Interesting space, what is the style you are looking for?

because of the size, I would choose a lighter main shade for the walls and would paint a large argyle pattern with a complimentary color (diamond shape)on the one solid wall.

It does really depend on your style whether that will work or not though.

I'm looking for something that is eye catching and dramatic yet not crowded.

I would like a wall sized painting on one wall, two arm chairs, a sofa and a small coffee table. I'm thinking about a light grey for an accent wall on the left side of the living room.

Thanks for the input Ikguzik and Dytecture!

Grey is an excellent color right now for walls...especially with white trim. Would be great if you could add nice white moulding around the windows and add white baseboards. The windows are great. If you want a more elegant look, you could bring the moulding halfway up the wall. It's pretty inexpensive. A nice square shaped iron pendant that hangs down a little would look great also.

Would you consider a warm caramel color in the room to balance the travertine tile? a long mirror one wall will make it feel bigger. Wall art on the other will be great. I wouldn't go with an accent wall. A small sectional sofa and one big chair would be more than enough with coffee table and end tables. I do like the idea of a chair rail to protect your walls! Hope this helps.

Oh yes. Forgot about the travertine. I would do the lighter warm beige tones. A large mirror is great. I have them everywhere because I really love alot of light. They really change the look and energy of the room. You might consider an iron lantern pendant light. They look so good with travertine floors. They can go with formal or casual depending on your decor. Are you going for a formal or more casual look. I was assuming formal with floors and furnishings.

I just bought a house and am remodeling it too...it's so hard. I can envision other people's rooms but not my own lol.

Wow! Thanks for all of the help everyone!

syd34, since we are painting before we lay the tiles, I was thinking that a warm color could drown out the tiles. I'll definitely keep that in consideration!

Would adding texture via paint look good? This is a typical California home and the walls are almost like stucco and I don't want the attempt to create some sort of pattern () to overpower the stucco like walls.

lkguzik it is SO hard!! I'm going for a more formal look for the living room.

I think the warm color would highlight your tiles. As far as texture, you might be sorry on that one if you decide to change it. It would be very hard to remove without taking down the drywall and redoing it. That would be up to you. Hope this helps.

I'd do the walls a light greige tone, alittle grey,alittle beige. Keep it soft and pick up tile color. HOw about if you do some stone or plaster in the small area between arches. Even slatted wood stained a red golden tone would be interesting. Run it all the way from floor to ceiling for an interest area dividing the spaces. Angle furniture in the room and stay away from the walls. I find a loveseat and two chairs works nice in small rooms instead of a couch. Floor lamps can be placed behind chairs to give more room as well. I'd create some kind of shelving on the wall opposite the two window wall. Place large art pieces for impact. I' not one for alot of clutter and small things, but if you are just group them together and use similar frames to not to look too distracting. If frames are different shapes and size it just paint them the same color.

very good

What a beautiful room. I would go with a bold wallpaper. Possibly stripes right around and in the crevice with the single window (the last photo) a floral.

cyn222 would you think something like this would work for a greige? I find greige very comforting! Great idea! For the small space that divides the entrance from the living room, are you talking about a stone face like this: or something like it? Would it be better to extend it into the entryway as well?

Thanks for all of the help everyone!

I also found this article for all of my greige/taupe lovers: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/going-greige-tips-for-choosing-this-all-around-neutral-stsetivw-vs~577375

check out revere pewter from Benjamin moore. I have it in my living, dining and kitchen. love, love, love this color. people cant believe it's the same paint color in all 3 rooms because in different lighting they all look different. in the living room where there is less light it looks grey, in the dining and kitchen where i have big sliding glass doors the sunshine makes it look beige but at night it looks grey(its pretty cool) and sometimes it even looks white or off white.

Sherry! I just searched the color in Houzz and it's so amazing to see the difference of color in so many houses! Thanks so much!

no problem!

I would add a mural on the arch or paint arch and landscape on adjacent wall OR: make one wall different color and paint a contemporary abstract design with color similar to other walls. It all depends on what style do you perffer. Check moore on : http://www.ulianka.com/

If you are doing a formal living room, you might want to think about the upholstery of your furniture prior to painting too. Drexel is quality furniture and is made in NC but has stores all over. You can choose the style you want and then the upholstery and order it from a store. The website have the locations of stores that carry it. Thomasville is another quality furniture manufacturer. But, you definitely want to think about the upholstery of your furniture at this time and even the color of the wood you will buy b/c you want them all to complement each other.

I tend to like antique white walls and add color with furniture and accessories including photography. A lot of the decorator magazines do that as well. Then if you tire of the accent colors they are easy to change.

I agree with Carolina Photo. Chooses your large ticket furniture items first. You can get paint in any color you want- not so with upholstered pieces.

I'm not sure if anyone here is a professional designer or not but I would like to give you a professional opinion. No one can tell you what to do with an empty room in your home without seeing the rest of your space and belongings. You have to hone in on your style first. Start with your sofa! That is the largest piece in your home. Drexel and Thomasville are the same company and both are now made in China. Look at norwalkfurniture.com, americanleather.com, vanguardfurniture.com. All made in the USA, made to last. Choose your sofa style and fabric. Then your chair style and fabric. Then you can decide what style/shape/size cocktail table fits with those three pieces. Then choose an area rug; www.capelrugs is a great resource, and then accent pillows. I would recommend adding fabric panels/draperies on the sides of your windows to add warmth and dimension. Then and only then should you choose a paint color and then after the paint you choose accessories. If you need help with furniture, you can use my site www.discountdesignerfurnishings.com and choose any of the manufacturers listed on there to save. Hope this helps!

And you have so many windows which is wonderful but because of that, any focal wall will either get lost or make your space very busy. Stick to a nice artwork on your one large bit of wall space and it will be lovely.

Thank you so much everyone. This is so helpful!

Travertine is cold and hard, and most people want wood and warmth. Keep that in mind for future resale value. Love the arches! Punch up one wall with color.

Looks like you enter your space in stages. That being the case, think about using shades ofyour favorite color, say greige, from a single color strip. Use the lightest shade for ceiings, and work your way from a light shade for the boxed in entry with less light, then a shade or two darker for the area with the single window, and last use the darkest shade for the larger room with lots of windows for light. I would be installing hardwood for warmth and resale value too. If you're in the tropics, travertine feels great on the feet, but otherwise, unless you can install a heated floor option, I'd opt for something else.

I like staying with a light neutral backround and a neutral toned sofa-simple lines -compact- no large arms. Two pieces of colorful art on the side wall would be great-yellows reds green tones are one thought. Whatever you go with pick up the colors in the pillows for the sofa and an area rug. Two chairs possibly tub style or rectangular again small scale and perhaps 2 interesting etched metal tables staggered as a cocktail-I'm thinking small12-18" circles. Pottery Barn and perhaps Pier One or World Market might have something like this. Garden seats in colors would also work. These are ceramic and circular 12"-16". You might be able to find them on sale now. Another thought if you want more wow on the walls is to do a wide horizontal stripe on the window and side wall. Stripes would be 10"-12"wide and light and medium beige tones. Grey could also be your neutral tone. I suggest you choose grey or beige but don't mix them. Small pharmacy or library style floor lamps on the outside of the chairs or wall mounted swing arm lamps would be good and a square table in the corner. I will submit one picture of this concept. The artwork could be larger. The picture shows a small scale glass top table.

Elisesarge 2 and decoenthusiaste, I think that the warm brown colors in travertine flooring would do quite nice in terms of warmth right? We are in the inner parts of southern California where it doesn't dip down too cold, so I would hope that the cold floors wouldn't be a huge issue. We are doing wood upstairs, just not throughout. Thanks for the tips everyone!

I think first you need to decide on a style and what you are wanting to accomplish in the space. Create the environment that is suited to the feeling you are wanting. Then you need to decide what wall you want to be a focal point. There is not focal point in the room. By not having a focal point the eye jumps from point to point with not focus. It creates a sense of discord and no place for the eye to land. You can create a focal point with art, wall color, wall paper, furniture, architecture. Once you have decided on the ambiance you are trying to create and what wall you want to make as the focal point. I think you will see the other objects will fall into place.

Bonne chance, let me know what happens.

Personally I feel lighting will play a main factor in this space. With that said, a) prior to making a decision are you open to changing out the present window coverings? b) What direction are the four and two windows facing? North, East, West, or South? c) Is there a ceiling fixture in the room? d) Do you feel that the recessed lighting fixture in the hallway will cast any light into the space?

I would suggest you paint all the walls an off-white color and then install snow white crown molding around all the ceiling/wall junctures to accentuate the shape and height of each room. Everything else you add will go with the two white shades, and the house will look so much brighter and more cheerful.

This will be 3 years old in 5 days!

For those who don't know, Houzz has a key word generator that pulls up old posts based on what you're reading. They're displayed on the right hand side of the page under the Related Discussions. Most are long dead threads so check the date before you respond.

I first would address the lighting in the room. Are you planning to keep the plantation shutters? If so, will you keep them closed or open them during the daytime? Light has a lot to do with color choices, and I would suggest a soft white for the walls. The entire area will look more cohesive and less plain if you add white-painted crown molding around all the wall/ceiling junctures. In the last photo, there is a partition that creates a little buffer area between what appears to be the foyer on the right and the living room on the left. Is there any possibility of removing the partition? If not, you could make use of the little buffer area by installing a shelving unit for small books under the window. If you would remove the partition, the foyer also could become a small sitting room or parlor. Your furniture you have appears to be colonial and is very nice, and you may want to stick with colonial or traditional-style furniture.