What about painting the walls one of the neutral colors from the rug (the charcoal grey, taupe or the khaki-type color) and then making it fun with some solid color animal (or dinosaur) wall decals, like this:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61167955/animal-wall-decal-with-trees-safari?ref=sr_gallery_15&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=animal+wall+decals&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

Nothing too busy, since there is already a lot going on in the carpet?

This would look great with a safari theme. Hunter green, or bright green would look good I think. Wood would also go great. Maybe a redwood or oak.

i like this idea. I will check out this link. Thanks.

I was thinking about incorporating wood into the mix. I like where this is going. Thanks for your input.

To brighten things up, you could also accent with the yellow/golden color. I love this rug! It's a great piece to work a boy's room around. I meant to mention, if you have a specific animal in mind that your son really likes, go to etsy or google "[animal] wall decals" and I'm sure you'll find something you like. They've also got some cute wall decals that are chalkboard material if you want to go that route. Good luck!

Your rug is wonderful. I see blue and tan mixing very well with this rug. I'd do tan walls and navy bedding with white and tan accents.

Navy is an interesting addition to the mix.

What a fabulous rug! I can see it as camouflage, or a jigsaw puzzle, or amoeba's gone wild.

I also see some denim tones in the blue/gray portion, I would take my cue from that. A denim comforter would be cool. If you can faux paint, a lower half wall with a denim treatment would also be cool. Add a chair rail in navy and his favorite animals in decals, because what he loves today will no doubt change next year. Denim truly is timeless!

Bobbi's idea of denim is perfect!

Mokota2000 what age is he? It's a wonderful rug for a boy, so many options to go with but should be age appropriate as well.

Restoration Hardware Baby and Child has loads of great ideas to add personality and charm to this room. Here is some ideas but of course dependant on his age.

Khaki bedding with Paleontological paintings in charcoal, steamer trunk dresser and desk in charcoal waxed canvas, and some great prints on his walls. Metal baskets or canvas boxes for toys and some bookshelves for keeping everything tidy.

Thats just one idea, I love their online catologue for kids, so many choices! What does he love? Engage him in the choices, I find when working with kids though, narrow things down to a choice out of three when so you don't overwhelm them, again depending on age!

I like the buttery yellow color in the rug for the walls. Khaki would be great too, but for something different I like the yellow. I LOVE the rug. It's adorable. It screams lions and tigers and bears to me! AND elephants and giraffes! I think they do make a grayish blue denim fabric if you wanted to do the bedspread etc. in that. Like the denim idea too as mentioned above. If you have some sort of animal scene/mural on the walls, or one wall, you could incorporate some olive and lighter greens perhaps. Grass, trees or other foliage intergrated with the animals.

i found this on houzz and thought it was a very cute idea...cheaper than hiring a muralist/artist. cutting animal silouettes out of wallpaper. You could use all the colors in the rug in solids or prints, or mixed, and add a color as well. It certainly wouldn't be boring. Just because the colors are duller than most children's rooms you see, doesn't make it uninteresting to the child, I don't think. They also make those paper mache animal heads as well. Not sure if that would be too adult in this case or not. That's your call of course.
[houzz=]

Great ideas. I am taking it all in.

another thing that i just thought of....you could replace the knobs/pulls on the gray dresser you are getting and use knobs that are one of the other colors in the rug. Keep the original knobs and when he gets older, use them for a more grown-up look. just a thought.

I have been looking for some oiled bronze knobs that aren't to expensive but look like they are.
I can't wait to put this room together.

To me the rug is a combo of neutrals - perfect for almost any wood tone or painted furniture and just waiting to be paired with almost any deep, grayed tone of red or blue, or even a bright primary if it is for a younger child. These can be in the form of curtains, bedspreads or even just pillows or lamp shades, all as changeable as your son's taste as he grows. Remembering what my boy's rooms always looked like, I wouldn't be too concerned about adding lots of color. Toys, books and kid's gear all adds to the color and activity in their rooms. The neutral background elements can help keep things a bit more calm !

wasn't sure how you felt about art or decoration, but I did find some whimsy for you....they have different colors and patterns of these. I didn't see any other animals, but they may make some. The animal heads are from a cool company in denver called DENY. Just saw the deer heads, but super cute. And a very cute bookshelf idea!

Such a coincidence that you found those. I also found a company named cardboard safari that has animal heads made of cardboard. They come in white or natural for you to custom paint. Here is the link. http://www.cardboardsafari.com/shop/results.php?keyword=&page=3&category=Animal%20Trophies&action=showproducts&locatekey=ccab54efb80c75c7f22f156a2ddf9006