You don't see many real orientals on Houzz or in magazines these days. It seems so strange to me. They are the handcrafted, classic, expensive giants of the home decor world, but everybody wants area rugs that look pale and/or non-classic, or that resemble sisal. Compared to the look that is "all around" these days, an oriental does have a heavy look. I like to think that weighting the floor can make the ceiling feel higher. Don't feel sad about having an oriental rug on your floor! This is a trend I do not understand, except in the sense that trends gain momentum and become trendier. I recently experimented with red walls in an Oriental rug living room. It really looked good, I have to say, even though I don't like strong colored walls. I would have seriously considered it if it were a dining room. In my case, with only one living room, I couldn't really do red comfortably. But if it had been a DR, an FR or office/library, I would have gone for red if the moldings were good and plentiful, like yours seem to be. I ended up painting SW compatible cream. That's a color that had peak popularity here a few years ago, so don't expect people to endorse the choice. It's nice in that there is absolutely no green tinge, yet it has enough color to set off the moldings nicely in my shaded room, and it is ok with the rest of the yellow walls in my home.

I do some freelance work as a historic homes color consultant. My neighbor and I chose colors and he painted his foursquare red with ivory trim - he has a black roof, it looks great. I'm painting my home olive with gold trim to contrast with his. They are a great pair of old houses that have definitely inspired others in the neighborhood. Id recommend NOT using the same color on the roof as anywhere else on the house. if you use red as the body, choose a non-red color for the roof (perhaps a deep deep green - it looks GREAT). And be careful of the shade of red you choose - Another neighbor replaced her original faded red standing seam roof with a new aluminum one in fire-truck red. it was not great, but I thought, at least she chose the "same kind" of roof. Then she painted all the trim RED - it looks like a KFC. Its horrible and an embarrassment to the neighborhood. Look thru Moss's exterior color books - he's the best man to research when it comes to exterior colors on historic homes. And please don't paint your house lavender with a red roof - just, please, don't

I'm sorry, but I have to say I don't like the navy (or the camel). The rug color is more a royal blue, i.e.: a warm blue and the navy is a whole other blue, and IMO, they clash. I also, again, think it is just too much saturation of blue. Like NSM's chandy and think it would look great in your dining alcove. I do think you should paint those French doors the same color as the trim, regardless of what color you paint the walls. If you go with the chocolate brown, consider painting the chairs silver. If you go with a light color, I'd paint them black. The silver will compliment the glass top, and the black will go with the base. Btw, it is sounding to me like you have made up your mind and that you really want to do it in the Midsummer Night. It's not a lot of wall area, so you're not investing a whole lot in paint here. You can paint it in the color you want, get it all set up with the new chandy, painted chairs, artwork, live with it for a month (or some agreed-upon time limit) and if your husband (or you, for that matter) still really doesn't like it, you can always repaint it.

Thanks for all the great ideas. My husband's being very particular about the chair's comfort and shape (high back, supportive, wide enough so he can "wiggle around and sit sideways" whatever that means). He doesn't want leather even though that's a good idea. I may need to pick out a color fairly quickly. Pal - thanks for the specific fabric examples. I do like the stripes. I've been looking at chairs on Room and Board's website and am contemplating a trip to the D.C. store but styles may be too modern for this room? and in-stock colors kinda dreary. I do see some blues though, and the custom colors only take 4 weeks or so. I came across this striped chair but it looks too green: http://www.sammoore.com/index.cfm/upholstered-armchairs/catalog.product/code/1107.22/tyler I like this floral: http://www.arhaus.com/furniture/living-room-furniture/chairs/39769C1BPS/