My husband and I just put an offer on our first house. We're trying to buy it because it's a great deal in an up-and-coming neighborhood and has been completely redone, but it's not exactly done to my taste. We don't expect to be there incredibly long (5-7 years) so I want to keep resale in the back of my mind the whole time I'm painting and decorating which means I'm not going to paint over the dark wood trim. It's not my taste, but a lot of people do look for it in older homes (this house was built in 1900).

The next tricky piece is our sofa. A couple of months ago, before we'd even looked at this house, we bought a grey sofa from West Elm. So we're going to end up needing to make brown and grey, traditional and modern, all work together.

What are your thoughts for us? I guess I'm specifically looking for some paint colors that will work, but I'm open to other decorating ideas, too!