How about a feature wall with splash of colour?

https://www.panelcompany.co.uk/vox-kerradeco-scotch-wall-panel.html

I would take up the carpet as it seems to drain the room. The parquet would look amazing. As your suite is patterned I would keep walls off white but have a different shade on the wall with fireplace on. Roman blinds, light fluffy cushions, plain rug and some quirky art sounds good to me. Try All Posters website. I got a poster from there for £15 and put it into a frame I already had from Ikea. Same poster in a frame was in John Lewis for £80!

I'd definitely go with the parquet, with lighter walls if you're worried about the light. Accent cushions in duck egg and teal would look great. Gorgeous!

Hi Maria,

Check out our range of furniture at www.jnrusticus.com

Hi Maria,

If the rug is key to your new design, then keep with the duck egg blue & cream scheme. Remove the carpet If the parquet flooring is in good condition. New furniture (neutral) and co-ordinating curtains would look great. There's a decent pelmet in place and since the room is north facing, consider bringing metallics in with the duck egg & cream to warm the room up- either in feature wallpaper or fabric choices. Cushions on the new sofas to coordinate and tie the look together.Since the room is north facing, keep the colours light and bright and add decent lighting. Beware of adding just cool colours in a cold room - try adding warmth with Metallics, lighting, soft furnishings and accessories.

Hi Maria,

Sumptuous curtains would be a great way to add to the traditional look you'd like to keep. It might be nice to treat the two tall windows as one and dress them together as you would a single window. If you're concerned about it feeling dark, you could choose light neutral colours for your curtains, possibly with a sheen.

Good luck with your decorating,

Zoe

Parquet flooring sounds like a treat to uncover, if it's in good condition. A couple of key things for me in north facing rooms with limited light levels are good lighting and well thought out window treatments.

Ceiling lights that direct light up will bounce light back into the room and wall washers will give an extra light source. Secondary lighting should be added in areas where you want to create mood lighting or lift a dark corner and finally task lighting should be considered for areas where you need to carry out an activity, should as a corner where you will sit and read.

North facing windows should be kept as open as possible, maximizing the light that you get, so steer clear of full curtains that inhibit the window and go with something that draws fully back or up.

Keep the colour scheme, light fresh and neutral and add interest with pops of colour in accessorising and soft furnishing.

Hope this helps!

Hi. If the floor is in good condition then I'd expose it, will look great and wood floors tend to bounce light. I agree with the comments re curtains, providing you don't opt for a really thick material with lots of lining then the pelmet appears to allow plenty of space for the curtains to be stacked back so shouldn't block any light at all. I'd also avoid dark colours for curtains but it sounds as if you want to anyway! You can also add a large mirror over the fire to bounce more light as will adding any other reflective material. How many are in your family re watching tv as I might move that from the window and how many do you want to sit? Is the corner tv unit to stay? My first thought is the seating arrangement isn't cosy at present. If you have young children I might also avoid off white sofas?

Like many here - expose that flooring as it sounds like it could be amazing!
Don't be afraid it will become too dark or intimidating as your instinct of neutral colours will compliment it perfectly.

A lot of great advice already about the windows, and I have to agree about using the accessories to bring that hint of colour in. The two things I would add that I think would help;

1) it appears the space is quite big (an earlier post shared how it feels quite spread out) so don't be afraid of adding bigger statement pieces of furniture when you go to replace them.
2) A basic rule of thumb that you may already know but works a treat is to go for about 70% of the room in one colour (for example walls, ceiling etc could be in a neutral cornflower or jasmine white), 20% of the room in your secondary colour (maybe your furniture in the grey you mentioned with some neutral throws and cushions to aid the transition of colours.) You could also paint any internal doors in grey which can offer variation and interest if you are not so keen on a statement wall. And finally add about 10% of accent colour to the room - again through cushions and accessories.

This also makes it all cheaper to give the room a seasonal makeover as you will predominantly be changing only the accent colour - 10% of the room!

Definitely go with the parquet flooring, great feature would be a shame to hide it. If it is too dark you can get it sanded which should lighten it. You have a large room so big furniture would look good - I would go for a big comfy L shaped sofa. You could go bigger with the fire surround, if it is not a proper fire then take it our and have some kind of wall unit/shelving and place your TV on it. Mirrors will help to bounce light around the room. A statement floor lamp would also look good and a large rug

Go parquet! If it's an existing feature, don't cover it up, embrace it! This then gives opportunity for a nice large rug which that space can definitely take. A nice sofa in that room would be the lazy time range from Camerich. Mix with some furniture from Swoon Editions. For more advice on how to decorate head to www.topologylondon.co.uk

The doors with the vertical slits are fab so try to work this style into the room to make it a more cohesive space. As others I would expose the parquet floor if it's in good condition and then bring more natural items into the room, this could be in the form of wooden furniture, linen cushions or oil paintings on the wall.

Then bring out the colours of the small stained glass window in your furnishings with pale grey walls. The colour and natural wood colours will inject the warnth into this north facing room.

Good luck!

Thank you all for your ideas - it is a large room so agree about the furniture being too spaced out. I had never thought of mirrors next to the dividing doors or metallics to bring in warmth. Going to have a play at re-positioning furniture this weekend x

If you are used to having furniture against walls and in corners it could take a little time to adjust - your eyes will feel it's weird - but give it a go in real life, using the room in a new layout and seeing how it works for getting up and down, walking round or through, drawing curtains, etc. Expect to have to adjust but if it feels intolerable, even after trying for a couple of weeks, give up. Though it looks as if you have plenty of room for all you'd need to do, with the furniture forming a central socialising focal point. Walls and corners are so useful - to keep stuff, to create warm and comfortable lighting not to mention for radiators - that it makes practical sense to push furniture away from them. Don't cram them all together; find what works best in the room. PS I just put "sofa layout" into the Houzz search box and some wonderful photos came up showing furniture making the most of the room. Lots of inspiration there!

Hi Maria,

If you're considering keeping the traditional feel to the space, perhaps replacing the radiator (we were bound to say that) could be a good way to go.

You'd be surprised what a difference a traditional column radiator like this one could make.

Not only does it offer the high, cosy heat output you mentioned, but it also adds another dimension to the traditional feel. I can certainly imagine it looking stunning with the bare floor - very Victorian Schoolhouse trad!

If you don't fancy it in a white, you can always add a little modern twist whilst retaining some of the traditional feel by opting for an anthracite model.

Check out our full range of traditional radiators and see if they inspire you in any way.

If you are going to look at more natural finishes and a grey colour scheme though, an anthracite radiator - either modern or period-styled - will look fab.

John - Editor @ The Best Heating Blog

The room is in good
shape and it appears to be only cosmetic changes that are needed, so I would
consider simplifying the whole design as follows:

·
Paint: You mention
grey as one of your preferred colours, so I would try a sample of either Farrow
or Ball’s Elephant’s Breath paint or Strong White to see what looks best sits
best in the room. Both are contemporary favourites but will flatter the space and
alter the atmosphere. Otherwise, aim for off-whites with a creamy, yellow tone
to encourage warmth.

·
Furniture: Purchase
furniture with legs to encourage the flow of light and space but if possible do
not block the lovely elongated windows. Add a feature Chesterfield ottoman to
centre the room and soften the new space.

·
Window
treatment: Instead of curtains, I would actually use sheer voiles across the windows
and have Roman blinds in place for the colder evenings to enhance the sumptuous,
traditional feel.

·
Pieces: Add
a large timeless mirror above the fireplace to bounce light around the room and
maintain that area as the focal point.

·
Lighting: Work
with illuminating the light through the room not only via a pendant light
(consider a glass chandelier here) as this will only provide task lighting. You
also want to aim for ambient lighting via glass base lamps in the corners and
free standing tall lamps.

·
Soft
furnishings: Apply hints of mustard and teal into the soft furnishings such as
the cushions will complement the tones from the parquet flooring.