Thank you for your replies. I do plan to use a valance on the bay window to hide the blind when not in use. I had looked at the description of the inverted pleat drape and noticed that it is used for a stationary drape such as at the sides of the bay window, and the right side of the sliding door, but what about the left side of the door which we enter and exit from? Would you recommend a valance on that section, or do you think the drape will be able to be pushed back far enough to not cause a problem? Thank you. Jane PS: If I would decide to use a drape with rings, what color of rods would you recommend? The cabinets are white.

Thanks for the opinions, everyone. Beverly, can you share where you found the red and blue plaid drapes? I'm not a big fan of red usually, so I hadn't really considered predominately red WT, but those look nice. I guess part of my indecision is not knowing exactly what the CL drapes look like in person. The narrow "red" stripe is actually orange, not red, and the owner took the photo outside so I'm wondering if the yellow is not really that bright or if the sage is washed out. The lighting in my room is quite filtered, so the rug is perhaps more richly colored than the camera captured. Seeing my rug in person, I don't think I would ever call it muted. Since the consensus is "no", can anyone explain what makes yellows and reds work together in some situations? And why do the drapes and rug work in the inspiration pic, when they don't seem to relate at all?

I think you have to decide about the rug first, in or out. We just went from a dark oriental like yours to one with light colors (cream, light blue-green, and a touch of caramel matching our caramel leather sofa like your chair) and from there the room changed completely to warm and light. The rug has to come first. The more red and dark blue you add with your present rug the more you are getting away from what you said you wanted

I would work with the colors from the chair fabric. It and the pillows have some teal or aqua so look for things in those watery colors but darker or brighter. You also can rotate other colors on pillow covers. I switch mine seasonally to brighten our brown leather sofas. With cool greys and teals you could add warmth with accents of yellow or coral. Pick colors that you love. Maybe start with a large colorful canvas for the wall and use colors from it. You could even paint your own abstract. Stack a couple books under your lamps if you need them taller. Buy used books with colorful covers or recover them in paper to match your color scheme. Before investing in big items like rugs and drapes, try a few little colorful items like a throw to see what colors you like. Take your time to collect things that speak to you not just the latest trend.