I actually think you might want to save the grey for another room. Your furniture is warm colored, and the grey is cool. The beautiful floors are warm too. Look up somewhere about the psychology of color. It will help you choose a color for a dining room that will make your feel relaxed and want to linger over dinner.

hi! thanks so much! what color do you think would work? :)

I would like a gold or golden yellow myself. Not wimpy pastels either.

If your goal is the brighten the room, I would paint the room a French yellow. It is a very traditional color that is warm and cheerful and will look beautiful with the cherry wood. Your furniture is beautiful...In the picture I can not see the color of the dining room chair seat covers. What color are they?

A larger, lighter colored rug would go a long ways toward brightening your room. I would put shutters on the window. I do not like to put draperies on windows that start that high off the floor.

I would stay away from yellow myself...unless it ties into the rest of your house's colour scheme.

1. I would go with a basic light taupe colour for the walls with a base of brown rather than grey. It will help tie the wood colours together.

2. I suggest you get rid of the rug under the table - it makes the table look solid and bulky.

3. You can make your windows look bigger by installing a curtain rod very close to the ceiling and the rod should extend well past the window trim. When the curtains are open, the curtains do not cover the window/trim at all. When the curtains are closed, it will seem as though you have a huge window.

4. There are no patterns in this room. Consider redoing the fabric on the chairs with complementary (not the same) fabric for the curtains. The dining room set seems to have a reddish quality....so maybe use the opposite side of the colour wheel (navy blue) and have a taupe/brown paisley with blue accents.

5. Your mirror looks way too small for that wall. A set of three long thin mirrors hanging in a row would look nice or a massive mirror that you mount directly to the wall, and then surround with trim to make it look like a frame. Or a huge piece of art (wider than it is tall). If you found a piece that you love, that could serve as the basis of the colour scheme for this room.

6. I can't tell what your lights are like but they can really make a difference. You could also have a decorative/functional floor lamp in the corner to help brighten the space at night.

7. Or....if you painted the walls a really light colour, you could paint the wall opposite the window a much darker shade of the same colour.

Good luck!

I think that a large print in grey and white would be great for drapery panels. Maybe an over sized damask pattern

I would mount a silhouette blind wider then the window so it looks a lot larger. I would also recommend a decorative rod mounted 6'' above the window with 2 panels 24'' wide and it should come to the floor.
This look will make your room alot more formal and finished looking.

http://www.blindsdirectcanada.com/blinds-toronto/hunter-douglas/silhouette-toronto.html

http://www.blindsdirectcanada.com/drapery-toronto/panels/pinch-pleat-drapery.html