I like your quirky room ! Easy first changes could be a warmer wall color ( no gray) and panels. I would remove the wall shelves and use more art. To my eyes the fireplace stone seems out of place. I do not have a good replacement idea for the stone, but i am sure that someone will recommend something perfect.

I love St. John’s!

The rug is pretty, are you keeping it? If so, pick out colours from there that you love for the throw pillows. Sage ,shades of green? Beige brown and green? Throw in some peach? Mix textures and patterns. Switch out the panels. Paint the walls a lighter warmer shade. I would even consider painting the mantle to white, I think it looks a bit off with the wood right now.

Some option to go with paining

Hi all! Thanks so much for your input! The Houzz app is making it a bit hard for me to respond, but there are a number of good suggestions here.

I’m intrigued by the idea of a warmer wall: I often veer to whites and creams (and with the intense warm of the floor would def lean to a rich cream. My kitchen, in the adjacent room is a warm white…that said, I was considering heading in a more saturated direction for this room : the daytime sun is amazing but it can feel a bit scorching (that is when the sun actually comes out…we are known for rain, drizzle and fog.)

I am aiming to keep the rug, @ladybug74. It was a $100 score from a thrift shop and is pure wool: awesome quality. That does mean I’ll need to veer softer in terms of the palette though. I think you’re right about the navy velvet panels: they migrated from the old house and we’re ok enough to use, but aren’t helping pull it together. Intrigued by the mantel idea…and yes to texture!

@grapefruit1_ar, thank-you! It has a lot of parts that I love (and artwork that is special to me.) The bright textile to the left of the fireplace is a favourite: it’s name is “friend of jelly Humpty” and is part of a series of outlandish underwater creatures :)

@celery: thanks for the visualizations: they are helpful! I do t think of myself as a green walls person, but I like how the colour affects the artwork!

The rug does not go with the walls. You can focus on the greens in the rug, which would look better than the yellow, but painting the walls is a better bet.

I like the rug! Great that it is staying.