A large. light colored, area rug will help with the floor. And you might consider putting half the sectional in storage and getting a light color chair.

Light bright pillowed that relate to your African art, will help take away the darkness of the sofa. There are some great fun, graphic animal prints that could incorporate some color and life into the space. Make sure your white is a little softened- not a true white- and if it's an eggshell finish, it will help bounce the light around, which will also help. An area rug, as previously mentioned should help lighten the floor, too.

here are a couple of images that might help

ALICIA BRAY

A new couch that is more in scale with the size of your room is needed. Craigslist that one.

Hi---I suggest painting the walls a medium/bright green---white could be too stark and make the room look even heavier. A sisal rug to break up the dark sectional and dark wood floor. Good Luck!
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I agree with the light colored rug, (simple, no pattern design). A nice sisal or jute will be a good contrast with the leather. Textured pillows in soft greens and creams will also be great with your coffee table. Don't worry about the scale of your couch, it can work. Besides replacing sofas is expensive and it looks comfy! Hanging mirrors over the sofa will bounce light around the room. Maybe paint the wall behind your couch one of the accent colors you use in your pillows? It will look great.

One other thing...If you can take down the heavy curtains. use the sheers over some matchstick blinds for privacy. You'll be surprised what a difference it will make.

Throw in some orange and red.

Thanks everyone.... I kinda like everyone's suggestion. I will start by finding the carpet.... Will remove the heavy curtains ( i already planned that one... Until i find blinds). Then i will go shopping for cushions, lamp etc. will post pics when i am done!!!!

Paint is what's missing. The sofa looks so dark because the walls are so light. You could also change the curtains to a much lighter color. The sofa and current curtains are sucking all of the light out of the room.

what color should I paint the wall behind the couch?

Burnt orange might be quite nice. You could just paint this as a feature wall, sticking up 3 pictures on this wall to add further interest.

Of course- this might not be to your taste but I think a bold colour- especially on one wall might work really well!

I think you might be happier with a more subdued color. Bold color is saturated and grabs the light. Maybe a soft green from your coffee table. When you take down the drapes it will open everything up. Putting green on the wall will bring the outdoors in and really open up the space. Sort of erasing the boundary between walls if you know what I mean.

Any light color for behind the couch, and jazz up the wall with some art pieces with bold frames.

I'd go with cream or some warmer shade of "white" on the wall, if you aren't crazy about using a bright color. The white you have now is too stark. Choose a color from the trunk you are using as a coffee table. Following the Africa theme (South Africa, I presume from the trunk), get some African print fabric and have some pillows made, use some panels in the window, rather than the curtains (which are the wrong style for the look you're going for) and perhaps some reed shades to drop in the evening. Get rid of the lamp in the corner and replace with an arc lamp like Lite Source Linterna Arch Floor Lamp Style # 2C177 or Mica Shade Arc Floor Lamp Style # 52329 from LampsPlus.com. Good luck!