forgot the carpet link....

Here is a link that might be useful: carpet color

I am in a similar situation looking for a sectional. I will throw out my thoughts and maybe it'll help.

First- way back a wise woman once advised that green is always a smart color choice when decorating because every color flower always looks great on a green stem. Listening to that made sense and I purchased olive green sofas to go in a cream colored living room with a light colored carpet. It worked very well, anchored the room and provided a nice color. With the light colored carpet I eventually painted the room a darker gold(Laura Ashley) and that looked beautiful too. I had even considered a muted yellow but with my natural light I could not seem to find the right shade. At times I changed out my accent colors with plums, terra cotta, red, lighter greens...I never was at a loss decor-wise because everything seemed to work with the green.

I was very happy with this arrangement until I pulled up the carpet and re-did my wood floors. Now all of my darker furnishings - sofas, area rug, mahogany furniture- look too dark on top of a wood floor. I say this because buying furniture is long term and tastes change and renovations occur.

Leather would be very nice choice for you too providing a visual anchor and adding both texture and color. It has good clean up and durability for children. (green was too-hid an awful lot from my own messmakers!)

Now I am considering a neutral tweedy light brown and trying to think ahead to various color schemes after I tire of my gold walls. Writing this, I realize I would consider the green again but my area rug is a darker blue-grey Karastan bought at auction for $60.00 and I really want to use it. I hope I'm not sorry. Such decisions, I don't know if I spent this much time thinking about marriage and children!!! :)

Hope these musings help!

I like the idea of brown leather . . .it will be easy to care for with your kids, and it will give you a good background for just about anything since I consider it to be a classic look (given that you pick a sofa shape that is also classic).

Do you like prints? I think a large scale print, doesn't have to be floral chintz, goes a long way in hiding little spills, wear, etc.

I like to take a piece of artwork as inspiration. One of my favorites is this still life. Your carpet color would go well with any of the colors in the picture. If you are looking for a green, the blue-green background would be great, however, I think that a fabric that is similar to the red pear would be perfect.

What about navy or midnight blue? It would go great with camel.

You can't go wrong with brown leather, it is a classic that will work with changes down the line and holds up great to kids.

I second the navy blue. We recently purchased a navy blue sectional and our walls are painted Behr's "Beeswax", which is kinda sorta a camel/ochre color.

Disclaimer: Up until recently I didn't use much blue in decorating, but years ago it was my "favorite" color.

DH chose a smoky Federal slate blue for the walls in his office and I loved the color so much I used it in our spare room. That was the jumping off point for the resurgence of blue in our house LOL. When we decided to purchase a sectional I kept being drawn to blue, but I knew it had to be a deep navy blue. The only request my husband had was, "No brown or anything in the brown family". That was fine with me. I wanted something traditional and timeless but with twist. We chose a beautiful deep muted navy blue chenille fabric and we absolutely love it. Blue feels "right" to me for many reasons, mostly because (as another poster so aptly put it), it's not the "same old, same old", and it really can be a neutral. Our complementary colors are muted reds, blues, greens, cream, white and black. If and when we decide to paint the living room walls a different color, I would choose an off-white/cream/beige color. The navy would look stunning and timeless. I would make a slipcover for the coffee table ottoman in a navy/blue/white/cream print and make throw pillow covers from a variety of blue/cream/white fabrics....oh my gosh! Now I'm getting ahead of myself :o)