The Green Antiques Idea book "Decorating with Chinese Antiques - Design the Ultimate Beach House" has some creative ideas about how to achieve a fabulous East meets West design which gels modern design with the inclusion of numerous antiques (some even painted bright colors as suggested by Blawnox Upholstery above!). http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/29094412/list/Decorating-with-Chinese-Antiques---Design-the-Ultimate-Beach-House This might not be the style which you are seeking, but similar mix and match old and new concepts can also be applied to many other style homes - see for example photo's from the Dream House project (a 7,000 sq.ft. Frank Lloyd Wright inspired prairie house which from the outside looks much like the world famous Robbie house). Completely different from the beach house example above, but nevertheless merging the old and the new in interesting ways. http://www.houzz.com/projects/594005

Hi again- I'm an Aussie and the term 'wood burner' means a metal box with a glass door on the front and in the situation where you have a 'double sided wood burner' that means two glass doors on each end. A wood burning fireplace open either side between two rooms is a different thing. Sorry about the confusion. I looked into building one of those in brick and was strongly advised to place a glass panel on one side ( as Ironwood has pointed out) the natural draughts that move through your home will take the smoke with it. A piece of glass will prevent this from happening.

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 ;-)

I really think you should use a professional to help you here, who would know the best colours for the light in your area. It's a very complex, interesting design, and may lend itself to more than one colour -- but you don't want it to look messy and patchy. Wow, I'd love to walk around inside your house!