Impluvium House Contemporary Dining Room, Austin

This orange accent wall adds unexpected color while also differentiating the dining room from the living room in this open floor plan.

Don't limit your room to one paint color. Even open spaces have angles and corners where you can naturally start and stop different colors, so be creative. Bold hues and patterns will make your large room feel more comfortable.

Make preliminary decisions up front. The process will go more smoothly if you go into it with ideas about your preferred colors and finishes and know exactly which surfaces you want painted. Be aware that paint colors almost always look slightly different in print or on a computer screen, so use these only as guides. Paint chips, while not 100 percent true to life, provide a closer approximation, but the only reliable method of choosing colors is to test them on the walls (more on that in a minute). The painter you eventually hire should be able to offer advice on how lighting and other concerns will affect the hues you're considering.Take care of necessary repairs. Do you have cracked moldings, dented drywall or other structural dings that need to be fixed? Make plans to repair them before the painter begins work. A flawed surface can ruin even a perfect paint job.

Oriental rugs can be easier to combine than other carpets, because they often share a common sensibility and color palette, and the patterns are so detailed, they’re less likely to clash with other patterns. The mix works best when there’s a common dominant color, as in this yellow-based pair.

Fraternal twins. Although these two rugs are very different, they’re similar in size and color. The Chinese art deco dining rug helps anchor the table and chairs with its broad band of pink and mustard. In the living area, the Persian pattern swirls about under the glass-topped Barcelona table.

2 oriental carpets with a common dominant color

great room, inset mirror, color

table is similar to ours. refinish?

colour Zones and feature lighting over the dining room table

Bright traditional rug and abstract art