Basic help please

[Iamnotaloggrip]

I'll preface this by admitting I'm rubbish at interior design; I can appreciate a beautiful home but struggle to create one. But I'm very aware we need to decorate downstairs as it's getting downright shabby...

So - living/dining room - I have lovely curtains that cost a fortune that are pale blue and silver so my questions are - what colour/s can I match with those to create a cosy living room? At the minute walls are brown and cream (left by previous residents) so I'm looking for a change, and a colour that will go over the brown with relative ease (it's not a dark brown, more a dark taupe kind of colour). I have no idea how to hang wallpaper and would probably struggle to match the curtain design so should I stick with paint? What about carpets - a grey would seem the obvious choice, or what about wooden floors? Which is most cost effective / easiest to keep clean / long lasting?

Is there anything else I haven't thought of? Sofas are black and other furniture largely wooden - a mish mash tbh as I've collected things as I've gone along. I would want to replace the coffee table and sideboard in the dining room.

Living room faces east, dining west so always has plenty of light coming in. Kids are primary school age and have little concept of keeping things clean and the floor underneath the dining table is almost always a disgrace.

I also have questions about the hall and kitchen but think this is the most pressing issue!

All advice welcome please, no matter how basic.

Thank you

Can you post a picture of the curtain fabric?

Are the black sofas leather? Are they staying? What does the dining table & chairs look like/made of? Pictures best if you are ok with that

Like all things, gather ideas. Pinterest or Instagram and try find houses quite like yours (often easier on Instagram) and think what it is you like about them

Flooring - we’ve gone with laminate which was a financial choice actually (cheap at b and q and fit ourselves - took a little while but actually fairly easy). However with a 3yo, dog and 6th old I love it. So durable and easy. We have a rug that goes near the sofas for some evening cosy and the rest of the time it feels great. We’ve also found it works so well with colourful walls

embrace colour. Could go for a shade of blue that finally fits the curtains - not the same shade but something that goes well - and consider painting the skirting the same colour.

wallpaper is a lot easier than it used to be with paste the wall or peel and stick but we have very wonky walls so I don’t usually do it. Depending on your ceiling height you could do diff colours and create a picture rail or dado rail split, or bring the ceiling colour down.

Yes, of course - I thought that might help - posted at work but home now! Here's a close up of the curtain, sofa and table. Sofa is not leather and yes, it's staying as I can't afford to replace and they were new only a few years ago. And then the table, which I think is oak and also staying.

I've been thinking this afternoon a navy wall with light grey on the rest might work? Or would that be too cold.

Really torn between carpets and wooden flooring so would appreciate the pros and cons of each, from what I've read wooden floors can often look nicer and last longer (and are easier to keep clean unless a drink is spilled on them?) but they're not as warm, which is a worry as I do like to be warm!

I would probably go for a scheme a bit like this. Maybe warm off white walls (Egyptian Cotton or similar) rather than pale blue, unless you can find a match for the curtain colour. The tan colours warm it up and work with your wood furniture. Some caramel coloured velvet cushions maybe. Dark framed pictures like in this photo would look good and give it some life.

Wooden floors best, given what you’ve said about under the dining table (same in my house). Or laminate/LVT. Also goes with the tan and blue scheme. Then a big rug to mark out the living area. A sisal or jute rug would be good colour wise, and inexpensive. La Redoute has a good range.

If the wood furniture is too much of a mish mash then you might consider painting some of it? You could bring in some darker blues that way. I would try to find blues that are a darker version of the curtain colour, I am not sure that would be navy, the curtain looks like it has some green in it? May just be my screen settings!

Yes, it's a bit like a bluey-greenish colour. What you've suggested is pretty much what we have now, though with a 'flatter' brown - so I could freshen it up with a warmer, more caramel paint along with an off white. You're right about the cushions as well - that would work nicely.

Having looked at the furniture again I think it's fairly matching once we get rid of the two pieces I've mentioned (though more by luck than design!) - they're the two that are completely different (both given to me at a time of extreme skintness) so I'll look for new items that will go nicely with what we already have.

I'm leaning towards wooden floors with a lovely rug but still open to hearing about the pros/cons. It'll certainly make keeping the floor of the dining room cleaner with the kids. I honestly don't know how they make so much mess. I miss having a dog, she used to look after that for me...!

I got wooden floors a few years ago and never looked back. Not cold at all, and nice rugs are fab.