Can you help me bring colour to my living room??

[blossomsmine]

It is so dull. Brown leather sofas, wood floor, cream (ish) walls, one wall putty colour, i have a lovely mirrow with a subtle gold frame on one wall, all furniture a horrible kind of light oak, looks pine to me though.....
The only colour i have put in is in the cushions, i bought quite a few which are all different patterns but a kind of duck egg blue colour......what else can i do????
Help......

Coloured rug on the floor? Vases? Pictures?

pictures !!!! ceramics !!! a throw, rug
Pictures I think are really fab - am amazed so few people have paintings/prints on their walls - I viewed 2 houses yesterday and there was nothing apart from a few framed Venture type photographs

some turquoise or dark blue might look nice
lamp
pictures
a throw
wallpaper one wall - quick and cheap and doesn't have to be forever

nice light shades - you can get organza ones in nice colours (Bombay Duck)

How awful, just realised how i spelt mirror
Yes....pictures....i can never make a decision on what i like so never get round to it, but will make more of an effort!
I am loving the idea of dark blue or turquoise, thanks everyone!
Would you say the turq/dark blue would 'go' with the duck egg blue cushions or should i change them??

don't be afraid to stick all the blues together ! I hate things all matching,just relax and be bold !

together
things look nicest in my opinion if don't look too co-ordinated
and any pictures - casual [not venture type] family snaps enlarged on photobox for a couple of quid a pop - quick and easy and low investment

Thanks, i will be brave then and start looking around for blue stuff i like.

I think that we've all been conditioned into thinking that neutral interiors are best these days which is shame...I like cool neutral walls with lots of colour added with accessories !

I'd put some zingy lime green in there.

yep, that'd be nice !

You are quite right......all the programmes i watch seem to say to go for plain, neutral, white/cream walls..........so now my house is boring and i am really quite scared about changing. I do like bold colours and pretty accessories but i am so scared about wasting money i tend to hold back!!
Thought i might have a little experiment, buy a few things of different colours then decide what colour range to take back!!!
I also have a problem in my kitchen, tbh it is abit dated but i can't afford a new kitchen so........i am left with white gloss units, black shiny worktop and white appliances, blue (kind of mid to pale wedgewood blue) and white wall tiles....now i want to introduce some colour............any ideas?? I love the kind of Cath Kidston look but a friend has gone over the top in her very posh kitchen with that look and i don't really want to do a cheap copy!!

that sounds like an excellent blank canvas to add colourful accessories and patterns blossomsmine.
Some years ago I painted my rooms quite bright colours but you do tire of them and also it can date very quickly, so now I do prefer muted colours but I do have loads of colourful stuff going on...overloading with Cath Kidston would look too much but the odd thing, say an oilcloth table covering, tea towel, etc with perhaps some proper bit of vintage stuff you might find would look nice.

How about the lighting?

Great lighting makes a huge difference to how a room looks - try going to a really good specialist lighting shop and getting some advice.

Thanks for your help, i just need to decide on a colour i think, do you think i should go with the blue in the tiles?? You can get some nice blue spotty bits and pieces around i think....
I do think i need some decent lighting......i have some ceiling lights but it is abit dull in here at nighttime....
Anyone know where they do really nice modern kettles?? Strange request i suppose but i fancy something abit different!!

go for little lamps, much better than central lighting...
and yes, I love blue anyway, start from there are look out for spotty and stripy (Cornish Ware is nice for kitchens- a classic) - kettles- there should be lots to choose from these days - I always hankered after an Alessi whistling bird kettle for the hob ! Laura Ashley has spotty stuff usually..certainly Cath Kidston does...or look at Emma Bridgewater housewares

emma bridgewater and cath kidston

and bombay duck

Thank you so much for the brilliant ideas and links!!! I am going to take abit of time looking through and then hopefully get started to cheer this place up abit!

am sure it'll look fab !