Question:

Hi there,
Thank you for offering to help with questions!
We recently bought a house and are decorating the living room. It is the first thing you see when you walk in. Brown floors (medium brown, but there isn't great light so they look pretty dark) and white (with a tint of cream/yellow) walls.

We were trying to choose a color scheme before buying furniture. We found a painting that I love with vibrant reds and mustards and it looked great in the room. It has a gold frame which also looked good.

Next thing we chose was a carpet and we bought this one:
http://www.csnrugs./asp/show_detail.asp?sku=NT1567

It arrived and looks reasonably like the photo, but the red is a bit lighter and the yellow is more of a baby yellow.

The trouble is that now I am stuck and starting to question my carpet choice. The carpet is vibrant and the painting is vibrant, so I'm terrified of the room being too busy. My instinct is to buy a simple white couch and two simple white accent arm chairs and get a few red and gold accent pillows, lamp shades and curtains to tie it all together. But somehow white furniture feels very, very dull (and prone to spills).

Do you have any other ideas for what colors our couch and two arm chairs could be? I just worry about making this room feel too busy since we chose such an active carpet.

I have attached two photos of the room to give you a sense. I also attached an online image of the carpet, and a photo of the painting from which we are basing our color scheme. The couch in the photo of the living room is just temporary, but the real couch will go in that spot. The two chairs will live across from the couch on either side of the side table.
Any ideas for couch and chair colors to make this all look clean and sophisticated?

Thanks a lot!
Mitchell
P.S. If you think the carpet is wrong for the room that would be helpful feedback too!

Answer:

Mitchell,

Thank you for visiting my site and asking your question.

The rug and the painting both look very attractive with white walls and dark flooring. Your images don’t make me feel that the room is too busy. You may have this feeling because right now the rug looks too bold without complementing decor around it. Though the painting has the same colors, it’s too small for complementing such large carpet. So just go ahead and add more decor as you are planning. Your instinct is quite right, but if you are concerned about white furniture, here is an opposite variation: get a gold or mustard coach and armchairs, with red and white pillows. I would add also more wall decor – it could be some pictures in neutral colors with only little amount of red and gold in them. Wrought iron or wooden wall art will work fine in your interior. And, of course, matching curtains – they will give a finished look to your room.

Hope it helps you,
Alina