slipcover your sofa. Were it not for the sofa color, what colors would make you happy?

Attic rooms with all the ceiling and wall planes painted or wallpapered the same often look great. Don't know if that's possible for your room without removing ceiling texture though.

Is your window eave large enough to accommodate the sofa, or a daybed, or a twin bed? It would seem to open up the space some with a larger piece of furniture tucked into the bay.

I love the last two fabrics Kristine posted, and they don't strike me as "kiddie playroom" fabrics at all. I'd use something like those and bring in turquoise accents for fun.

I think the curtains you have look fine--although hard to tell as the pic is dark. I think the sheers may be contributing to the formal feel of the room. I would consider using a bamboo roman shade in place of the sheers.

The slipcover idea is good if you don't like the red.

If you like the red couch and can't match the red, maybe look for stripes that don't have a red and use those colors through the room. Treat the red as more of a neutral--like when you have a brown leather couch--the curtains don't have to have brown in them.

I am guessing you didn't like my zebra stripe pick LOL!!! My family makes fun of my love of animal prints--my bedroom, my daughters zebra coat, I could go on and on....

Good luck!

I agree the fabrics you posted aren't kid like but I like them a lot (I have the floral fabric in my house) and would use them. From the photos I've seen of your house (which is very nice), it seems to me the first two fabrics are a better suited style.

Maybe find a different fabric for the curtains but I just love the floral fabric and don't think it would be too much used as pillows.

I didn't realize the floral was the same as shee's until she brought it up. I like her colorway much better, though, with the brown background. I'd look into that over what the designer at Calico Corners suggested.

I second the suggestion to replace the sheers with some bamboo shades; then you can just put some stock sized stationary panels. I've seen some nice reasonably pirced ones at Lowes, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. With less of an investment, you should be able to swap them out as your need change.

I like some of the ones kristenekr posted because the white background helps lighten things up. I'm think more "cool teen hangout" than little kid when I look at some of those.

Something like this?

{{!gwi}}

gwbr54: I could just slipcover the sofa, but I really would rather not. I would love to get rid of the textured ceilings, but that's just not in the budget at this time. The eave area will probably transition into some kind reading nook at some point. Not a bed because the sofa has a hidden bed already.

sueb20:I tried those turquoise colors against the couch & wall color & it didn't look right, it made the couch color look dirty. It's weird how some colors can do that!

kristinekr: I do like the fabrics you posted; my daughter wants the owls in her room! :) I wasn't referring to the fabrics when I said "like a kid's playroom" I was referring to your comment "...decorate it more like a kid's room." I generally don't like suzani prints, but I really do like the last one you posted. Treating the red as a neutral is a good idea, but I still would have to find a fabric that looks good next it...

sheesharee: Thanks! I know you have the brown colorway, it looks awesome in your rooms! I must say that the navy actually does look great against my couch. And yes, you are correct, the 2 Calico fabrics are better suited for my house. I'm just afraid of using so much of a dark color throughout the room!

valinsv: Thanks for your input! I don't know why, but I've always had an aversion to bamboo shades. Maybe I'll loosen up & try them out in this room.

msrose: I agree. I'm liking the last one that Kristine posted, if I can find a curtain to coordinate with it.

palimpsest: Thanks! I like that fabric!! But my husband is adamant: no checks or plaid! LOL

Thanks everyone! Keep the ideas coming!

I've been busy all morning in this room. It looks soooo much better already. But I'm not ready to show you yet. It's a happy day in this house! Stay tuned...

Charley

I just thought you were trying to pick out curtain fabric. I wonder what else you've been doing :)

First, I have to be a pain in the butt and ask why your DH cares about plaids and checks - I thought this was mainly the family fun room for the kids? Besides, often our dear men have a very limited idea of what checks and plaids can be like.

However, for now let's leave those out of the mix. First thing I would do is paint the angled walls and ceiling(I think it is what you are calling the textured ceiling) the same color as the rest of the walls. It could just be the texture, but right now it appears to be a different color than the walls.

I would think about a different window treatment than drapes and sheers - they are nice, but certainly not the casual, family fun vibe you want to create.

I would do wood blinds in the room that allow for light adjustment. Slats open when you want more light, closed when a guest is there or the kids are watching creepy movies. Hang them outside the top window frame, and then add a fun valance up to just below the ceiling height, to draw the eye upward. The fabric for the valances could be the stripe you already like, because it will be used in limited quantities. Or you could pick one of the suzanis that are so popular now, something with circles in it to pay hommage to the textured areas in the room.

Remember that used in that way, the fabric of the valance won't be near the couch, so the reds can be complimentary without matching. Better yet, choose your fabric to compliment the wall color and flooring, and let the red be an accent color in the room.

Will you be adding more seating? Let that be more neutral, and pull together the room with pillows that have some touches of red and the neutrals. I am sure you are going to add more lamps, since I think I only see one, with is certainly contributing to the dark feeling of the room. Perhaps do those in a metallic finish, like a brushed silver, to add some light reflection.

msrose: Well, I was just looking for curtain fabric...but it seems like everything I try to do in this house gets complicated!LOL

les917: Are you kidding? My husband loves to decorate!LOL He thinks plaids & checks are too country looking. Anyway, he does spend a lot of time in here as well, so it does matter to him. Our desktop & office stuff is in here as well, in another part of the room that I didn't show-it's not just for the kids. The ceilings are a textured swirl pattern-I didn't think they could be painted....the upkeep doesn't sound like fun.

I remembered that I had a spare stretchy slipcover that I use for the couch in our music room, AND curtains that I bought years ago, but never ended up using. The color wasn't right at the time, but I couldn't bear to return them because I loved them so much and I thought someday I will! So just changing those 2 things makes me feel so much better about this room. Note: The curtains are not quite as green in person, they look silver sage with teal vine embroidery.

I have a couple extra panels, should I add them for more fullness, or will it be too much?

Now I want to find some fun pillows for the couch. What do you think of these?

Love the changes so far! And I really like your pillow fabric choices--they will really lighten the room and feel cheery to me.

I like the first two or the last one best.

I want to send out a big THANKYOU to kristinekr and palimpsest for posting fabric pics with orange & aqua/turquoise/teal tones. Without the pics, I really would not have thought of using what I already had in storage! I am sooo glad I didn't blow all that money on the navy fabrics!

I brought up the pillows from downstairs just to see how the colors look. I am not going to use these pillows in this room, but I just wanted to show you for color/contrast purposes. What do you think?

I think it's going to be great with the bright pillows! I also like the first 2 or the last. Where is the last fabric from?

It already looks like a different room:). I think I would add more panels for fullness, I don't think it will be too much.

Or this one:

julies kitchen: It's from fabric.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Pop Daisy

In looking at the pic you have posted with the pillows on the couch, I am going to change my pic to the fourth choice as I am thinking that you should pick a fabric with a background other than white as the white may look dingy or "off" with the slipcover.

It's hard to tell how a white background will play against the couch from the pics.

Thanks for clarifying the use of the space. It originally sounded like a room for the kids mostly. I think it is nice that your DH likes to be involved. Plaids and checks are hardly just country, but if that is his thought and he is immovable on that, so be it. LOL

I was confused by your comment about the swirly wall areas not being able to be painted. They are painted the ceiling color, aren't they? No special maintenance to paint them another color, and I really think it would make the room feel more spacious if they were the wall color.

I like the changes you have made - the room feels so much brighter.

LOVE the changes!! Keep going with the fun pillows~~