This is the sitting area.

I see a number of issues to be addressed here. If the living room picture is how it looks to me, do you have it set up so that you have to walk through the center of your furniture to get into the room(bad traffic flow). Your foyer wall is top heavy. If you divide a wall with chair rail, the bottom half should be darker(which is visually heaver and visually supports the top). It looks like your sitting room furniture is purple to blue your walls are cream or beige. The sharp contrast between the cabinets and the furniture make the room seem cold chopped up, uninviting and small. If you are considering a turquoise rug, you might also consider painting the same color. You need table lamp on each side of the sofa and one or two large pieces of colorful artwork above the sofa. If you paint please paint "all" the walls! "Accent" walls should be called "accident" walls or "coward" walls. Sorry to be so harsh. Hope this is helpful. Bill

Thanks for your help. No, there's an area behind the back of the sofa that is the traffic area. It's sort of an L shaped room. The dining room being the top part of the L -- the sitting area is in the horizontal portion. The couches are a chocolate (the pillows are long gone). The color is really off in the photos.

How do you feel about Chevron for this space?

Most of my furniture is brown to dark brown. Would something like this be too much?

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Handmade-Alexa-Chevron-Wool-Rug-5-x-8/6237730/product.html

Or maybe something like this?

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hand-crafted-Solid-Ivory-Damask-Embossed-Wool-Rug-5-x-8/5651847/product.html

I like Chevron as well. To me, it is a bit more trendy and not quite as sophisticated as a stripe but I love it in the right space. You have to think about what you do in this space (or better yet, what you want to do). Entertain adults? Hang out casually with kids? Then, decide what mood you want to create - casual, more semi-formal, energizing, lounge-like, etc. Just looking at pictures and ideas can get confusing. Answer some questions (seriously) about how you want to live there... If it is more hanging out with friends with wine and music, go more sophisticated with your palette and bring in more energizing colors. If you are having girls over or being with the kids there, bring in lighter and brighter tones - it seems to get little light. If it is mainly lounging with your family... comfortable casual design works best.

If most of your furniture is brown, I like doing a contrast with cool tones - grey and blue. but you could keep it very soothing and more traditional with all warm tones of creams and browns. You have to try the rugs... buy a few and try them out. you'll know what you love - it will hit you hard. YOU have to like the space, not anyone else. :)