Beautiful furniture - so yummy! I think people will have good ideas for you. The first thought I had was the tables would look warmer and more grounded in wood - at least the coffee table. I think wood tones would go so wonderfully with that dreamy color...maybe not too dark. Do you have any in another room you could try just to see if it adds anything? And maybe some pillows that aren't shiny...they look icy to me - a print or pattern?

Pull some of the warm tones out of the rug for pillows.

Make a slipcover for the wooden armchair in one of the warm colors with a bit of pattern, tone-on-tone, or texture.

Exchange the silver accessories for ceramic in warm colors.

Love your sofa and chair. I haven't seen nail head trim used that way; the furniture looks very comfortable too.

I think an easy way to warm things up is to introduce a warm color in accents. Coral comes to mind.

I think changing out a few of your pillows to a coral color, as well as the silver vase on your table just might do the trick.

Your home seems lovely. Pretty sofa & chair. The dark grey paint seems neutral enough that it will still be fine if you want to add some more vivid colors throughout the room.

I'll toss out a few ideas in case any resonate with you. One easy way fix is to introduce some warm tones through pillows. Ditch the silver pillows and try some patterns. If you do find some you like, you may want to swap out the paisley throw also.

While I like the silver end tables, perhaps a more substantial coffee table might work better. Is there room on the wall behind to sofa for a vibrant painting/print? Have you tried swapping the chairs? It may be that putting the weight toward the sun room may work nicely. Do you have a cloisonne or more colorful lamp for the top the chest? Finally, have you ever tried angling your armoire in the corner? Any or all of these will add warmth.

Your room is lovely!! Cool, quiet and elegant -- very charming! :)

a)Try switching your larger artworks (now on each side of the main entrance) to the wall where the small shelves now hang -- a stronger and simpler look might work well there. Try hanging your large silver clock on the wall over the bookshelf -- add more books and a couple of silver items (like a bowl or your little silver vase etc.)

b) Open the left-hand entrance door (in the photo above) completely -- and try the chair there with the standing lamp and the small silver table. The chair would then face very slightly toward the sofa but close to the radiator.

c) In the future -- consider adding covers to the rads -- makes them quite a bit more useful for display etc.

d)Add a vivid purple orchid in a silver dish to the lovely coffee table for a quick shot of color. Or perhaps a fresh white silk orchid?

d) Clear the top of the pretty armoire -- and add your large gray basket up there -- fill with blue silk hydrangea for the summer.

Just some thoughts! Hope you don't mind!

Such pretty things~~you had great ideas sent your way. Make sure you show us what you decide on. :)

Thank you everyone. I will shop my house and a local auction on sat for warmer accessories and a wooden coffee table, my old one is 36' square and was too bulky with ottoman.
Pal, i had orginally wanted to cover the accent chair with pinkish ikat but chickened out but i will revisit fabrics for it:)

Teacats, so funny you mention the chair it "belongs" at the angle you suggest but dear hubby keeps moving it to view the telly:( I put it where you suggest when entertaining tho. He is also building windowseats with bookends to flank the fireplace and cover the radiators so i like that idea too:)

Abuntantblessings i had the chair by the sunroom orginally i will post the pic but it was before i gelstained the armoire and before the larger cocktail table arrived so not truely a fair repensentation. Any better?

I love the wall color! Especially with your upholstery.

I love your furniture! I think just adding some warm colored pillows on your furniture (4 on the sofa and 1 on each chair). You can pull colors from the rug and play around.

Great rug & cool sofa! I love the suggestions of swapping out the silver tables for warm wood tables and the shiny blue pillows for warmer accent colors. However, while the gray paint is attractive with your new furniture, I think you should consider changing it if you really want warm the room up. Start with smaller, easier things, but don't rule out paint if the accessories aren't enough.

For some reason I'm reminded of The Nester's family room, though it's a much more casual room.

Her wall color is SW Favorite Tan, and while her couch is slip-covered white, the accessories have similar colors to your furniture. Just a thought.

i think the gray looks great! my dh wants to paint any room in our house gray, but i'm too chicken, lol.
gray is one of those colors that can work with lots of pops of colors. i personally like bright yellow with gray. i think in your original pic u had some yellow flowers which i thought looked nice.
and i've seen orange with gray too which can look good too. i recently watched an episode of the nate berkus show where it was all about the color gray and what to do with it :)

Have you given any thought to radiator covers, they are attractive, look like a piece of furniture, and you can set things on top, as, I noticed you do, but it looks awkward, this way it will look like it belongs there...
See link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Beautiful Radiator Covers

Hi thanks for all the new tips. I think i will try some different accents first. I like yellow with the walls and I I think I will try coral too( initially I worried coral might look to familiar to the seafoam and peach 80's color scheme). I have brown throws and pillows allready but got tired of the aqua brown scheme. And i will try pulling the rug tones out more.

Funny I was not sure i would keep the rug I thought maybe it did not work with the room. DH will be thankfull that people suggest bringing more of it's qualities in. It will save us money:)After I find some wood accents tables and pillows i promise to post pics so you can help me tweek some more.

Thanks for taking time to help I so appreciate it.

THanks susie07 My husband is making window seats and bookselves for the fireplace wall to cover the rads. Unfortunetly we sail and like to do the yard most of the summer so i think they are a few weeks away from being done. He made the cover peeking out of the dining room in the first pic. So I agree covers will help a bunch:)

I love your furniture! I agree about the pillows. I would get some needlepoint pillows for different texture & colors and then pull the colors from them to accessorize.

For me, everything is great except the rug -- not sure if it is the overall design or colors - or both - that don't work for me. I love your furniture -- I think it is the accessories that are 'off' and the coffee table is perhaps too small in scale. The armoire reads a little too country for the rest of the room - and I would consider using elsewhere or darkening it if possible. I love the contrast of the caned chair with your upholstered pieces.

Your room is lovely. It is classic and elegant and the french doors are wonderful. I envy you your architectural details!!! Would love to see more pictures. I think Jen makes some good points, though.

Where did you find your sofa and chair? I love the silver nailhead trim and the tight back-so much more comfortable, I think, than loose back cushions.

Thankyou again for more suggestions.
Cyn427 the sofa is from Pilgrim furniture and is made by england( which is owned by lazyboy i think). It is called Paige and it comes standerard in an off white fabric. It was very inexpensive( not much more than ikea prices) and it is very comfortable. I had a white slipcovered loose pillow sofa set prior and i was just tired of fixing pillows all the time.

I think coral would look lovely. If you recovered the caned chair and added pillows with complementary coloring I think you would notice a great difference! Love your room.

BTW your armoire looks great since you darkened it. How about a pic of the fireplace in reference to the furniture?

I think you have done a very nice job of decorating and I'd be careful of changing too much in this room. For instance I'd leave the silver pillows altho might add a few more with pattern and color. One doesn't often see silver pillow covers used and they add a unique touch that's missing in much of the decor seen. I'd keep the metal tables as they are also a unique feature and you already have several wood pieces in the room.

IMO the rug is fine - Oriental style rugs work with most styles so I wouldn't advise changing that and the red color in it is a natural accent color to use as I also see it on the wall in the adjoining room.

If you use cushions on the new window seats a patterned fabric would be a good choice. I'm not sure you necessarily need a lot more color or different colors but more pattern will help for interest. You might also bring in black in any fabrics you choose to repeat the black seen in adjoining rooms and as contrast to the light upholstery. IMO your sofa and chair upholstery is very attractive and I hope you grow to love them. Very different from so many seen - they look comfortable and give a high-end look.

Even if you don't change a thing in this room it's better than 99% of the rooms I see online. However, if you think it needs warming up go cautiously.

First of all, I think you are doing a good job! I like the paint, rug, furniture. Regarding furniture placement -the chair looks good in front of the sunroom opening but you have to be comfortable in the room because you live in it and watch TV there. Wondering how the floor lamp would look next to the accent chair.

Do you ever close the french doors? You could remove them or add some sheers. Would they fit in the opening to the sunroom?

Texture on the sofa (throw or pillows) might be good. Would a more textured fabric work on the windows? Hard to tell without a photo of the fireplace wall.

hi roarah, sorry it took a while to get back. Yes, the chair looks fine, if it works for you and your family, by the sunroom. I'm sure it looks even nicer now with the larger coffee table. I much prefer the cane chair by the entrance as it feels more welcoming from the foyer, and think that your existing coffee table works better with that arrangement as the blue chair anchors it nicely instead of the more spindly look against the open backdrop of the sunroom. YMMV.

Don't be afraid to introduce an Ikat or other pattern. Most important thing is to do what makes your and DH's hearts happy! I always aim for that sense of peaceful bliss that says "home" to me regardless of what's trendy. So whether you move the chairs or keep the current paint color, change to cream or install grasscloth is up to how you feel in your home. That being said, I'd suggest moving the candlesticks from the end table as they seem to be randomly put there, but think books or magazines would make sense there. You may prefer some other accessory that has a warm feel, e.g., wood or pottery instead of metal on metal.

BTW, great job on gel staining the armoire to give it a more French Country look!

Luckygirl thank you very much for your praise as "luck would have it" I have to take it slow due to my little girl has surgery on monday....so not to much decorating for the time being.
Mary thankyou too. Here is a not so good look at fireplace wall please excuse the wires and tv box, when the builtins are finished they will be selved better.

The drapes are old and i think everyone is onto something i think the room needs pattern. I think maybe flat is the word I was feelin... Thanks again

I hope everything turns out fine with your little one. Decorating takes such a backseat to surgery!

I saw this picture on Centastional Girl blog yesterday and I thought of your room. You can see how she incorpoated some pattern and some bottle greens and darker blues to warm up her cool blues.
Dee

OOh Dee I love the soft texture on the pillows I think maybe drapes and some toss pillows in those patterns would help me feel warm and fuzzy in here! Thanks for the link I love that room! For some reason it seems like the brain child of Sarah Richardson and Candice olson! Sarah's classic flair with candice's color vibe.

Also, thanks for the positive wishes I am trying to stay very positive( mixed with a bit in denial too:))

I love your furniture and entire room! Beautiful choices. I have some ideas about the layout:

put those two gorgeous brass tables side by side in front of the couch...put books on them.

Remove the fireplace screen for the summer --- is that a leather ottoman I see peaking out of the other room? I would switch it out with your blue one and put the leather ottoman (or the blue one) in front of the fireplace.

Love that wood cane chair -- please don't cover it...I like it in the first pic framed by the two wood pieces.

I love your satan pillows but believe they are too cold for the space -- a patterned pillow with a smidge of red (like in your dining room might work). pottery barn also has some cute pillow covers.

Well, that's all for now...again love your room, if you didn't change anything it would look great.

Here is a link that might be useful: pillow fabric?

First, I hope all is well with your child. Rightfully it is hard to think about furniture when you are dealing with something so major in your family life.

YUM! I love the color of your new upholstered pieces, the wall color, and the whole architectural vibe of your lovely home.

I have kind of skimmed through the other comments, so if I am repeating things already suggested (and perhaps rejected), I apologize.

Part of the reason I think the room feels a bit cold is because of the lighting. Almost all of it is in the corners of the room, not near the seating to create warmth where people will be.

I would also ask if you have considered trying the sunroom rug in here, and putting the LR rug in the sunroom? I think the light background would lighten the feel of the space, but also work with the dark walls, particularly since it appears that the rug has black in it (or a very dark navy, which would also work in the room).

I would take down the artwork that is on either side of the doorway behind the open french doors. It doesn't allow for nice viewing of the art, and really doesn't compliment the doors, either. They are actually a bit of architectural detail as they sit open in front of those end walls.

Take the floor lamp out of the corner, and use it next to the wood chair - ideally between the chair and the couch if you can.

Turn the small cabinet against the wall that has the small shelves, making it a part of that vignette, and put the small lamp on there that is currently on top of the tall bookcase near the sunroom, so it will tuck on the left side of the cabinet under the shelves. The lamp that is there now, (which appears to be another of the same floor lamps as the one on the other side of the doorway) can move to the other end of the room.

Take the two pieces of art that were behind the french doors and stack them on the wall to the right of the small shelves.

Angle the armoire into the corner. Sitting flat on the end wall feels crowded.

Move the lamp on the bookcase to the small cabinet, as mentioned, and hang the clock that is on the shelf above the bookcase. It is light, and will add some reflection and sparkle up there. Move the collection of silver candlesticks from the brass table to the shelf where the clock was.

I like the chair and ottoman to the left of the couch, at the side of the room that opens into the sunroom. I think it blocks the view of the radiator beyond, and makes the overall look much nicer. Try to find a way to add the other floor lamp here.

I think your drapes are pretty, but the rods need to move out further on each side of the windows. The drapes shouldn't be angled, but hang straight, and they look skimpy pushed so close in on the window. I do agree, tho, that I would rather see something with some pattern there.

These in the gunmetal might be one idea:
daria in gunmetal

Consider getting heat-resistant metal paint in a silver or pewter and paint all the detail metal work on the top of the fireplace screen. It will add another point of light in the space, without losing the overall darker feel of the screen which is nice in front of the firebox.

I love the silver pillows. I like the brass tables, but I would use them as end tables on either side of the couch, and use the small silver table to the right side of the wood chair. Neither of the brass tables feels large enough as a coffee table. Using a rich coral as an accent color could be a great choice with the upholstery color and the wall color.

My first thought was "beautiful room". After reading your original post my second thought was a rusty orange as an accent. I can't tell for sure, but it looks as though there may be some in our area rug.
This should give an idea of what I'm thinking thought I got the color a bit on the bright side.

Thanks again for all the nice thoughts. My daughter and I are home bound for a little while so I will filter thru all the wonderfull suggests and try to come up with a warmer direction.
Justgotabme thanks for the photoshop(I need to learn how to resize pics:))

Les and domesticah Thanks for the tips and layout ideas.
Everyone is so helpfull and if I do not use all the ideas at once i think i can constantly change the room in different ways now so i will never tire of the room.

You're welcome Roarah. I did the virtual and resizing on Windows Paint. You're pictures weren't too big though. I resize virtuals to hide the imperfections better. I wish I could have picked a color from the rug. I tried to get the color darker, but when I did they looked brown. Blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel making them complementary colors.

I think an easy way to warm things up is to introduce a warm color in accents. Coral comes to mind. turn the small cabinet against the wall that has the small shelves, making it a part of that vignette, and put the small lamp on there that is currently on top of the tall bookcase near the sunroom, so it will tuck on the left side of the cabinet under the shelves. The lamp that is there now, (which appears to be another of the same floor lamps as the one on the other side of the doorway) can move to the other end of the room.

Here is a link that might be useful: petty

I would actually put up some chocolate brown curtains along with brown throw pillows. I think that would warm it up and pull everything together.

Personally, I love the coolness of it. I love the silver with the icy blue, and the wood pieces in your room warm things up and add contrast. I would love for my room to look like that!

I skimmed through too and wrote a lengthy reply but then went back and read les917 and agree with most of what they say so I edited it.

I'd start by rearranging everything. Everything feels crammed in there and doesn't really need to be.

The armoire is nice, I like it much better darker but it is too large for that wall. Do you have another piece of furniture in another room you can swap it with? I think its simply too big for the space and angling it will only exacerbate it.

I'd take those prints down from behind the french doors and put your floating shelves over there to the sides of the open doors. Get stained glass shades for the floor lamps or a bell/scalloped shade, preferably a shade of violet or red, a few degrees south of the coral/orange spectrum would be my choice, but anything other than that lurid yellow.

I'm assuming the lights by the FP are going when you build the built-ins?

To further address the lighting I would close the curtains and tie them back to one side. White doesn't really work well on shutters so to add some color and pattern there I would consider a stretched fabric on a delicate frame to cover them and then cover the shade(?) above with the same or remove them altogether. It would help with that vertical feel on that wall too. Everything is either vertical or horizontal and with the exception of the back of the sofa and chair there are no soft curves.

I like the coffee table and the side table but the legs are too skinny and straight. There are a number of nice but inexpensive furniture legs and pedestals available that your husband could probably make something nice with. Maybe go a couple of inches higher on the side table.

FInd a new home for the huge clock on the shelf, replace it with the one currently on the wall with the floating shelves?

You have a very nice house. Gorgeous stair too. It is good to see that no one has painted the scotia under the treads after all these years. Aside form the lamp shades I would really concentrate on rearranging what you have.

Hope all is well with your daughter.

Ian

Check out how pipdog warmed up her blue/gray walls with orange curtains.

Here is a link that might be useful: orange curtains