Hey Judy - what kind of a mood do you want to create? really eye-popping and colorful, or more subdued (letting the red upholstery be the big pop of color)? Are you going to carry the color through to the dining room and kitchen, or are you just looking to create one accent wall behind the sofa?

Love the bold red. If you pulled a wall color from the framed artwork over the sofa it could make a larger overall composition with the print as it's focus--draw the eye up. It could be just the sofa wall, or all of them. If the red upholstery seems like too much sometimes, consider swapping out the solid color scatter cushions for bold patterned ones in contrasting colors. That's really fun because you can so easily change them when you want a different mood in the room.

Good for you!!! i really like them. you might consider black lampshades..always classy :) but perhaps on different bases..
something square maybe..but i am not a designer an di don't play one on here :)
cute dog!!!
i think the walls are fine as they appear in the photo, but the carpet seems off..or maybe it's just me :)

Try rustic taupe by Benjamin Moore, it's a gorgeous brown. Try to bring in a throw rug under your coffee table that establishes brown and red as the palette. Bring in red lamps with brown or black shades to add to the dramatic atmosphere. Hope that helps. Charmean Neithart

I have a red sofa and chair that I LOVE. I painted the walls a pale yellow with white trim. It really can be fun furniture. Sometimes, I throw my plaid, RL pillows everywhere as accents. At Christmas time, I put out red and white snowflake pillows and a throw (great find at Macys).
The room accepts a variety of plants for an added touch. Work with it for a bit...you will end up loving it, I promise.

i take back what i said about the walls now that i read Charmean's post :)

I would still go with the black lamp shades...

Just want to show you how a lamp could bring together a palette. I love Jamie Young lamps and shades, look them up online...they have great options.


Good luck. Charmean

I love red and gold together. Ai would paint the walls
Gold color and use black accents, such as the lamp shades.

Colour is so hot right now - I would lighten the walls in a really light grey and go crazy with some really BIG bold artwork. Play up with teal accents. I saw some great pieces at Pier 1 the other day. I just lightened my walls and did the same thing and I totally love the look. I agree - replace the lamps with some chrome base lamps - I've seen some with teal shades that could really look amazing too. Don't forget to incorporate the accent colours in the kitchen too. Good luck!

Sherwin Williams, restrained gold

Ok, without trying to offend anyone....this is a family room...please go casual and fun...for your friends and family!

Sherri, the green is a great idea!! I love green and have it in my other room with red...But, the pale yellow is nice, too.

Sherrie what a lovely cosy room !! I think the white fire surround in your room sets it apart, i think Judy has gone with dark furniture.Maybe work better Judy to go with the darker accent wall and black lampshades as someone suggested.Good for you Judy for going with colour !

No, people are making this room formal...it needs to be relaxed and going with black..lamp shades and dark walls makes it less FUN!

Hi judymc49, I have four suggestions depending how adventurous you are with color: Sage, Blue, Aqua, Brown ... The trick is working with the wood in the kitchen cabinets as well as the red sofa.

I actually think the wall color you have is fine and I love the furniture set! I think all that you really need is some different lamps and artwork. Both of them feel too traditional to me and that particular shade of gold feels a little dated. Since it's a family room, how about a wall of framed photos in varying sizes above the couch? Or maybe several sculptural pieces like sunbursts with different textures. Then surveyors lamp bases would be fun ($40 at Target) and fit it perfectly. Your dog is adorable, by the way!

I love it Dytecture. Love that bag of tricks you have. I like the brown...how about you judymc49? Hope you like one, thanks dytecture.

Oh my gosh, I was not expecting all these great ideas. I do love Dytecture's ideas for color, especially the sage. The lamps have to stay, I love them and kinda blew my budget on them. I think I would like to go with a semi-formal look. it is just my husband and myself (and our pup). But still want it to be inviting. Thanks again for all your ideas. I will upload a new photo with the area rug and valances that are now in.

The two small pictures look lonely, if you added a small table beneath them that would help.

Some white pillows with red accents of the same color as your furniture would tie in nicely. Also in the corner you could hang a green plant like a creeping charlie. I like this kind as they always let you know when they need watering.

You could get a red area trapesery rug to place under the coffee table in front of the sofa. I would get rid of the scones and picture behind the sofa on the wall and replace with a abstract with some light red or a painting with a red sunset.

I actually like the lamps and while I like the color you have on the walls you need to find a color that blends and pops at the same time. I always lean to a light tan but am not sure that should be the color of choice here.

I do not have a fancy picture program it is cut and paste and copy for me, I only put par of the red tapestry rug so you could get an idea of how it would look. The pictures are not all center as I have no way of uncrooking them and they are mainly for you to see what a difference the right picture can make without having to change the color of the wall.

Ok, no problem. Since you want to keep the lamps, try replacing the wall sconces(?) with the pair of small artwork from the other wall and see if you like that. It would make the lampshades make more sense and also fill the space above the couch without really having to buy anything new since the budget is tight.

Here are a few pics of the room with the area rug in place and the window coverings. Also, I threw in a pic of my lamps. Next question: what to do with the plain looking fireplace surround. Thanks again for all of your input, I can't begin to tell you how helpful this is for me.

I have a very similar sofa color and I went with Sherwin Williams Latte for the walls. My trim is all white.

Sherri, where did you get the curtina you have showing in this picture?

A nice Avacado green would be beautiful with that red sofa. One of my favorite tricks is to go to the fabric store, like Joanne's. Browse through the fabrics until you find the shade of your sofa and the color for walls in the print. Take home a couple yards. I match the paint from fabric for the walls and then make large pillows, a couple lamp shade appliques (sp?) and a window valance. The fabric ties all the colors together and looks very professional. The ideas are endless and you can change the entire look as often as you like. I change mine summer, winter, xmas, thanksgiving. You can even add a border of fabric to the bottom or sides of your curtain panels. I mix 2 fabrics, usually a stripe and then some type of floral or paisley. Good luck! Go with the green, trust me! Check out my look.

I did go with an avacado green, and I love it! I will try to post some after pictures. What, by the way, is a curtina? Thanks for the great ideas using the fabric.

Judymc49 Do you by any chance know the name and model of the lamp you showed? I am looking for that exact same lamp.