Congrats on the new place!

I don't think I'd paint that wall as an accent as it's not something I think you want to highlight. I really think you would be helped by some inspiration photos that will help you determine your style. So go to houzz.com and look for rooms that strike your fancy. Or get some decorating magazines and/or furniture catalogs, and rip out the pages you like. After awhile, what you'll find is you select a similar style over and over again. That will help you determine what your style is. Also, start looking at the practical aspects like layout and function...do you have room for a dining table there? Would you want or use one? Maybe a bistro table with a couple of chairs? Do you need a lot of seating for visitors and family? Or do you rarely entertain? How do you use this room? Reading? TV? Games? Make sure that your design incorporates the functions the room has to support. Think about lighting too.

If you need a good primer on decorating, I suggest looking at Christopher Lowell's 7 layers of design...he'll familiarize you with a step by step way of decorating a room to get the room you want.

Thank you for the input Annie. I suppose you're right that there's really nothing about the wall that I would want to highlight. My problem right now is that it's just feeling so 'blah' and unhomey.

There is a dining table to the right of the couch in the photo. It's very open and I'm having trouble making everything look cohesive.The lighting is also very terrible, it's very florescent which is going to be changed soon. I'm sure that the lighting isn't helping with making it feel welcoming. I have found pictures of styles that I like and it seems to fall between traditional and rustic, but I don't know how to translate pictures to decorating my actual living space. Maybe I'm over thinking things.

We use the living area mostly for watching tv and there is dog beds and toys in the corner. I was thinking about buying a lighter neutral colored sofa.

I watched some of the video and will watch the rest of it tomorrow. It's very helpful, I've never thought of decorating as layers, thank you for that!

Jade, sharing more photos of the area, from different angles, would help us help you.
The video of Christopher Lowell 7 layers of design is very good. I think he's brilliant not matter what your style is.

grapefruit maybe you're right about the grey. I had seen it in photos online and liked how it looked. Do you think a beige would be better?

justgotabme here's a couple picture of the rest of the main floor. The windows are all going to be replaced as well, they are smaller than regular sized windows so they don't let much light in.

I'm also going to be replacing the dining room table because I'm hating the style of it.

One thing that will become apparent as you study photos of rooms, is that decorating doesn't happen in a vacuum - one must take into account what one has to work with first; the cards you've been dealt so to speak. For example, your living room/dining area floors appear to be a warm, honey color. You want your walls and other color choices to work with the floors, not fight them, along with the kitchen floor. Those are both large, pronounced expanses you cannot ignore. Unless of course you are changing them. Trying to superimpose a color scheme without taking what you are starting with into consideration will likely end with disappointment. BTW, it's hard to tell what the colors are in the kitchen floor with the lighting - green, grey, yellow? Good luck, this will be an exiting journey!

Congratulations on your first home! Moving into your (very own) first place is the most wonderful feeling. Your pup looks as though he/she has staked out her/his own spot already! Very cute.

Take your time. Treat yourself to fresh flowers for the coffee table and/or dining table and just look around you. Imagine how you will live in and use the space. Look at the video and other pictures. I always think of the advice to have only things that you find beautiful or useful in your home. You have lots of time, so relax and enjoy the journey. Your place is full of possibilities and it will be such fun for you to make it your own! Oh, and I love that window in the kitchen and the floor in the living room (not sure grey would look so great with those floors, though)!

As far as paint for the walls, I would wait until you have the new windows, if you are changing them immediately. Light really affects color and you may find there are more possible choices once more light is coming in the windows! There are so many brilliant folks here to advise you on that when you are ready.

The pictures are very helpful. Out of curiosity, what is the black square on the wall by the dining table that has a cord coming out of it? Will the a/c unit go or be replaced?

Another suggestion, before you start buying furniture is to work on furniture layout. It only takes a few minutes to get the hang of homestyler, but it can be very helpful for making scale drawings, adding furniture and moving it around to see what works best for your space and functions. One mistake first timers can make is to buy furniture that is too big for their space....just because it fits in the room, doesn't mean it's a good scale. Instead the layout will help you see traffic patterns, walking spaces, room for end tables, etc.

A lot of the coldness in the room right now is due to the white walls and lack of lamp light. Adding an end table, even a temporary with a lamp on it, can make a huge difference.

I think the nook where the little chest is could make a great desk/mail station area if you need one...or it could be a cute corner for dog beds...

What is your favorite thing/color in the room? I think you need to find a starting point to base your plan on, and go from there. I like your rug, the blue island, and the wood floors. I think the black leather couch and dining chairs look stark against the white walls.

If it were my room, I'd probably buy a lighter color couch and loveseat/two chairs. I'd put the couch in the same spot, and the loveseat where the dog bed is. I'd put an end table and lamp in the corner between them. I'd probably paint the walls a warm cream color. I'd put tall bookcases on either side of the TV, and move the dog bed to the little nook along the half wall. I'd probably get slipcovers for the dining chairs, in a light color or pattern, rather than get rid of it. A few red or orange accents would look great.

Good luck, enjoy your new home!

I think the harsh overhead fluorescent lighting is really affecting the way your home looks and feels. Start by adding some floor and table lamps and leaving the fluorescents switched off, to see how it feels.

I love your living room floor, I think warm grey walls (Just as B< Revere Pewter) could with them, but I would really recommend the color we painted our townhouse - which is BM Mascarpone in eggshell. It's a warm white and it goes with everything - it will keep your space light and bright but not harsh and stark like the current blah white.

The style of your home - the cabinets and floor - appear t be more traditional, so maybe traditional and transitional furniture would look good. I would wait to buy furniture until you have a better idea of how you want the space to look.

Thank you everyone for the advice! You've all given me a lot to think about. I hadn't thought of using the nook as a more functional space...what a great idea! I agree that the dark furniture with the white wall and florescent lightning is making it look so cold and harsh. I'm going to be working on the lighting first like you all suggested and then go from there. The couch and dining table are going to be replaced with warmer colored furniture after I get the lighting situated.

The kitchen flooring is going to be replaced. I haven't figured out what color tile I'm going to go with yet. Any suggestions?

Right now my favorite thing in the living area is the warm plank hardwood.

Also, the black square is where a pellet stove was. I'm not sure if we're going to be putting one in or if we will be sealing it off. The A/C will be moved to a less conspicuous place once we get the windows replaced.

I love your floors, too. I would look into running the planks all the way into the kitchen. It would be a cohesive look and be beautiful. I have always had wood floors in my kitchen and with the right finish they are bomb proof. I made jam the other day and they saw a bit of boysenberry juice spilled where I didn't see it right away, but it wiped right up without a hint of a stain. They really are easier than any other surface to keep clean if you get a Swedish finish on them.

I agree with olychick if you plan to replace kitchen floors, that it would be great to match the planks if you can and carry that in to the kitchen. I really love the look of cohesive floor material throughout an open floor plan. If the wood is not in your budget or can't be matched, I think a natural type tile such as slate would work. Travertine type would definitely not work with the existing wood, the beige-pink undertones would clash with the orange undertones of the wood.

Sorry about the typos in my previous post, my cat was sleeping on my arm and I was typing one-handed, something went wrong there :)

jade5280, sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. Thanks for adding more photos. I see you've already have loads of help. I didn't take time to read all their comments, but will share my virtual of the colors you wanted. I think by bringing in some buttery yellows in accessories, like you already started with the chevron pillow, the floors and very light gray walls could work. It appears that your rug has a very pale gray pattern.
I did the accent wall along the dining room with gray WT's there and blue WTs on the pale gray wall.
Once you have changed your lighting and enlarge the windows (which I did a bit of for you) I think you'll be very happy with your home.

@olychick @tmnca My first thought was to continue the hardwood, but it has rather large cracks between the boards that allow fur and debris to collect. I wasn't sure how this would fair in the kitchen with dog kibble and water spills.

@justgotabme wow that looks so great! Thank you! I think just having the drapes to break up the wall space makes it look so much better.

You're welcome jade5280.

Hi everyone, thought I would update. I followed some of your advice, but went ahead with the grey wall color and I'm loving it! No accent wall. We aren't sure when we are going to replace the windows and I didn't want to wait any longer so I decided to go ahead with the painting. Got some new furniture and used the blue rug for the dining table and bought a new one for the living room. It's still a work in progress, but I'm happy so far. I need to add some colorful accents, but I'm not feeling like there's too much blue anymore! Waiting on new lighting to come in, but should be here soon. Will be buying a new couch next, any advice on couch colors?

Blue? ;) Cream or Off-white (I would say linen but you need some contrast with the drape color) or you will start thinking everything looks beige/brown). Grey looks like it would work with both your rugs.

I was kidding at first with the blue, but I have seen some gorgeous blue and blue-grey sofas recently. I'd really like to play on those rug colors. Worst case, you could paint the kitchen island in a weekend and go darker (Navy would look great) or to a different color all-together. You could also try simply glazing it to tone down the bright blue. But if your favorite thing of all is the blue island, keep it and make everything else work with it.

Thanks! I think cream would look great. If I can't find a sofa in that color I could always change the drapes. Blue could actually work too!