Living room help please!

[Goostacean]

What would you do with this room? Please, let your imagination run wild! The only constraints are: we want carpet, will be keeping the fireplace (but likely will attempt to strip it back to the marble...), keeping the shutters, DH wants pale/pastel tones. THANK YOU. There is only so much inspiration Pinterest can give me, it turns out!

[SingingInTheShithouse]

Without knowing what you like, it's difficult to say, but with a room that large & bright, I'd go dark walls, cream or natural carpet, strip back the fireplace, keep the shutters & paintwork white. A huge patterned red to introduce a couple of bright highlight colours & pick up those in cushions, throws etc. Lots of big plants in interesting pots

[SingingInTheShithouse]

Rug, not red!

[dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby]

Are you keeping the navy and orange sofas? If so it guides the colours you choose to some extent. You could keep walls etc neutral but have a much larger rug where you add a splash of colour. There are lots of bright (or alternatively distressed) multi-coloured geometric ones about at the moment.
Tie in chosen accent colour with cushions and a piece of artwork.

[Goostacean]

Thanks for your reply! Should have said, I’m going for a so-called “modern Victorian” vibe. Thinking of putting up some period coving, debating whether to paint the bookcases the same colours as the walls...?

[SingingInTheShithouse]

It's a lovely big room, so yes you'd get away with period coving, but keep it fairly simple & don't over do it. I'd still say dark walls such as french navy, or a deep khaki & light carpet & white woodwork.

If the bookcase is free standing, I'd go with a light wood such as oak. Otherwise if it's what's already there, then yes white is good.

Are you getting new sofas or keeping those, if new, a couple of chesterfields would look great

[SingingInTheShithouse]

Paint all walls tge dark colour though, including the walls of the bookcase

[Goostacean]

Thanks! Unfortunately it has to be pastel/pale (which is a shame in a beautiful big room like that, but DH insists and he makes very few demands so I try to acquiesce!)... We have a sofa and an armchair and a footstool, but they’re not in that photo. They’re a sort of beige... I was thinking of a nice sage green for the walls?

[Mosaic123]

On a homes programme i saw they had painted the interior of the bookcases but left the outside white. It looked good.

[SummerHouse]

If pastel shades I would go Dulux Jurassic Stone (lovely green) or chic shadow / perfectly taupe (grey). Dark wood and white paintwork go very nice with these. Second the massive rug suggestion. Although I would go plain if keeping two different coloured sofas. A big plush grey one.

[Goostacean]

Came back to say we’ve stripped the fireplace and it’s marble! So that’s an added complication, I suppose. I love the Jurassic Stone- that’s exactly the sort of thing I was aiming for. The problem is that we have a large painting above the fireplace in all blue tones. Green on the walls definitely won’t work, and I don’t want to get rid of the painting. But if the walls are a classic “parchment” sort of colour, with beige sofas and a cream carpet.... it’s all going to look very blah.