The first thing that bothered me in this room is the distance between the seating area and the tv area and that both seem unrelated in everything. I think what you should do to pull everything together is the following: 1) Move that sectional away from the back wall and the curtains (placing couches against the wall is outdated now) and closer to the tv 2) Center the coffee table under the chandelier with the sectional placed 16 inches away from it 3) get a console table of a height equal to the sectional's back 4) place few decorative items, stacks of books, candles, lamp shades whatever you find suitable on the console 5) someone mentioned that the two accent chairs are not in scale with the room. I totally agree with that. You need wider chairs with a low back 6) A rug is a must and two are better than one, layered of course !! But make sure the biggest one is big enough to place all the seating on it. 7) pillows and a throw will add warmth and texture too...

Formal living rooms are rarely used from my experience. I can't tell you how many times I have "re-done" them for clients because after living in a home for a while the home owner realizes that they are wasted space. My advice to you about a formal living area is to leave it undone for 3-4 months and utilize the rest of your new home. See what is missing. Do you need an office, a den? A library? Quiet reading area? An exercise room? A craft room? Or maybe you really do need a formal entertaining area for your multitude of guests that come around every weekend where you entertain very high-brow style. But figure that out first otherwise your investment will be wasted. Part of why you and your husband are drawn to different furnishings is for these reasons: 1) The function of the room is not well established. So he envisions sitting on a big bulky comfy couch watching TV, and you envision sipping tea on a gorgeous ethnically inspired piece of furniture and chatting with your friends. This can only be vetted out with time and understanding how you as a couple will use all of your house. 2) You have different ideas about home design. Your husband is interested in comfort and you are interested in style. You will need to find a happy medium. Instead of saying well his style isn't going to fit with my style, think about how he can have a comfortable piece of furniture in the room that is perhaps tailored enough to go along with some beautifully wood carved, ethnic pieces. And this may actually enhance the look and make it look less "themed". And at the end of the day you may want to consider hiring a designer to help you through the process - often times that can help you weed through the process of balancing out form and function and his wants and your wants in the space. Best of luck!

There are so many wall colours that would work with your neutral furniture, that the first thing to do would be to consider what colours you might want to use in the rooms. Look for inspiration pictures and create an idea book, then use what you like to help you choose rugs, drapes and bedding before choosing the paint colour. Do you have any existing art that you want to use? That could give you clues for fabric colours and style. I wouldn't use the same colour scheme for the two bedrooms, exactly, although I might try to make them look similar by using some colours in common and keeping them in the same style. On the other hand, if you have a child who has strong ideas I'd say let him or her have considerable say in the matter for that bedroom (just this side of reason).

Leather sofas can really dominate the room and can give an overall cold feeling. I would add some earthy elements, like a wood coffee table with glass or metal. Go to Restoration Hardware's website and look at their sofa room scenes. And I'm sorry I think the art is too harsh for the room. That's all your eye goes to in the room. too overpowering. I would look for something softer or maybe a cool mirror and I would add color to the room with pillows and some colorful lamps. I also think woven blinds would look great. They add warmth and give a finished look. The color of your window treatments should contrast your wall color a bit, not match it or else it starts to look generic and blah.. You have warm walls, warm floors and the woven blinds, like Hunter Douglas brand would pull it all together for you.