SFGate

judyg I would do one of the new, less formal Asian toiles or an Ikat. Thibaut has a couple of great ones, as does Robert Allen.

ann for drapes, or wall covering?

Dar I would also consider other room arrangements for the room. The sofa really doesn't fit well on the wall where it is. However, without more photos of the other sides of the room can't really suggest too much. So from what I can see I would rotate your sofa so it sits in front of the Cherry piece. Leave space behind it to walk. Might want to put a table and lamp behind the sofa either as a sofa table or just a small table and lamp between the two windows. Move the cherry piece to the wall where the sofa currently is or another location in the room.

ann Thank you Dar. I am taking the pic from the front hall, so there is a large opening on the wall. Across from the sofa is the opening to the dining room.

Lillian's Paintbrush A few questions. What color and style is your sofa? Also how antique is the cherry cupboard? Is it something you can paint or will it reduce in value. What are some of the colors in the adjoining spaces?

ann The sofa is traditional, a medium blue. It picks up blue from the carpet which is also cream, brown, gold and a lighter blue. The cupboard can not be painted. While I don't love it, it's ne of those family pieces I have to keep for now. Th adjoining dining room to the left is ready for a makeover as well. Due to the oriental in there I was going with light blueish gray with cream wood work.

ann What about style of window coverings? Valences, or I thought maybe one panel on each pilled to the side due to furniture between the windows. ( I don't really love that though!)

anthip More photos would be helpful. Right now it looks like all your furniture is pushed to one side of the room - as though the room's been tipped on its edge.

Can you move the cherry piece to between the other windows (where the sofa is now)? It looks like there's more wall space there.

Then out your sofa perpendicular to the cherry piece with two matching chairs across it and the coffee table in between. Make sure all your seating is fully on your gorgeous rug to delineate the seating area. Add a side table between the two chairs and a sofa table with lamps behind the sofa. Make the cherry piece a focal point - like a fireplace. It's quite a pretty thing. Can you lighten it up by lining the inside back panels with wallpaper?

Use your existing chair to make a little nook with a side table in the corner between the dining room wall and windows. In the opposite corner a nice plant.

Re window covers you could have two panels and a rod that runs the length of the pair of windows where the cherry unit was (assuming you move it). For either side of the cherry, matching double panels assuming you have more space on the sofa wall.

ann Ok, I'll get more pics. Re the sofa facing cherry cupboard- The back of sofa would then be facing the front hall. That doesn't seem very welcoming. I'm really most concerned about color- adding more med. light blue/torquoise which seems to be a hot color now..

jansgirl When you move the cabinet, (because, really, you should!) placing the sofa perpendicular could put the back to the windows.

But we're supposed to be talking about paint and window coverings, huh?

If you DO rearrange the furniture, you would have room to hang simple panels which is a more updated look. I'd remove the rod holders that you now have and use dark metal rods to tie in the coffee table.

With as much blue and pattern as you already have, I will defer to the experts on fabric here.

It's hard to see what color your walls are now. They look like a soft green on my monitor.

I, myself, can't see turquoise looking good in this room but I'm horrible about thinking outside the box at times.

jansgirl One more thought. Just because turquoise is current doesn't mean you should use it. I think if you added more of a different color if would jazz things up and THEN I could see another pattern.

Have you thought about gold from your carpet?

Sigrid I like your room, but it seems a bit cold. I'd warm up the walls with a creamier white (if you are repainting) and pick a bold color in the warm hues for accents. It's hard to see your rug, so I don't know if there's a shade you could pick up there.

ann Thank you all-This is a house we moved into and I am trying to use my old furniture and add touches to update it a bit. " I chose aqua-ish/lighter blue" because I wanted to pull that color out of the picture over the sofa. I do have all the antique blue/white china that I want to keep in the cupboard. I will move it. The curtain rod holders were there, they are definitely coming down and I like the idea of cream. Maybe goldish yellow is a good idea, that color is in the rug. Love the yellow/gold pillows above!
Thanks.

blindsdirectcanada Roman shades with a Top down Bottom up option will look modern/traditional depending on the fabric you choose.

http://www.blindsdirectcanada.com/blinds-toronto/roman-blinds.html