oh good lord. everything in the room needs to go. Those floors demand cool colors,,,mostly white (which is what I would paint the walls,,or a light gray like Crushed Ice SW) .

furniture,,,anything with gray leather, white or black,,silver tables w/glass, maybe a walnut console, or a glossy white enamel.

pick one of these. luckily you can do the Aztec w/those floors

try and do a large rug to cover a lot of that flooring if you want to bring in some other prints. like your aztec design on a wall or something. try and stay away from autumn colors.

I'm absolutely drooling over those pics you sent! And I LOVE the how Native American accents aren't cheesy but look very modern and classy. I do see pops of brown wood or brown leather or gold in some of those photos. Is there a trick to pulling that off with all the black/grey/white?

PS. What do you call those little ottoman/beanbag seats that I see around the coffee tables or under the windows? Love those!

Poufs. square poufs. and this moroccan style in the leather would be perfect. Wayfair has them

CB2 has these

you can do a leather like they have if it's not overly red or orange. That's why I mentioned Walnut. it's a medium, neutral brown. if you do oak, it will look like that 1990 oak w/the orangey finish to it.

just stay with neutral browns, soft camel, and you'll be fine. see these shades? which do you think looks better w/the black/gray? (these are from Casablancamarket.com)

I love the first 4 pics. a gray velvet sofa, camel recliner, one of those rugs, the wall art, some nice plants,,, touch of gold metal,,,gorgeous!

What permission do you have from the in-laws to ditch their ugly furniture?

If none, back off.

If they give their blessings then look for a large area rug. Even a sisal to cover those indescribable floors...

PSS. Do you think there's any way to move those designs toward a more rustic feel? Ive seen modern and rustic put together (think every ski resort in Colorado - where I live) but I don't know what the trick is to making it work! Like one of the coffee tables below maybe?

Alaterre Furniture Pomona 42" Metal and Wood Coffee Table in Brown · More Info

?

Rectangular Coffee Table in Distressed Rustic Honey · More Info

Just hire Beth and let her do her thing.

leelee

"They've asked for my help to finish furnishing and decorating, I may be able to convince them to ditch the couches OR paint that wall... if that was possible, what would you recommend?"

lets hope after she shows them what their place could look like, they're convinced.

Beth H. THANK YOU. I will definitely keep that in mind. Unfortunately, they have LOADS of that 1990's oak furniture. The good news is I think my mother-in-law is totally open to refinishing the pieces she wants to keep.

Leelee, they already said the orange wood piece had to go because it's too big for the space. As far as the couch... I haven't said a word to them about it, but I'm not sure their sons will be as quiet LOL. Fortunately, my in-laws are really great people who are not easily offended! Ultimately, I want them to be happy... and if that includes keeping the couches then of course that's totally ok!

just show her pictures. look on here for black/white/gray Southwestern feel and see what you get. it doesn't have to be modern. Sometimes older people get very set and comfortable with what they've used for 30 years. they're afraid to switch. so show her and take her to some stores where she can sit on the new sofas and look at new wood.

those table will work w/the right sofa/chair. And you can always do a very large area rug to conceal a lot of that busy floor. Or, they can eventually put down wood.

that's a laminate floor, yes?

Beth--

I may be able to convince them to ditch the couches OR paint that wall... if that was possible, what would you recommend?

I would tread lightly. You don't want to insult MIL : }

leelee,,,and I said, "lets hope she can convince them".

Beth H. Those are great ideas! Yes it's a laminate floor. I don't think there's any chance of changing the floor right now. However the large area rug will be a solid color, just as you recommended.

lol. well yeah. but she said they are cool and don't get ruffled easily. I'm sure she will be diplomatic. but even helen keller would know those sofas don't match!

Beth H. So true! So I guess the next step is to see if they plan on keeping those or not. I'll have the hubby talk to them about it. I think it's interesting that even though the walls are actually light grey, the reflection from those couches makes them look yellow!

So, to hire you as a designer... how does that work? I don't suppose you happen to live near Denver, CO

If they want to keep the couches, you can find a rug that coordinates:

Samples · More Info

,,,that rug on top of that flooring?? you deleted it! lol. that first one matches the sofa, but if the photo was further back, I think you'd see that it won't go w/that floor.

FinallyHome Wow that's some great photoshop work! Thanks for sending that!

Beth - Yep. Took a second look at it and said no.

Sarah - Load your photo to Rugsusa and you can see any rug in your room.

If they do want to keep their sofas, maybe that rug comes in a larger size? or perhaps something similar, w/less pattern. that way it won't fight w/that floor.then again, if you did a large creamy white rug, the sofa would still work and the rug would also match the floor.

(but try and convince MIL to get a new sofa! )

Oh, wow. That floor. I don't have any suggestions, but that is one bossy, domineering, brooks-no-competition floor. That's a "what were they thinking?" floor (I assume the condo came that way--I don't want to insult your in-laws). You have my sympathy.

Flooring materials are relatively cheap and the area looks small; recommend that they have the floor replaced and take them with you when you check it out......flooring has come a long way in the last few years; bite the bullet and convince them that they will be choosing custom flooring in the new living area......or hire a designer for them as a housewarming gift and let her/him convince them.....

I love how the builder or whoever just plopped that brown vent cover back down on the gray flooring. A vent cover costs about $6, a can of spray paint $4.