Hi Houzz Community,

I'm moving into a new apartment and would warmly welcome advice and wisdom on color scheme selection and layout for the living room / dining room area.

Color Scheme Considerations

• My main concern is ensuring the room feels warm and inviting (I'm leaning toward gray or taupe tones) but is still very bright and doesn't feel claustrophobic. I live in West Africa and it's bright and sunny most of the year but extremely rainy with little sunshine from June through September. I want to make sure the room doesn't get too gloomy during rainy season.
• The floors are 2'x2' neutral tile with a slight grayish, pinkish color to them. They should help a lot with lighting up the room so I feel like I have some flexibility for a slightly darker wall color, but please do correct me if I'm wrong.
• To my dismay, the sliding glass door is tinted privacy glass so folks outside can't see in, making the room a bit darker and giving a slight purpley hue to the light coming in.
• The kitchen has pink tiled walls and orangey fake wood cabinets (eek!)
• As you can see in the layout image, the front door is aligned with the entry into the hallway to the bedrooms. I'd like to paint the hallway are a different (likely lighter) color than the living room to create some contrast and added depth. Is this misguided?
• I'm going for something of a mid-century modern look and am having a couch made that looks something like the one attached. Right now I'm leaning toward a light heather gray upholstery for the couch, but I could go for a light tan/taupe as well, I suppose. I just worry that may clash with the gray floor.
• Other furniture and accents (coffee tables, etc.) will be made of local hardwood (maybe hand-stained with vinegar and steel wool?). I'm considering having a coffee table made with hairpin legs made of steel rebar.

Layout Considerations

• I want the ocean view out the sliding glass door to be the focal point. I won't have a TV so that doesn't need to be a consideration.
• I don't have a lot of decorative items (e.g. books, sculptures, paintings, photos, etc.) to display and I don't need much storage space in the living room. I may want to put a bench by the door for putting on shoes and may want to get some sort of ottoman that I can stow the cushions for my balcony furniture in.
• As noted above, I'm having a sectional made that's essentially a love seat with an attached chaise. I'm thinking of having a table and two stools made to go behind it (possibly at bar height) to create a dining area that doubles as a desk space for me to work looking out at the ocean.
• That said, I'm worried this layout creates a dead space in the rest of the room. I've also been warned that it may create poor flow / feng shui for the couch to be pointed away from the front door. Should I back the couch up against the left wall, facing the right wall? In either case, I don't know what to do with the rest of the room. I can look for a few additional furniture pieces to add seating, but just don't know where to start.

Thank you in advance for your ideas and inspiration!

Rachel