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skorskimus Have you heard of Venetian plaster? I think bringing that wall down to a more old world color could really help out. Venetian is actually pretty cheap from vasari and the depth of color creates a really inviting space. I would also think a lot about the lighting in the room. It looks like the overhead light is overwhelming the space. Consider adding a few inexpensive wall sconces attached to the light in the corner. Lastly, if there is a budget for it, I would definitely suggest a rug and coordinated curtains. You will be amazed at how much warmth an area rug can bring to a tile floor.

Good Luck! Don't be afraid to make mistakes, it adds character :)

ruthmand If you love the blue wall leave it and get a nice rug and a couple of pillows for those sofas to go with it. Inexpensive area rugs are easy to find on line or at stores like Ikea. Get something fun. If you just hate the blue, paint it. You will probably have to put a white primer over it first and then select a nice fresh color that goes with the new rug you are going to get - right? While you are at Ikea's, or wherever, get a couple of inexpensive curtain panels to hang over the blinds or to replace the blinds all together. These are easy and inexpensive fixes and would definetly cheer your place up a bit.

Darzy I think the blue wall is fine. An area rug you love (with some blue and brown in it) and art pieces above the sofa would make it more inviting.

Darzy Here's a blue/brown fun rug.

http://www.rugs-direct.com/ShopDetail/Details/154365/Surya/Basilica/BSL7159/MushroomTealBlue

Manon Floreat I think the first thing to do is to remove the chair rail to the left. Then paint the entire room a warm off-white or a solid grey, like Bennington Grey or Revere Pewter by BM. If you want blue to be part of your color scheme, look to add it with accessories. If budget allows, think about getting a better fitting slipcover for the brown sofa, an area rug and some curtains to replace the vertical blinds. Some of the indoor/outdoor rugs are quite nice and animal friendly.

houssaon That is one bright light. Can you lower the wattage? Get a soft white bulb not a clear one.

You can get one or two colorful posters to put on the blue wall from allposters.com Un-framed they are a bargain. All subjects even goofy ones like this take on a classic.

syhilkemeyer all you need is one oversized poster/print/piece of fabric. Look for something which will pull brown, blue, & the yellow together. Adding one more pop of color, such as a red/orange/ocher/green will help pull it together too.
My vote would be one oversized print or a funky quilt. Even a flag would work! One piece centered on the blue wall.
From there, find a piece of fabric which has all of the colors. Make pillows & curtains out of the fabric. Add some contrasting pillows...& the room will be great!
One more thought: either paint the coffee table or find a round one. It'll make a huge difference!

Cheryl Bergman You have a lot of brown and I see something red in the corner or the photo... I think painting the blue wall red and having a cream colored accent wall could be a good bet for you. it will make the room look really warm which it sounds like you want and can make a HUGE change almost right away for you. Then you can go for a piece of artwork or something or go to the dollar store and get tons of frames and make your own artwork--- just print out pictures that inspire you or look cool, and, voila- art. Then just grab a couple cream or red colored throw pillows and a blankie from Target, and you will be set.

bprince300 The blue wall dominates the whole picture - Try softer colored walls, softer lighting, two matched sofa covers (can you get another brown one ?),

Find a rug with your chocolate brown and at least two other colors in it - large enough for sofas to sit their front legs on the edges.
Install a rod above the window/verticals with just a simple valance or combined with solid colored drape panels at both ends - choose a med - dark color from your rug - other than the choc. brown.
Get several bright colored pillows for the sofas in solid and/or pattern (chosen from other colors in your rug)

Coffee table appears to be fine - just clean it off and add some nice books, interesting pottery, a tray to hold remove controls, etc.
Home DIY stores sell round wood 'tabletops' that you can screw directly onto the folding table in the corner to enlarge the surface. Then throw a simple, solid color cloth (one of your pillow colors) over the table that will hang to the floor so you can store items underneath and it will look more substantial.

Keep an eye out for one or two comfy chairs to replace what appears to be a dining chair at the close end of the pic. If you need the other little cabinet table, consider painting that one of your colors and use it between the pair of chairs - if not use it elsewhere.

Look for new or clean, gently used items online or garage sales. If youre in a metro campus area, there should be all kinds of household items for sale at the beginning/end of each quarter/semester when students are moving. Good luck and have fun !

nathaliegw hum, really i love your little pieces of furniture:your coffee table and the table with the lamp and the charming one on the left side of your sofa.i think that these 3 pieces paint in white against your blue wall would look really good, adding a picture long, rectangular of "santorini island" white houses on the blue wall (greece) and changing your brown covers for a mix of blue& lime greens & slateblues. i think that would really light up your room and yes i beleive the light bulb on the ceiling need to be warmer.you can find inexpensive paper lamp shade which work wonders. a rug under your coffe table would me nice too but since you have 3 dogs, i understand that it might not be convenient.
any other piece of wooden furniture can be lighten up by the same colors scheme that i suggested for your sofas covers. it is amazing what a brush and a bit of paint can do !!!and if you can not afford the paint, look for garage sales or warehouse sales.best of luck!!!

rupe2 The blue wall is way too overwhelming. Paint it a neutral color and put a punch of color in your room with an inexpensive area rug......Ikea, Marshalls, JCP,are great sources.

ktm11990 You need to invest in a large rug (probably 6x9 or 8x10), window treatment, pillows and wall decoration. Pick a color theme you like and make sure at least the rug and pillows have those colors. This will tie the room together. You can find it all at IKEA if there is one near you or you can search for a rug at antique / thrift shops. West Elm is also a great inexpensive source for everything you need.

If you like the blue wall, then you need to embrace that color and make sure the rug & pillows have some in it. If not then paint it a neutral color / the wall color. It is a bit of an odd place to have a single accent color wall. I think you would be better served by a large wall decoration. This could be a large wall print or a collection of photos, prints, or something more sculptural and eclectic like plates, brass 70's wall hangings, record album covers, book covers or ???? Get creative and think about hanging something that says something about you or your interests. Almost anything you can hang on a wall can be fun and interesting if you collect many of them and hang them as a collage. In a pinch you can buy a book with great pictures in it and lots (20+) of cheap picture frames, cut out the pix, pop them in the frames and voila! Even if you keep the blue wall, you should break it up with some kind of decoration.

The vertical blinds are awful. Getting rid of them will do wonders. You can buy inexpensive pre-made drapery panels often for the same price as fabric. Try IKEA, West Elm or even Target or WalMart.

Also, yes, if you can, either replace that light or put it on a dimmer, although it is hard to tell what it is from your photo and it may be that the picture makes it look worse than it is. You could even buy a simple cheap rice paper chinese lantern to replace it with a softer light source. Make sure you have a couple table and/ or floor lamps with fabric shades so you can adjust the light which is key to controlling the mood of a room.

If you have money left, replace that dark brown slip cover with a lighter neutral color and get a nice throw in one of your accent colors to drape over it. And if you want to take your redecoration a step further you could paint your wood furniture pieces ( or at least two of them) a fun color in your color palette to tie them all together.

Good Luck!

Aggie Purvinska I like your accent wall, usually they are in the wrong place, but paint it brown like the sofa, put creamy white sconces on the wall, from IKEA, put a mirror or a painting in between, buy a new brown, cream rug, buy a new drum lampshade for the table lamp, spray paint the upholstery of the red chairs with brown fabric spray paint and you are done! Your main scheme will be browns and creams and if you want to add blue pillows, go for it.

mjlatour The overhead light is too bright, how about changing it to a track light (careful which type you get, some of them have very expensive and hot burning light bulbs), then angle the lights. You are probably on a budget being in school, so get some fabric with blues, browns in the remnants section and stretch it on a frame above couch. A few home made throw cushions, and some big ones for the dogs in same colour scheme. Rugs aren't 't too practical with dogs, you 'd be vacuuming non-stop. Could you paint out the tables to all the same shade to unify?

treeseachanger Lots of ideas here already, but I think if you want a more restful, welcoming look, you can achieve it by either toning down the blue wall or get rid of it and paint it taupe or neutral. Also if you can, get rid of the yellow wall as well . It's too much with the deep brown and mustard throw and the dark blue wall, they are all competing against each other in terms of the strength of the hues. An area rug can then become the feature of the room. Why not try browns and blues for the rug if you love the blue? As for dog hairs on the rug, it's worth it as the rug will zone the space and make it look comfortable and cozy.

jvanasu A budget is not a hindrance but a spur to creativity. Start with that in mind. :-) First decide what you want the room to feel like--do you want a place to relax e.g. read and watch entertainment? Or do you simply use it as a gathering place adjacent to the kitchen/dining room, or . . .? Do you want a beach, desert, mountains feel, do you like Italy, Japan, France or want to go with American (early, mid, or contemporary)?
Decide on these things and be very specific about the feel and what function you want the space to perform.

Then choose colors. Paint is the cheapest way to go. You can go with a contrast as you have now of blue and yellow, or some other contrasting colors if that's what you like or go for an all over look by painting the walls one color (I like the above suggestion of a soft gray). The all over color will make the room look larger.

I agree about the sofa cover and drapes. Sure Fit makes some good looking canvas covers for around $85-90. You can often find these at TJ Maxx or Ross. If that is too much to spend, buy a white cotton sheet at the thrift store or Wal-Mart (if your politics allow) and use that until you can afford what you want. Or buy several yards of heavy material and use that. Either go plain, like the sheet and or canvas (speaking of which Home Depot has some great canvas drop cloths that come of a size to cover that sofa and they look good-(around $30.00), or pick a stripe or print that works as a focal point. You'd be surprised at the looks you can get with this method, then buying or making some cool pillows in a contrasting print, or solid color.

You have one side table that looks like the Southwest influence, if you like that you could go with it. and paint the coffee table or strip it if it's wood and oil it, giving it a more rustic look. Whatever style you pick look at some photos of the style then just replicate it with paint.

The lights will make a huge difference. Go for floor and table lamps as you can get them cheap at Goodwill or other second hand stores (and you can spray paint them any color you want and pick up a shade at the same place).

I see a place like yours as a wonderful challenge. As a financially challenged academic I have had to "make do" certainly for my student days, but even after when as a new university instructor my salary was pathetic. This became a game for me, and I've come to really enjoy using alternative recycled materials, quilts, posters, whatever I can find cheap and to suit me, to create a place that reflects my tastes and needs.

Have fun with it, and your guests will enjoy it too. You didn't give your field of study, but let your style reflect what you really love and if you really love your field, bring in items/art/methods that are influenced by it. E.g if you're a musician hang your instruments on the wall, if you are a scientist big prints of atoms, stars, whatever--you get it. I hope you will send us a photo when you have completed your project.
Judith

Christine The wall is fine. Everything else needs rethinking and redoing. First off pets. Everyone loves their pets but we allow them to sprawl all over and that has a tendency to drag down a home's decor. In the words of my mom. "If god wanted us to live in a barn he would have made us animals" so find a more central area for the dog and his (ahem) bed and train your pooches to render themselves on to them. You can find inexpensive doggie beds at Costco for $20-$30 bucks. Then you need to get rid of one of the couches. My pick is the leather one but the one with the blue cover since it looks all beat the hell up. Then get rid of those odd side tables. They do not fit the room and they just do not fit the space. I can't offer up any other suggestions because the photo only shows one angle but take more photos and submit them with a baseline for what you want to spend and let us all know what colors you like and we can be much more helpful.

Off the bat I would get White frames (Ikea baby!) and put up some photos in a orderly set of rows on the blue wall and then head over to west elm and find a console table (the Parsons table is becoming a classic but shes getting pricey) but invest and put her under the pictures. Then where the leather sofa is I would opt for maybe pulling it forward in to the room and put another console table behind it with 2 lamps that shed illumination on the sofa. Then you need to get some more elegant window coverings. Go Hunter Douglas Duette they allow light and a view in when open and shut it out when closed. As for the light. I can't see what you have but try high hats and/or get a hanging fixture. That's all for now but keep in touch.

Christine BTW. I love the blue wall. Maybe its the wrong color blue but the room could use a bold statement. maybe paint the entire room blue and that makes your accessorizing much easier. Cream, white, beige, pops of lime green, etc.

Krista Roney Remove the clutter! Everyone else has great decor ideas, but finding bins baskets and drawers for essential items and using those old candles (until they are GONE) and trashing unnecessary clutter in favor of one or two treasured keepsakes will make all the difference. And it hardly costs a thing! Ikea is great for cheap storage ideas, as are thrift stores for baskets. Good Luck!

loishapi Three basics to calm your room: LIGHTING: key to creating ambience so invest in floor and table lamps you LOVE and soften the overhead light: PAINT: do you LOVE the colors? If so - stick with them; if not - try something new. FOCAL POINT: you decide and organize your placement of things around it. A focal point could be the WOW factor - a bonus for any space. As is the BLUE is the wow. If you LOVE it then work with it. THRIFT SHOPS for lighting etc.

Krista Roney Next FREE idea is paint chips! Get tons, to match your walls, floor, couches, etc. then work with the paint chips to find no more than 3 color families to work together, one which should be a neutral. Arrange the chips in the same proportion you want them in your room. So, that couch color takes only a 5th of the paint chip collage, the wall takes almost a third. Paint all your accent tables and coffee tables the same color. If you like the bright walls, think an accent light turquoise or pale yellow, whatever matches that amazing rug you found (right?). Drapes and accent pillows should pick up and carry the theme colors.

If you are overwhelmed at so much planning while you are in grad school, don't overthink it, buy the cheap (coordinating) rug drapes and pillows that you love, then paint the walls and furniture to complement them.

lkrose If you feel like painting - you might be able to find free paint from your local recycling center. I've posted this link as an example. http://sunsetscavenger.com/hazardousWastePaintRecycling.htm

lkrose How about adhering this screen up flat against the wall? It would bring some texture to the room and your could fill it with photos of places/people who are important to you.

cypress Here's some ideas on the "cheap", paint the blue wall (or entire room) a neutral color. Place some inexpensive art over the sofa, put a dimmer on that ceiling fixture, bring in some colorful throw pillows,
and an area rug. Get rid of the dog beds, blankets and clutter. Go to IKEA for inexpensive home goods! You'll be amazed at the transformation!

Crystal Entertainment Corporation I like all the ideas mentioned and there are plenty to choose from do not be afraid to go to all the places mentioned. Be sure to post photos when you are done with the project.

rachelsmac I'm an architect with a wonderful lovely welcoming home and a giant dog AND a toddler--so I frown on any anti-dog or anti-mess sentiment restraining your decorating strategy. Mostly, I think it's the tiles that are killing you. They are acoustically, thermally, and psychologically cold and hard. Find a rug. Check on Craigslist. I found a fab huge modern wool rug for $100. And yes, it needs vacuuming, but that only takes a couple minutes. While you're on Craigslist, be on the lookout for a round wood coffee table replacement. It's easier to maneuver around with couches and two sides, and brings some nice curves into the space. Also, in terms of Feng Shui, that angled wall coming into your room is bringing harsh energy. Try to soften it by putting a tall potted plant or some kind of soft hanging fabric on that outside corner. Once you have those elements in place, then address the accent wall color and subsequent pillows, art, etc. Let your rug be your guide.

simplify52 Oh how I remember college life and a few years post college as well. . . . use what you have, take most everything some kind soul wants to give you and make the best of it. In my college years we had to keep the white walls, no painting allowed. Now I'd tell you buy some paint! I'd tone down that blue wall. I believe your other adjoining walls are yellow. I'd paint it the same yellow. If you can get two couch covers the same I'd do that but keep in mind what color wouldn't show the dog hair as bad as brown. I would get rid of the table in the corner and use the one near the hallway. You need a bigger lamp with a bigger lampshade. Get a tray for the coffee table in maybe a black and put your candles, remote, etc. in it. Get drapes for the windows and take them all the way to ceiling (length permitting). With three dogs an area rug may be too hard to keep, if not bring in some color with that. All of this stuff can be bought at Ross for very little money. Don't worry too much about your home right now. Study hard, have a good time, make lifelong friends and do a job that makes you happy. One day this "home" will be only a memory and you will be able to get things you love (and you just might have fond memories of the "big blue wall")!!!! Good luck and happy decorating!!!!!

matigans Accent walls in small rooms are overwhelming. Paint stores often have paints on sale that have been returned. Try a soft color same on all walls. Overhead light too bright, use a soft warm bulb. Get area run, matching covers for sofas, couple hanging light sheer curtain panels, fun lamp for corner, and couple poster prints on the wall

Marie Hebson's interiorsBYDESIGN Inc. Hi chelseamount, Marie here. Lots, and LOTS of advice. If your living in a rental, don't do a thing - find an area rug that you love that has the blue, brown and yellow in it then throw a couple toss cushions on the brown sofa in the blue and yellow - TA DA - it'll look much, much better.

If you want to repaint, then find that inspiration fabric from a cheap and cheerful toss cushion - then use a paint colour pulling one of the colours from that inspiration point. Keep the sofa's, add an area rug, carpet remnants places are great for sometimes even giving you remnant pieces of carpet.
Instead of painting an accent wall colour - paint it all the same - ask your landlord for some paint money, after all your supplying the labour! Then add your bursts of personality by mounting some wallpaper on a canvas and create your own artwork! Good Luck, have fun with it and check out my houzz.com profile to see how to dress up your room with the Fireplace Refresh pictures - good luck!

Christine Hi ChelseaMount. I suspect that one poster felt that I was giving up an "anti-dog" sentiment. I was not. I was only suggesting that you buy a proper dog bed and place it in an area that still allows your beloved pets to be with you in the room but a bit more out of the way. While I am not an architect. I have 2 large Bouviers a ten year old boy and a hubby that very active in triathalons and expedition type sports so I understand the need to bring perspective and cohesiveness to a room since I never know if I am going to trip over an X-box, longboard, 94 pound dog or a box of carabiners.

In spite of what was suggested by this poster I believe you must think about how you want to use the space, your budget and then begin to edit out and re-orient the space. These simple steps can and will give you a better perspective. I am sure you will be very successful at finding what you love and infusing the room with a sense of style that is all yours as well as makes room for your pets, and significant other.

Best of luck.

chelseamount Wow guys! Thank you so much for the advice!! I did get a few ideas that I feel I can do. It is a rental and I know one day I will have my own home and such, but I am 30 yrs old and while I am in grad school, it is important to feel at home. But I may be chomping at the bit also :). I will post pictures when complete-thank you!

slk202 Someone mentioned the sure-fit couch covers. They sell them at bed bath and beyond and you can almost always find a 20% off coupon. I would highly recommend the stretch kind that comes with two peices, one for the shell of the couch and one for the cushions. This significantly decreases that whole "everytime someone sits on the throw cover I want to run over and fix it back to normal" problem. I have used these for years and always get compliments. If you get toupe or something similar you can just throw on a blanket and pillows with any color you want. They wash great too for dogs (or kids)!

Also you may be able to just change the bulb in your overhead light to a soft white and it may make a difference since fixtures can get expensive and its a rental.

For a throw rug check out your local lowes or home depot - they hang them in the flooring department and often have some marked down or will sell the one that has been hanging for 30% off. Or you can get a remnant and have a flooring store bind the edges for fairly cheap.

Also you may consider googling how to make a roman shade out of the mini blinds you already have. You won't need much fabric and it will make the room look richer for wicked cheap.

Finally, I recently saw a blog with someone using fabric to cover a wall in a rental space instead of wallpaper. You use fabric starch to adhere it to the wall and it peels off with no impact to the painted surface. That way when you move out you just tear down the fabric and use some soapy warm water to bring it back to that bright blue underneath! Much less mess than wallpaper and your landlord won't know the difference when you leave. You could probably google that project as well.

Goodluck!