your place is contemporary. What about a few bold artworks by Kim Parker?

Are you in Germany? Since the paint is German.

Carolins, yes, I am in Germany.
Should white curtains be heavier than the ones I currently have (from the "before" pictures)? They are lightweight.

I am trying to decorate the corner ledge of my staircase and I can't find any solution.

Right now I have some pictures on the ledge and lower wall.

Please give me some ideas!

Ideaplace, thanks for your ideas. I like how that pillow pulls in the green and teal. Would sky blue be a third color or does that not count? I feel insecure about oranges and pinks... Like they would go with the wall and not the couch or vice versa...

@vayling, if you can start your own dilemma you'll probably get a lot of ideas. Just click on 'advice' and go from there. Good luck.

I do like the airy feel of the lightweight curtains, so if you don't need a thicker fabric for privacy or blocking light and they are just for dressing the windows... I'd keep to the lightweight curtains.

You can add different shades of blue and green if you're uncomfortable with adding other colours like mustard yellow or orange. No problem ;-)

I asked where you live because then we can look for items that are available to you maybe. I was also wondering if the Ikea rug that I showed you above wasn't available in Germany, but it is. And I've also tried out the Stockholm rug in your room.

Here's a vase that would be lovely on your credenza, either empty or with one branch in it:

http://www.impressionen.de/impressionen/de/Wohnen/Dekoration/Vasen-und-Uebertoepfe/Vase-formschoen-gefaerbtem-Glas/produkt/l6560830?fromSearch=true

Rug maybe?

http://www.impressionen.de/impressionen/de/Wohnen/Heimtextilien/Teppiche/Vintageteppich-Unikat-Baumwolle/produkt/l7015097?fromSearch=true

or

http://www.mirabeau.de/accessoires/wohnaccessoires/teppiche/teppich-merignac-8052065.html

Ikea used to have a big green glass vase-base table light. Can't find it any more. Would have been perfect on the credenza too :-/

But fortunately they do have these vases:

http://www.ikea.com/de/de/catalog/products/90232977/

http://www.ikea.com/de/de/catalog/products/00216175/

Ooooh, love those green vases! A lamp with s green vase base would be great... I am going to look out for something along those lines. I like the rugs too. I really love this rug... Do you think something like this would work?

Yes, if the colours are right which is difficult to see online. Here, to give you an idea of the different options so far:

So far I like number 3 best...

I tend towards bolder geometric patterns lately... But maybe that goes against my goal of making the space relaxing!

Would you mind giving me some ideas for pillows?

Also, do you think that brown/teak chair goes? I was considering having it reupholstered... It is 35 years old and shows wear and tear.

Yay! I wanted to ask you if you would consider reupholstering the chair :-) The shape is lovely.

I've been looking for pillows available in Germany, but couldn't really find ones I liked. Will have another look. Are there any furniture stores/websites that you can recommend?

I like the patchwork rug too, it's interesting and the colours look lovely and soft on screen. Quite relaxing I should think. But I still like the first Ikea rug too.

I'll also take a look if we can get some ideas for upholstery fabrics.

A few ideas for fabric design solutions from ARKfabric. Using groups of two or three fabrics blended together can create the perfect design for your home. Our samples are generous.

I wish you had a non-sectional couch. I would have advised that you just purchased a slip cover for your couch until you were able to select the couch that you preferred. Paint color is not a bad choice...just doesn't vibe with the couch. Been in your shoes before.

Beautiful fabrics!

What color to reupholster the chair??? Greyish?

I agree, I also wish I didn't have a sectional too... We bought this couch and then ended up moving soon after... Decided to hold on to it. It fit perfectly in our old place but it is wrong for this room.

Some stores/sites here are Bo Concept, vossberg.de, Impressionen.de, kokon.com, kare.de

I'll take a look at the stores you mentioned, meanwhile I found home24.de. Found lots of lovely rugs and pillows. And a lamp with a green base! Having fun finding different combinations, so when I have time I'll try out some other examples for you if you like.

I particularly like the look of this rug. It has so many colours in it without being 'in your face colourful'.

I also liked the look of this lamp: http://www.home24.de/kare-design/tischleuchte-wire-tripod-mangoholz-baumwolle-eisen-819124

Hmm?

This could work too http://www.vossberg.de/TEPPICHE/Teppich-Tangram-natur-beige-170-x-240-cm.html

Love your combinations!

My mother-in-law was just here and she didn't like the alcove... She said it looks gloomy... Now I am feeling insecure about keeping the color.

I like that muted striped rug the best so far, I think.

I like the lamp too... For the credenza?

Where is that rug from in the picture with the orange pillows? That looks good too...

Ah, but your mother-in-law may not like it, do you, your husband, the kids like it? If not, change it, if you do like it, keep it :-) Yes, I thought lamp for credenza.

The rugs are both from Home24

http://www.home24.de/safavieh/teppich-azeo-creme-155-x-229-cm

http://www.home24.de/esprit-home/teppich-samba-stripes-sand-masse-200-x-300-cm

Hi, so... what's the verdict on the teal blue wall?

Here's another version, using the patchwork rug, assuming you're keeping the blue ;-)

The verdict is that we are keeping it for now, though everyone seems to have a different opinion on the teal wall. I noticed that it does look dark there for most of the day. At the moment, sunlight hits that area for about an hour on a good day. We need more light there. We also need shelving and a solution for hanging files. not sure whether to get something built-in, and what shape and color to get there. But maybe I am getting ahead of myself.

I really like what you just posted... I would like to go see the lamps in person... The teal one looks nice on the page but I have ordered from that store before and the quality is often not that great. I just haven't had a chance to live-shop at all.

How many pillows do you think I need for the couch?

How do you do that with all the different products on the same page? I can't figure out how to post items from other pages on here without making a screenshot of them first.

Ever since you mentioned home24.de I've been browsing around there. And etsy... To be honest, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all my room changes at the moment and how to proceed, what to start with, etc. I would love to get things settled here and in the kitchen first, since those are the common spaces.

I use photoshop to put things together.

Finding a rug would be a good starting point. Just go with what you like. Forget the green couch, forget the teal wall, choose a rug that you love. Thén think about whether it will work with your green couch. Would be ideal if you could try it out and if it doesn't work return it.

In the last mock up I used this pillow from Vossberg

And one from etsy. That particular one is out of stock, but I found another Etsy seller with lots of green/teal pillows. https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/191991290/pillow-mix-match-any-size-pattern?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=teal+lime+decorative+pillow&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery Even if it's only to give you ideas for what you could look for.

I'd use three pillows. I like the look of masses of pillows, but it's just not practical. They usually end up on the floor.

What do you think of either of these rugs? I like the patchwork rug but prefer it more muted like these.

I like them both! Lovely and soft colours. Can you go and see them in person?

Yes, I can... Will try tomorrow or next week sometime.

Hopefully they are just as nice in real life. I think my fav. is the Vintage Douceur Sky.

As far as I can see it also has the colour of your dining chairs in it, or a similar colour.

So love the direction you're headed here! Carolins has given you some great advice. I love your latest rug and all of the decorative pieces being discussed. I think the teal wall in the alcove is the way to go. It really helps define a separate (office) space and at the same time harmonize it with the adjoining living room. It also adds a pop of colour to brighten the space overall. The wall doesn't need to match the sofa. You might be happier with the result if it was a bit closer in colour though.. Something with a bit more green in it. You had mentioned Farrow and Ball so you might want to look at Green Smoke or Card Room Green.
http://houzz.com/photos/9186091
http://houzz.com/photos/21832337
I also think adding a lamp or two with halogen bulbs to the desk area will help brighten the walls it.

Love the elephants too! You should use them. Once you settle on a rug, I think your next priority should be window treatments. I think you need something with a little more structure.

The geometric carpet you like the 3rd one, is there a close up for that? Is there a peachy tone there, I think that would be a great color to pull out and use all around for the pillows and next to the green/blue wall.

If you bring in one of these brighter colors, golds, yellows, peach, orange, it will be a nice distraction away from too much blue from the wall and sofa.... I like this idea. I would def decide on which rug and go from there. :)

ideaplace, which carpet do you mean?

Seeing those yellows and oranges on the screen really does look nice...

The rug I like best seems to be more along the tan/blue spectrum... here is the closest up I can get. Is this the one you mean?

There is also a version of the same rug called "coral"... Also posted below.

This one... is it available? See the peachy tone next to teal. Love those 2 combinations.

What about going more orange in the carpet altogether if you can't find that other rug.... Such as this:

Or you could go a drastic tone down.... with some teal

I like the bolder colors of teal with peachy orange bit

First two are Wayfair other one....I'm not sure where I found it....;(

I like orange more for accessories than for a rug. Orange and mustard yellow are great combined with greens and blues. But orange is a vibrant colour that you can easily get bored of if it's not the right shade (believe me, I know from experience ;-)). And you wanted a calm feel for your room. I really do like the patchwork rugs in the softer colours. Especially if there's a colour in there that kind of hints towards your dining chairs too.

I have however been thinking about a colour for the upholstery of your chair and I keep coming back to mustard yellow. Will work great with the green but also with grey if you eventually get another sofa.

I'm tending more towards the neutral rug because it allows for me to more easily change things later on.

I like the idea of mustard yellow for the chair too... It would go with green or orange. At the same time, I am hesitant to reupholster it because it looks complicated.... Lots of buttons... I imagine it will cost about 1000 Euro... Over my current budget. And because it used to be my father's chair and I've known it in this color for 30 years... But I guess it is time for a change!

I went rug and accessory shopping today, but didn't see anything I liked besides one pillow. More shopping next week!

Agree with ideaplace222 about the chair. If it's not broken, don't fix it :-) So if it's still in a reasonable condition, I'd leave that until you're truly ready for it.

Hi, how are you? Any progress?

I was just on a furniture-hunt myself, we need a new sofa, and what did I see in one of the shops? This is the floor lamp, thought it looked pretty good.

Oh shoot, ehm... well, you get the point ;-)

Hi Carolins,
Thanks for checking in! I am doing okay, been very busy lately so not too much progress has been made on the decorating front. But I was at the store too early and they weren't open yet so I drove further on to Ikea to look at the striped one there. And I'm quite sure the same one you posted, but the striped ones there looked very dark and the colors seemed all wrong.

I did find the green vase and bought it, along with two pillows for the couch, one in teal and one with teal and green flowers on an off-white background which still don't seem to really come together very well. Otherwise, I bought lots of little more pieces for my bathrooms. I will post some pictures tomorrow when the sun is shining. i'm not really sure what to do with the credenza because these and the current lamp have the same shape and to me it just looks weird.

I didn't realize that lamp was a floor lamp – I thought it was a table lamp. Where did you find it? Where do you think I could put it? It looks a little bit insect-like to me… Not sure if my husband won't like it.

I found this site called Joss and Main which sends emails with "special offers" a few times a week… do you know it? Lots of cute ideas there. I'm just hesitant to order something online and not see it first.

Did you find a nice couch?

Sorry, I lost a chunk of my sentence there… I actually went to the rug store to look at that patchwork rug, but they were not open yet. Maybe on Monday…

I think the lamp comes in floor lamp and table lamp version. They only had the floor lamp. I'm in the Netherlands, it was in a furniture shop in Groningen :-) Made me think of you, which is why I took a photo and posted it. It looked okay and was against a teal background. But if you don't love it, don't buy it :-) It's probably too industrial looking anyway.

We did find a nice couch, sat in about 100 and it's surprising how many sofas just aren't comfortable enough. For us that is. Husband and I both have long legs, so seat needs to be deep enough. Still love our old sofa, but husband would like a new one. So I'm not sure if we're actually buying one, but we liked this one (but in a different colour, not sure yet which colour though):

Like the couch, especially the piping along he edges. We also have the long legs issue. The couch we currently have has a low back so it lends itself more to lounging around, lying down, sitting cross-legged etc than sitting normally.

We hung some pictures today, still didn't find the right solution for the teal alcove. We have several small pictures, thinking of doing a wall with several, though all are quite dominant and I think too busy for the space. Still thinking about it...

Well... we went on another sofa hunt today, went to see the above sofa again, fell out of love with it, lol. Still like the shape and design, but it wasn't as comfortable as it felt yesterday. Went back to see another one we liked too yesterday. At least, I liked it. Husband thought it was kind of okay. I still really liked it and he loved it today (duh). So, we'll see what we eventually end up buying. It's never a straight forward thing. But... we always only buy what we absolutely love and we've never regretted a furniture item we bought. And it always goes together.

Maybe you can do a collage of the busy, smaller pictures above the sideboard?