I would not spend the time painting, that's for sure; I'd resent the time spent and the cost of supplies. I'd buy a bunch of flowers every few days and arrange them nicely in several vases. I'd also buy a colorful kitchen towel for over the oven handle for "show", to harmonize with each flower bunch I purchased. The flowers would be a treat for me, b/c I usually do not buy them and the coordinating towel would teach me a lot about color theory which I could use forever.

If your stay is just for a short time, I would try to think of things that can move with you to your new space. The kitchen sounds like a blank slate. Maybe some accessories that will work in your next space, like a rug or colorful appliances. (I have a pale yellow mixer on my counter that I LOVE.)

For the living room, maybe you can find some art that can move with you when you leave?

I used to live in an apartment I called my Beige Box. I used green house plants and colorful rugs, towels and pillows to brighten it up. I have found that large, colorful pictures are cleaner looking and make more of a statement than several smaller ones.

Thanks Very Much for the replies! Great advice!

I wanted to clarify one thing - it's a bit worse than I recalled when I wrote it: the kitchen is all beige also, exactly the same color as the rest of the place. Here are a couple of pictures..... I was standing in the "dining room" (whatever) when I took the panorama - it looks much bigger than it is!
oh, and by the way..... I'm male; :-) I love the idea of big plants, but I would kill flowers faster than I could get water on them the first day, and I feel fear and trembling at having to figure out how to make colorful pillows and towels work - really(!) but I like the idea of big rugs and pictures! Painting is okay with me also.
What can I do that is clean, simple, nice (elegant?), and maintainable by a male with marginal house training? What kind of rugs and big pictures? If I paint - I think I need to before I slide into a beige coma - what color(s)? Can I paint only part of it and make it nice? I think I like minimal-tending styles.... Any more thoughts based on that? Thank you!!!

Ok, good info to know! I'm partial to neutral walls, especially in a small space where the rooms are open to each other. Painting the whole place can be overwhelming and painting just one wall can make it look chopped up. You can get large ficus trees or other large, evergreen indoor plants at a home improvement store that are actually very hardy. Make sure you buy a saucer to put under the plant (they sell them near the plants) to catch the water. Only water about once a week and don't let water sit in the saucer. You will be amazed at how they will brighten the place. Move your couch away from the wall a bit and put a nice large plant next to the couch by the window and another one on the other side of the room (or in the dining room). I'd go with oranges and reds for your accent color. These bold colors will blend with the brown/beige and will make a statement with minimal items. Get a large area rug with those colors in it for your living room floor (put the coffee table on top of it) and one very large or two large pictures with those colors for behind the couch. Any pictures you like with those colors in it will be fine. You need a kitchen rug with those colors also and some dish towels that you hang on the towel rack on your oven to give a little color. Get a colorful picture with reds and organges for your kitchen too. You can buy two large pillows with red/orange for your couch to break up the brown if it still bugs you. It also would be nice if you could change out the ceiling fan for one that is dark brown wood. That small touch can make a huge difference.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

Maybe this living room is a little like your living room. It's even more deadly b/c the walls are so dark. However, the room comes to life with he black and white pillows on the sofa & those pillows might be good for your room, too, b/c they would tie in the carpet, yet add a bit of dash without being feminine pillows. What I think is really giving the room a masculine vibe yet not so boring-beige is the shiny metal lamp. Buy a lamp like this one (pharmacy lamp type). b/c shiny objects (not too many) in a room can help to liven things up for you. Here's another idea, buy a stretched canvas in an art supply house or JoAnns and some orange and yellow paint and paint yourself a masterpiece as seen here OR buy black paint and put it in a squirt bottle and doodle on the canvas, you'll come up with something stunning. OR a Marilyn graphic might liven things up You can also buy decals that adhere to walls without glue and maybe you can find one that will give you pleasure here http://dalidecals.com/

REALLY good input - thanks...... I'll work on it. Still seems intimidating! I'm thinking I'll at least paint some of the trim in the LR to a white.... it's just weird to have EVERYTHING the same - Ceiling, walls, door, hinges, trim, cabinets, cabinet knobs, etc.... I'm surprised they didn't paint the door knob the same color!

hi.you could go to the hardware store and buy some 2x2's in 6 foot or 7 lengths and some L brackets to nail into the corners to make a square canvass frame the size you want. The good thing about making your own is that the right lenght can be bought at the store (no saw needed) and they are cheap to make. Go to the fabric store and buy what you like and staple to the frame and it will do the trick for you. I saw one done in fun fur. And they look great! post pictures of what ever you do.

jewelgirl: fun fur? I love that idea

Okay, so I wrote out a whole bunch of stuff and killed the tab by mistake Argh!!!

Anyway - I am going to paint the trim baseboards white, I think, to break up the beiiiiiiige. I am getting the coffee/side table in this pic off craigslist (seems simple and nice), and probably basic ikea side chairs (yes? no?) the operative word here is cheap! (Sorry - economical!) I like the big painted canvas idea, so will do that, really big - like probably x5x feet, also I think I want a thin bench against the wall across from the couch for the TV (I'll have to figure out where to put the very small computer that will go with it). And I'll try to get some pillows with accent colors like y'all said. Oh - and I'm looking for the shiny lamp and a ficus tree too!

But finding a carpet is really throwing me! Nothing I see looks good when I see it!! Help? More detail? Any picture ideas? And then, What else? Do I need a shelf or something? More things on the walls? Where? Or not? Which walls?! I have books, but not a dire need to display them. I'm also not into tchotchkes at all - I like very clean and simple...... but not sterile. I really want to lose the ceiling fan - or at least change it; would that be better? Then what kind of fixture there?

I really appreciate all the ideas - thanks for your help!!!

I would not paint the baseboards white. You should not be drawing attention to the baseboards. Draw attention to he other areas of your house. The coffee table and side table will be nice. If you feel like paining something, pant the legs and the sides flat black so they repeat the sofa (leave the top wood color). Not sure what Ikea chairs you like are, but Ikea is a good bet usually. What colors? style? did you have in mind for the Ikea. Bench? I think you mean a thin table for the TV and conputer. Do you need a space for the printer and other computer and TV stuff? Think this out (what you need on table) and measure so you do not end up with something too small. Green foliage always helps a room, but if you're thinking a fake ficus or other green-forget that. Foliage needs to be real. Throw pillows sometimes help a room and sometimes they are a messy pain, either on the floor or squished up on the sofa and not looking too nice. So, I'd do the throw pillows last you might not even need any. Yes, shiny silver lamp(s) might be nice. I wouldn't get a new fan, again, you do not want to draw attention to a fan….draw attention to art. Center sofa on wall and have the large paining over that. That's all you need. As far as a rug, that one under the table on Craig's list is nice-how about something like that? You could pick out a few colors in that rug for your art. That rug has some black (charcoal) like the sofa, some beige like the wall & carpeting, some red tones like the top of the Craig's list tables. If you cannot buy that rug, get something similar. Are you thinking of blinds for the window/ door? Black blinds like the sofa might be nice. After the rug is in, the new tables, the TV computer table, the art..then look around (or write us) and see if you need anything else. Not too much all at once! For the kitchen, buy a black towel and hang it on the stove (for show) and a black grocery bag and hang that on the pantry knob. If you cannot find a rug with the blac

continued If you cannot find a black, beige, red rug..think of buying a red or red-orange rug like this room