Thank you roj leather and Simon for your recommendations. I like the hanging chair and the almanda creeper on the wall. This will certainly liven up the patio.

I'm not against colorful homes. There's bright, and then there's too bright. I wouldn't go with persimmon for the whole house. The photo you provided has lots of white trim which offsets the orange, but your house doesn't have that much trim (unless you were planning on adding some, which I think would look good no matter what color you ultimately choose, but even so, I wouldn't go with persimmon for the whole house, as it's still too bright). To repeat what @nwduck said, the other homes in the neighborhood don't appear to all be done in the bright colors, and so yours would stand out too too much. I like @deco's idea of the bright door, if you really love a bright color. For the rest of the house, any more subdued color would be fine, along with additional trim around the windows, and assuming that your siding color coordinates with your roofing color.

HI RinaI do agree I love jewelbox rooms, but I consider them more cosy ... and with a grey marble floor it goes all Versace Italianate! I am trying to balance the colours by bringing in a pattern on the covers rather than plain. I feel this will bring colour without overpowering the room. In the pictures I showed above, the rooms are basically neutral but the colour is brought in via pattern - I think this might be the way to go...Ideally a green or blue on a subdued grey would be the best, but I dont know what the market is like for Sumit...Cushions can do a lot to tie in the other white/grey elements.Shelley - navy is a good suggestion, but as Sumits area is quite tall and thin, trying to keep the general area light Any more suggestions most welcome. These are just ideas after all and Sumit will choose what works for the room in the end ;-)

Cost is a factor also between papering and paint. 20 years ago, I painted and wallpapered everything myself. 10 years ago when I moved and bought a condo, I hired the papering and I did the painting. Last year when I downsized, my handyman and I just did the painting. No paper. I have found that at my age papering is too much for me. When I get down I can't get up and when I am up it feels too good to get down :>)