The Hunter-Douglas Silhouette is now available in top down/bottom up. The window casing you have is deep and the shades could be inside mount and look good. Silhouettes have very big headers. http://www.hunterdouglas.com/our-products-detail.jsp?id=1 I would go with a color drape the same tone as the walls but darker. The walls look rather blueish in the photo - maybe due to not using a flash? Some heavy, polyester silk-look would make the area elegant. These come in various colors. http://www.touchofclass.com/product/r114-001.do?code=CMZ08 Here is a link that might be useful: Silhouette

Johnmari, Thank you for sharing about the many variations on white. Now I'm a little worried. We really don't have $ to go for custom treatments. If I go with the white, maybe I should order, try one, and then understand I may have to return? Yes. Absolutely. That was JM's point and what I assumed (and shouldn't have) you already knew. You need to have a plan to check the color before you commit. Or, as Annz said, there are many other resources out there at about the same price point as JCP where you can obtain samples before you buy. My Lowe's for instance has a nice supply of take home color samples for blinds and plantation shutters. You mention a mix of mission and contemporary - again, either would work. Someone made the point the wood tones do not reflect as much light into the space -- that is accurate. If you have abundant natural light, might not be such a concern. But if you're having trouble deciding between the two, that factor is something to consider. Exterior - Again, either can work. It's a matter of your deciding which choice, white or wood, is going to fit best with the design and look you're marching towards interior as well as exterior. Maybe make a spreadsheet and list the pros and cons of each color choice to help you see which one 'fits' best at least on paper.

I agree that your wall color is throwing everything off. Warm and cool are tough to blend. You can make it look intentional by finding some patterned items and accessories that have warm tones and silver mixed together but in your case I think painting is the easiest solution. The same issue will happen if you pick gray floors. I would pick a light/medium brown/beige toned LVT with minimal pattern. There are tons of LVT choices. Have you decided on a brand yet? Wood look or tile look? Definitely bring the art down to people height. There is a tendency to want to "fill up" taller walls by hanging decorative items very high. But if you decorate nicely at people height, the tall ceilings and walls will look light and airy, not bare. If you decide on a new rug, try to get one big enough to fit the furniture. The rug you have now is pretty but is more suited to an entry or dining area because of the shape.

I prefer a light space...which means I would naturally keep the walls as light as possible. If you can match the white of the cabinet, you will have a very light feeling space DESPITE the dark floors. Remember: dark floors are AWEFUL to keep 'looking' clean. They show every speck of dust (90% of dust is human skin cells...the other 10% is Dust Might feces) which means it is normally a light gray. Cotton fluff, wool rugs shedding, etc show up like a neon sign on dark floors. Just be VERY aware of what you are doing to yourself when working with dark flooring. Have you lived with dark floors before?