Here's a Houzz Ideabook about rich, dark walls:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/design-trends-plunging-into-deep-dark-walls-stsetivw-vs~51282
One thing you'll notice is that the trim and furnishings are often kept light, if not white. That's a good tip. You've got a beautiful space there, with lots of lovely windows. And you've got some chair rail molding, which I would beef up a bit (add a small piece of molding about 2 inches down from it and paint it all one glossy white--it will look like a big hunk of pricey trim). You could paint the navy above the molding and something else, like a fab gray, below it--or vice versa.
I'd take off the sheers--perhaps white wood blinds in their place if you need privacy and light control. Then drapery panels in a fabric that has some of your wall color, but also some lighter colors in the mix. AND, for a room this big and beautiful, I'd call an interior designer in your area and get some professional help--at least a consultation. It could be stunning!

Wow!!!! Thanks Decocco! You gave me some great idea's I hadn't thought of:) I'm resisting calling an interior designer - first house, tight budget but it's definitely been in the back of my mind. I really appreciate your help!

A tight budget is one of many reasons to call a designer! We do quick consultations that will fill you with ideas and resources and help you to avoid making costly mistakes! Good luck with your space and be sure to post pictures as you go along.

I agree with decocco. Navy above the chair rail, white below, white trim. You could go for a crisp, beach house type look - white, navy and neutral type accents. Cover your sofa in a nice white washable slip cover. Get some blocky rattan or white tables. Unfortunately, you are going to have to figure out something for your TV -- it can stay for sure, but all the black stuff it is sitting on sort of sucks the light out of the room. Paint your existing furniture white where you can, go to flea markets and craigs list and get others you can redo, and you can get this done on a budget. A round table/game table with lovely (can be mismatched in style painted to match) chairs in your bay window area would look great.

Since you have so much light coming in I would be thinking about the sheen on the paint and how light will affect navy blue. I would want the light to bounce off of the color. Get some inspiration from that color too. Go find navy blue in other places and see what it's paired with and how it makes you feel. Be sure to let us see the finished room. :)

Hire a designer

I think you could get some inspiration from Mary McDonald's website. (google her) In the Classic Glamour section of her portfolio there is a blue and black dining room that is just stunning. It still looks bright, yet she has used dark colors.

thanks everyone:) I was really anticipating some 'accent wall' suggestions. I'd even plotted out which ones... not sure that that would work with chair railings though:) Thanks again for everyones idea's I will check into all of them!

@hgrada, make sure to check out all of the comments your dilemma received as a featured design dilemma ideabook. We look forward to seeing what you decide.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/design-dilemma-share-ideas-for-a-navy-blue-room-stsetivw-vs~557661

nluker...I don't agree that this color scheme will look beachy - I have seen this white and navy (and dark brown wood furniture) create a Traditional, elegant styled room.

When I saw your living room I agree with the first response. You have chair rail trim running the perimeter of the room. Add more trim, which is called Appliqué and paint all of that high gloss white to match your existing trim. Then you can paint the balance of your walls black if you like, dark navy blue if you must. I paint the walls a soft blue, bring in delph blue accents, beautiful wood furniture and gorgeous velvety navy blue draperies. Rich, sophisticated, lovely. You should hire a designer locally to ensure it is initiated properly - Good Luck!

I just did my dining room in a neutral grasscloth and I love it. Instead of a navy blue accent wall, paint the rest of the room navy and do a grasscloth accent wall (although that can be pricey as you def need a professional installer) or instead, a paint treatment to look like linen or leather in brown/taupe/beige. That would offset the intensity of the blue (although I personally really like navy), appease your husband as it's still masculine, and add some cool interest.

I have had the navy living room.Loved IT!! It seems like a no brainer picking navy but some can go a little bright so try to "gray" it down a little.Buy a good quality paint in a flat finish.It will look a lot richer.As for your chair rail.Historically rails were to protect the wall from chair damage so your placement is right.HOWEVER,todays ceilings are lower and so the proportion is off.It would make your ceilings look higher if you lowered it to one third .Sorry ,I know that is a lot of work.I am not a fan of high gloss trim and white.I recommend a softer white and semi-gloss.I would also like to see a crown moulding put up.By now your husband must be hating me.:)Also,please do not do an accent wall.Your architecture will not support it.As A new home owner may I suggest Pinterest.The best computer tool around.I have all my clients pin a wish look so I can give them their dream house.Good Luck.

Lots of little 'pot' lights around the perimeter of the room and bamboo shades that 'filter'...but also let light come in through the windows.

My goodness lots of free opinions for you - google "images of navy blue living rooms" and hire an interior designer to come in an consult with you to work with your existing furniture and treasures. Get the individual attention you need. Some comments here are very personalized, and I don't agree with a lot of them because they are spouting individual tastes rather than what would work best for you. Attached are two very different ways to use navy blue - painting the walls, or bringing blue in with furniture. Big choice, majorly different - good luck!

beautiful cat...i love how they always pose for pictures :)
i think there are lots of good suggestions already posted, i just want to add that you might take your time choosing things..i'm sure you are anxious to have everything done--but taking your time and choosing patiently will pay off..

I would think about raising the chair rail up to the same level as the soffit or beam that separates the two areas...then paint the ceiling and wall above the soffit a white and below the rail the navy blue...then using white drapery panels with a navy band on the lead edges will balance the amount of navy color in the room...you could do a double banding with khaki added to tie in the sofa too. The strong vertical line of the drape would give height to the room also. I would move the sofa forward creating a traffic pattern around it if the room allowed...right now you walk thru the sitting area which doesn't feel right. A larger area rug will help define the sitting area too. Two chairs with a table between them would be great in a navy, white and khaki fabric, even natural wicker chairs with navy cushions and white piping and khaki throw pillows would look great. When you look at just the lines in the room the windows (tops) and doors and soffit form the strongest horizontal lines, the chair rail is just another "cut" and makes it too busy and chopped up...using the existing lines and enhancing it with the higher rail will actually open it up. I have put in high rails with this application and it looks great. If you're careful, you can probably pry the current rails off and just move up higher, ditching the bay area pieces all together. A larger piece of art (think Craiglist, or thrift store for a new large wood frame and paint and buy new print, even spraying the matting in it for a new, cheap piece of art) on that end wall will also minimize the amount of navy exposed...there isn't much left if you treat the room this way...so you minimize the heaviness it can bring. Look for an area rug that has navy to pull it to the floor, even a bound piece of patterned (home depot or lowes carries patterned carpet they can have bound on the edges for you) carpet would look great...good luck....

By the way...if you do move the rail up, it would allow you to mount the tv on the wall, and you could paint out the black Entertainment piece to a lighter color to contrast the navy wall. And allow for interesting assessories, 4-5 books standing up with a metal type bookend...a plant, etc...on the top surface...if you can't paint it, throw a light neutral scarf on it to get that contrast.
It's a really cute room, with great potential...

Hi ,Paint the lower panels Gold , a dark matt gold,and use golden frames on the navy blue walls .
But the better way is to hang a piece of navy things ,like a sheet on the wall and call your hubby to look at it ,maybe he changes his mind !

First of all, lovely room. I don't think navy would be too dark on the walls, if properly accented in contasting white. You already have the white trim. I would consider painting the bottom half of the walls white, to break up all of the navy above the chair rail. Yalu can add moulding accents to the wall toncreate a wainscoat look.
Navy and white is such a classic color combination. You can add any accent
color to this combo- such as red, yellow, lime green, orange... But I would keep the large upholstered furniture pieces white and add navy and white pillows with punches of your desired accent color.
First decide what look you are after. Is it traditional or sleek and modern? Navy and white can go either way. You do need larger pieces, as the room dictates that. I would have two separate seating areas. One in the t.v. area, and another in the bay. Two nice, large cushy arm chairs here with a table between them would work well. Add a large rectangular area rug in front of your sofa and chairs, with a large cocktail table or cocktail ottoman.
Consider fabric roman shades or long neutral white side panels, thickly banded at the bottom in navy, at the windows; or white wood blinds. The sheers are a bit dated. Decide on a look and go with it. You can also go nautical, if that is your style.
Your t.v. unit is too dark, and blends in too much with your t.v. It is also contemporary. I would go white here, or medium brown wood tone to break it up a bit. Mixing white painted wood and brown woods would look great in your furniture pieces. Art work with white frames and light backgrounds would punch up the navy walls.
On the subject of hiring a designer- it is actually cost-effective. By not making bad design mistakes, you are saving money. Buy classic pieces you can live with a long time. Most good furniture stores and showrooms offer free design services with a purchase. Go for it. It won't cost you any more, and your end result will be fabulous!

The white panels, if opened with a navy lead edge band , would look great if you put a woven wood, bamboo for instance, shade that you can draw up and down as needed, inside mounted, and outside mount the white panels on some white rods...there's a secret to getting a 1-2" projection for those rods that's simple, and just a couple of dollars if you want it...let me know. You don't have to use those 3" brackets that typically come with the rod...it's simple...
Regards....

We had a gorgeous navy blue living room in our last house. The room was 16 by 25 feet, with a bay window on one end and sliding glass doors on the other. There were 12 glass blocks on the side north wall. With the crisp white ceiling, trim and molding and the silver berber broadloom, the room was stunning. What I also loved was that electrical cords on lamps, etc., didn't show up and it was a lovely jewell like back drop for all of our wall art. Go for it!!!

I've painted a whole room navy blue before.. here's the trick..

First, make sure the navy is something you can live with.. that may sound like a dumb question, but if it's too green or too black, you'll hate it...

Second, paint all of the walls. don't paint the floor and don't paint the ceiling.. just the walls.

Third. If your woodwork isn't a stark white, paint it as white of a white as you can get it.. all the trim - door frames - window frames etc.

Fourth. Make sure the window treatments are either semi-transparent or white. They can have a small pattern or some other color.. but primarily white.. it tones down the darkness of the blue

Last. Lighting. You'll need a lot of it.. put lights on those ceiling fans if you are ok with that... make sure there are lamps - preferably silver/pewter/white.

I think you'll find that it's really not that dark.. it's more cottagey and the contrast will be great. Good luck!!!!

did you end up doing this? I would love to see the result, as I too am considering this in our new extension family room.

Please post updated pics I would also love to see how it turns out.

lots of white will balance this bold choice. the chair rail must go, crown moulding will help dress up the space and downplay all of the navy blue. white or natural upholstered items. Floor color is perfect for this choice. Also suggest removing ceiling fans unless they are completely necessary.

I agree that whites and pastels will help balance out the large areas of navy walls. However, I do not think color is so much of the problem for the "long, blue cave" as the furniture arrangement. First of all, I would suggest you place a floor lamp OR a small table with a lamp in front of the center of the bay window and place a chair on each side of the table/ floor lamp. Next, I would suggest you place the television on the wall where you now have the circular mirrors. Then, you could move the sofa to the outside wall so that people seated in the chairs at the end or on the sofa can see the television. You can place other small pieces in various places to see what works best for you.