Traci, I feel your pain. If it makes you feel any better, I'm going through the EXACT same thing as you, only with looking for the perfect not-too-yellow-not-too-tan-definitely-not-too dark warm neutral for my living room and halls. I have too many small Benjamin Moore sample jars to count. I've rejected their original contents, cleaned them out, and had them refilled. I've taken in glass spice jars for samples. With Kelly Moore and Sherwin Williams, I've bought a total of 9 quarts. I'm going through a lot of foamcore board. I start with a small 4x4" square to see if it's got a chance. If I like it, I paint a 12" square, two coats. They get moved all over my living room. If a color is still looking good, I have to paint a small 4" square on the wall (sorry Paintguy). I have knock-down wall texture and it looks different on the wall than it does on the board, and not necessarily better. I have to know the truth. I've painted squares on 4 different walls. I got so that I didn't notice them anymore. Then I hated looking at them. So, I've painted over (with the original wall color) most of them, except the latest front runners. This is no fun. Oh, and online color visualizers are absolutely worthless other than to give you a sense of how colors relate to one another. But it doesn't give you a true idea of a color at all. I figure I've spent close to $200 in samples. In a fit of pique I threw Benjamin Moore Instinct and Shaker Beige together and got a steely gray. Not the color I was looking for. ;-) I would pay a color consultant $100 to put an end to my misery. With my luck, they'd suggest a peach/pink theme.

yayagal, the room definitely has a cozy feel. I don't know if it's the scale of the room or the angle in the wall from the roofline, but it has always felt cozy to me too. I'm excited to be making progress here. pps7, you're right about the Wythe Blue having a lot of green in it. I have now put huge samples of the Wythe on the walls and am communing with the color. While it doesn't MATCH the blue in the rug, I still think they play together nicely. Maybe I'm even a little happier that they don't match exactly...I tend to like things to be a little off/quirky. I have a picture that I want to hang in here that looks really good with the blue. Lacking a backup plan, I will most likely plow ahead with the Wythe. (And thanks for your comment about my living room. I'm still surprised by how much happier I am with it since my small changes.) jillinnj, thanks for your vote of confidence and the compliment on the beasts. The floors are heart pine and are in every room of the house except the baths. I think the attic floors are even heart pine, though we have yet to have them refinished. trailrunner, I'd love to see your rug...is yours the same colors too? Regarding the chairs, I might be crazy, but I'm toying with the idea of mohair velvet for the upholstery. I have 3 samples of gray mohair coming in the mail. I've always yearned for some, and have been inspired by sueb's soon-to-be saphire chair. I'll post picture of the samples when I get them. schoolhouse, yes, you're nuts. : ) When we moved in, our walk-in pantry was covered, wall to ceiling, with alligatored, chipping, peeling paint. A good friend of ours tried really hard to talk us into keeping it just like that. Theoretically, I admire a relic as much as the next guy, but it's much nicer to live in a house that isn't cracked and peeling.

Thank you everyone for your replies! Marlorena, both of those varieties are gorgeous and I haven't really heard of either, I will have to look them up, I Iove the looks of both of those photos! After just googling "climbing Lady Hillingdon" and looking at the photos and reading through peoples' overall experience with her, I found myself swooning over this rose, and remembering why I decided to order it in the first place. Olga's photos were certainly a part of that, her specimen is just the epitome of what a romantic garden rose should look like, just absolutely stunning! So now I just HAVE to give her a go. If she doesn't work out for me, then I will probably use either Reve d'Or or Teasing Georgia in that spot. Reve is classically gorgeous & sounds healthy and easy to train, but I do love the huge, lush blooms of TG , even though she is more of a struggle to work with, she seems very vigorous. I was thinking of using Reve in a spot along a (future) fence that is on a sidewalk (soon to be built by the city) that will have pretty heavy pedestrian traffic, so the thornlessness sounds like it might be helpful there. I am still worried about how Cl Lady Hillingdon will fare with Tennessee's notorious late season cold snaps, but hopefully I will be skilled enough in protecting her roots/canes for her to be able to get established. She is coming from Roses Unlimited, and all I ever hear is that their plants are some of the largest 1 gal. roses purchasable from the main few internet nurseries. We are coincidentally supposed to have a record setting low temperature tonight of -7, which seems like a game changer, as I thought I was zone 7a, but maybe I'm more like a 6b? It is a little confusing for me to figure out my little "micro climate" in particular because I live so close to the city, I feel like it is always a few degrees warmer here than it is, say at my dad's house just a couple of miles north of here & more in the country. I really should get an outdoor thermometer for my front porch, since that is where all my young potted roses are residing this winter, then I could compare the forecasted temperatures with my own and see what I come up with. Thanks again all! I'll post some photos later in the spring/summer! Jessica

I beg you: do NOT put wood paneling on the walls. I take it you are not in the US, nor are you familiar with ranch style homes of the 1950's. That being said, I'll move on to other options and suggestions. Let's look at the 3 functional areas you have laid out separately and then how to bring them together as a whole. You have an office area, entertainment area and a sitting/living room area. For the entertainment area (the wall with the door): *I took a look at Ikea Stockholm collection available in the US which may not reflect finishes that are available in other countries. There appears to be a low TV unit available (see image below) that may work nicely to give this wall visual unity and height. (Use the same finish as the units in the office space.) Is it possible to mount your TV on the wall? This will give you height. And the unit will give needed space for your receiver, record player, etc. It will also give you storage space. Your office area: *I would suggest a black top but keeping the chrome base legs. The chrome base would complement the chrome legs of the chairs. (That is, it looks like the legs are chrome color.) I still suggest a gallery of pictures for the wall. Or if you need shelving, use no more than 3 floating shelves. Ikea has these. I had bought 3 myself last year and they are very nice. If you go with the shelves, buy white. (I explain later.) The sitting room area: *This is where the area rug should go, large enough to expand to under the front legs of the sofa. Look for something that has texture, such as a shag or rather something that has pile--not a smooth surface like the wood floors. I looked at the Stockholm sofas. They are beautiful. For accent and a finishing touch, you may want to add some decorative pillows. The coffee table is lovely and hopefully it has a black top with the chrome base, as it appears. This reiterates and complements the table in the office space (pulling the 2 spaces together visually). Bringing it all together is done with colors. For the walls. Go bold with white walls and contrast it with one accent dark wall. Since you are interested in a serious color, go with a dark chocolate accent wall behind the sofa. Check to be sure that the dark chocolate compliments the cabinet and wood floor finishes. Why paint the other walls white? So that you will have contrast with your cabinets and it will make the dark wall even more dramatic--and serious. Look for a rug that is lighter than the wood floors. If you want pattern, try to find one that has the colors in your sofa, some white and some brown. This next suggestion may sound really strange. Trust me, it works. Go into your closet and look at the colors in your wardrobe. The dominating colors are what you love most. If the colors I have suggested work, pull out the pieces in your wardrobe that has these colors. Lay them out and see if you like the combination. If not, pick out the 3 pieces you love & repeat until you find a combination that works for you. Whatever you do, look at least for some contrast. It is possible to have a monochromatic and other color schemes but this requires more experience with colors. As I said above and I agree with m_madd, you have a great layout. Design it to be clutter free. *By "flat" I mean the colors as they appear in the layout above are without contrast as a whole, lacks visual interest as a whole. Color plays a major role in how we feel, even think and act. Use it to make yourself feel good. Here's the TV unit.