Got all the stools put together!

Found this picture on the Pottery Barn website. There is red in the decor, but this is sure pretty. What do you all think of the color?

Shelly, I absolutely love the odor palette you picked. The golds, rust and black is so striking. I would paint the tables black to break up off of the brown going on . I think a nice shag rub will break up the wood also. I think adding some bright pillows would pop te room. And please do not paint tne wood shelves.

I'm assuming you wanted us to ignore the red in this last photo, and think the colours and textures incorporate parts of your palette nicely. It sounds as though we are all craving the warmth of some additional gold ( which I see the photographer sneeked in with beer glasses!)

My previous comment should have read color palette, not odor palette. Sorry... Lol

I think I need to clean my iPad screen ... Sorry for all of the typos.

I like Pottery Barn stuff. The red in the pillows is so well balanced with all the other colors that it enhances the color scheme, IMO, without overpowering it.

Have you checked out the southwestern rugs at Rugs USA. On holidays the have 50 or 75% off sale, so if you see something you like, check the reviews (usually very helpful) but I'd wait until Labor Day weekend.also check the fiber to make sure it's the material you are looking for. I was very happy with a recent purchase of an inexpensive oriental size large rug for a guest room. Most are synthetic but the second one below is wool. http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/milliken-kiva/ebony/279753200024-310054.html
http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rizzy-rugs-su1822/navajo-red/287SU1822-2606.html

Shelly, I really like your Pottery Barn inspiration photo, and noticed the grass rug, which IMO looks fabulous. Who says you need colour in the rug? You can accessorise with colour and pattern in the cushions, throws, art etc.

Wow - you guys - thanks for the comments/replies! And I agree with studio10001 - for some reason, GOLD is the color that is capturing me. That's why I'm leery of the red. (gag - gold & red would spell a potential disaster!). And, because I'm having so much trouble finding a rug that is limited to the color palette I'm trying to use, I find myself leaning toward the sisal (I think that's what they're called) rugs. The texture is what is appealing to me. The room needs some warm fuzzies - lol! I'm hoping to go this weekend to do some rug shopping. I promise to post my finds . . . if I have any. Because I work full time I'm limited to looking on line right now. Because this is a brand new house, we are trying to stick to a budget and not go crazy buying new things. But rather take our time with the selections. However, I CAN do things like refinish the coffee tables, paint the lamps, buy new lamp shades. So far its been suggested I paint the tables to match the mortar in the brick (a light cream), dark brown and/or black. Lamps, a black matte. So, now I have to make a decision. What if I tried stripping the tables and staining them with dark stain?

Oh, and P.S. Center Stage Design - we have absolutely NO INTENTION of painting our brand new built-ins. LOL. So far we haven't even hung up a picture as we can't bear to put a hole in the wall yet - silly, I know! Especially since my husband was a drywall repair person. Doh!

Shelly, Ikea have some sisal and jute rugs which could be worth a look. I like the organic, earthy look they could bring.

I forgot to mention, I like the idea of stripping the tables and staining them darker. Maybe something close to your built ins. Why does everyone want to paint them white??? If you have darker tables you may need to do a lighter coloured lamp.

Okay - here's what I think I might try. I want a sisal or jute rug for the floor, or one that is a solid gold color. I want to stain the tables dark. They are solid wood. Painting them doesn't appeal to me. All I can imagine is the paint chipping off for some reason. Maybe cuz I've never done any furniture refinishing is why I'm anxious about painting them. Then again, I've had the darn things for over 18yrs. They have been well used/abused, with water stains and all, so what could it hurt?

So, I get a sisal or jute rug. Paint/stain the tables dark. My husband and I like the idea of painting the wall behind the fireplace in the light greenish teal color from the color palette and the rest of the great room in the lightest color from the palette. What color should I make the lamps? If the tables are dark? Oh and new shades for the lamps.

I think this weekend, I need to gather up all the accessories I have that are still packed and take pics. Maybe someone will have some good suggestions about whether they can be used in this room.

Tried out a rug I bought tonight. It was such a miserable FAIL that I'm too embarrassed to post pictures of it. I bought these pillows to try to pick up the minuscule bit of greenish turquoise in the otherwise mostly brown and beige Oriental style rug. The color of the rug did NOTHING. And the style did NOTHING. The pillows look nice on the couch as they are the right shade. But its all going back. Can't keep the pillows until I have a rug. And the rug thing is making me crazy.

Went to the paint store also. This color is very close to the green/turquoise color in the color palette. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/hollingsworthgreen

We were considering painting the fireplace wall with it, and then this color:for the rest of the great room. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/ivorytusk Or the Lightning white http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/lightningwhite

Thoughts on painting the fireplace wall the turquoise color?

For the coffee/end tables, what about this color: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/harvesttime

or: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/deserttan

I'm getting completely lost. Can you tell? The only positive thing I did today was buy paint stripper for the coffee/end tables. Sigh . . . I hate decorating. I'm horrible at it.

Whoops Forgot to attach the picture of the pillows. Please excuse the worn out couch, but we can't afford to replace it right now.

I like your wall colour selection. I think the sisal or jute rug will definitely work as this gives you a blank canvas when choosing pattern and colour for cushions etc. The colour of the cushions are great btw. Looking at your Pottery Barn inspiration photo, I like the colour of the tables and can't see why this wouldn't work for yours. Sand them and stain them and then give them two or three coats of a polyurethane. I've done a sideboard which I converted to a vanity for my master bath and it turned out fantastic. Now I have about three more pieces lined up waiting to be done. It's very satisfying work.

Find a rug or a fabric that you are passionate about. One wher you love the pattern and the colors. Let that be the starting point for your color selections. You could also start with a large piece of colorful art. There are a million combinations that could work, but you need to find a starting point that "speaks to you" as a start. That's how to design a room that you will LOVE, vs. a room that is just pretty. All of the wood tables can be fantastic painted.

Honey, that couch is not worn out..get some Black Rock leather treatment and go to work on it. I have two new leathers I wish had some of that character...I cannot tell you how boring new furniture is. So predictable.

Hi Shelly, it may help to start with art and then pull your accent colors from it. Here is one idea and you can check out our page and our galleries for more.
http://ben-and-raisa-gertsberg.artistwebsites.com/galleries.html
Raisa

I stopped at Lowes on the way home tonight and looked at rugs. From yesterday's experience I know that a traditional style, oriental rug definitely does not go. So, I bought smaller versions of the 2 southwest styles they had. One is a definite no - the black/red one. The other one goes . . . meh. It really compliments the brick fireplace, but does not add any color. What do you all think? (Please ignore the bench on the back wall with the horrid green striped pillows. Those were going to go outside on some patio furniture. Now they're going back to the store. Failure seems to be my decorating style up to this point. Maybe its because I have no imagination. Every rug I try to envision I have to lay down in front of those coffee/end tables which are giving me fits.

I honestly don't think that this rug will do much for your room as far as color goes. I do like that the middle of it is lighter, it would add some lightness to the room. Is that RED I see!? :) lol.

I would rather see a solid sisal/jute rug.

It's not Navajo but it is your color scheme. t's a beautiful rug... I know because ia have it! :). You can check out my pics...however everyone bashed me bc the size is not quite right! :). Also...check out Benjamin Moore stratton blue paint!

Where did you get the rug, Amyz?? That just might work! :)

I bought it at arhaus. It is the samsara rug.Their stuff is pricey but great quality and the rug does not shed like the PB ones. It is a splurge but I have made too many mistakes buying something bc it was cheap and I end up hating it and end up spending more in the long run! Also I think you may be able to keep your lamps but change out the shades to burlap to add texture. You could possibly spray paint your base too.

Well, folks. After much searching, I dragged my husband through the rug section at Lowes while we were there getting other stuff and within 2 minutes, he said, "How about this one?" We like it. Its supposedly a "transitional" style. Not Southwest/rustic, but I didn't want anything over the top anyway. Our tastes are pretty eclectic. Now on to stripping and staining those darn tables. I want to stain them dark. Paint the lamp base the mustard color from the color palette and replace the shades with a burlap style shade. In the meantime, I'm trying to decide how to paint the walls. Should we make the fireplace wall the feature wall painted an accent color?

Doh! Forgot the photos.

Question for you all: IMO, I think this area rug is too small. Right now it needs to be moved out and more centered under the coffee table. When I do that, there will be a perimeter of bare floor surround all sides of the rug with only the table sitting on it. Is that ok? Asking because most photos show furniture sitting entirely on or partly on the area rug. However, this rug is a 5x8. The next size is an 8x10 which would be much, much too big. :/

Well done! No, I don't think you need an accent colour by the fireplace. It already is the feature wall,and changing shades will just cause another break there. I think the mustard/burlap combo will be just right,too.

It is perfectly OK not to have legs on rug. If is feels too small to you,though, you can have a binding added, or buy the larger and cut it how you like.

@studio10001. Thanks! Ok, that makes perfect sense - the fireplace/bookcases already are the accent for that wall. As I said in an earlier post, all the walls are plain white right now. We're going to paint them. We're thinking of a color similar to the light cream color from the design palette. But perhaps a few shades lighter.

I think the saturation is pretty good, so not too light - you have a large space and good sunlight,both of which will 'eat' some of the tone. Try large test boards over the course of a day or two to see what becomes comfortable. ( It seems you have been in your home for awhile (?), so anything you put against the white walls is going to look intense by comparison, initially).

@studio10001 - My home is newly built. We moved into it the beginning of July. I'm from West Texas. It is hotter than heck, but despite the weather, we've had to divide our focus between interior and exterior projects. Unfortunately, the exterior project of snake proofing the fence became a priority last week when our dogs encountered a rattlesnake (2nd one in 2 wks, 1st one my husband found). There is so much to do, it is overwhelming. The painting, and refinishing furniture will have to be moved down the list until it turns too cold to work outside. Our early winter months are generally the best for getting landscaping projects finished.

Don't forget to add some of the turquoise color around the room. I like the idea of putting that color on the back portion of your shelves, but I agree on not painting them. Get some stiff cardboard or sign board cut to fit very snug & cover it with a nice print in either paper or fabric. (You can easily change this out if you get tired of it.) You shouldn't even have to attach it to the shelf if it fits tight. You will have a lot of options in fabric. I suggest a slight pattern, maybe even tone on tone in a pale turquoise color. Go buy some small pieces of several fabrics & hang them up to decide. It will be hard to make your accessories on the shelves stand out against the dark background. There was some talk about using pottery which I think would look very good with your theme & gives you a chance to insert some color.

Also be careful with staining your tables a dark color because all of your other furniture & cabinets are dark too. Not that you can't do that, just make sure its what you want before you put in that much work.

Good luck with the snake problem! I wish I had some advice to give you for that!

Off topic - how do you snake proof a fence?...besides carefully, that is...

Love your barstools!

Hey Shelly, I don't know if you have a Hobby Lobby in your area..I saw some brightly colored pottery accent pieces yesterday that you might want to check out.

@studio10001 - snake proof fence is probably a stretch b/c I've been told nothing is "snake proof." However, we are attaching 1/4" hardware cloth to the bottom of our horse fencing. I don't have my pics onto my computer yet, or I'd post it.

@efmcgriff - Thank you for your kind comments. And, yes, we have a Hobby Lobby. I need to go check it out.

@chrisinky - thank you for reminding me about doing the back of the shelves. I'll make sure to look into that asap..

You had me hopeful for a sec. I was instructed to throw mothballs anywhere I didn't want rattlers!

Mothballs, replenished monthly help a little bit with the smaller snakes around the house, but the place will stink. Rattlers go where ever they want to. Even the smallest holes need to be filled. The small mesh on the fences helps. You can't accessorize the exterior porches the same way that you would up North. Flower posts and baskets are all comfy places for a snooze.

Thank you Susan Berry!! Finally someone who understands. In W. TX, decorating the front porch and putting in landscaping is really difficult. Every time I see something I like, I quickly think . . . no! Snakes. :( I'm completely lost at this point about how to landscape in the front (Of course, I'd be lost anyway. I have no skills! LOL). I'm going to go down to the local garden place and get some ideas. In the meantime, here's what the front of our house looks like, and a pic of the side porch where the dog door/mudroom is (where we found the snake!).

Hello Shelly, Pretty house! Start with the biggest plant you're going to plant and work your way down in size. ( trees etc. to small shrubs) plant in groups, not in rows. Plant your groups in odd numbers. ( meaning the same shrub, 3, 7 etc.) plant plants to accent things you want people to see and screen off areas that you don't. I also have a high pitch roof line. I like Arborvitaes when you need something tall. Please note, I live in N. Alabama and I don't know what grows good in your area. Good Luck and please send after pictures!

Consider getting some neutered feral barn cats from a local rescue. They keep the rodent population down and discourage the snakes. I also read something about mixing polished glass fragments with gravel in areas where you want a pathway. The local garden center is a great idea. You have a lovely home.

Hi Shelly, don't forget to show us the tables and lamps.

Hey Shelly, Any updates to share?

We'd love to see how it turned out too! Did you update the fireplace?

the brown leather sofa and matching chair are the problem with the decor. the room is fine. you can paint the brick if you like, or not. a light rug and cream sofa would completely change the look of the space.

btw, if the dogs are smart enough to leave the snakes alone, then just learn to coexist. they really will not go out of their way to attack you. I have uses a broom to guide them away from our house and they just leave. I am not swatting or mashing them with the broom, just sweeping them in the direction I want them to go. no screaming or swearing, just suggest that they will be safer else where.