Hey SS, I just signed in to Flickr and took a boo at the shots. Let me have a think and I'll get back to you shortly.

Cheers, Arren

Hi SS, Okay, I've had a boo at those shots and here's my two cents -

Has the ceiling ever been painted? It's popcorn, right? If it hasn't you might want to consider scraping it off (spray bottle with water and wide palette scraper, you might need to do a bit of filling afterwards). The reason I'm suggesting this is that the actual ceiling is so small since that nasty bulkhead cuts into the space so much, really breaking everything up and making it hard to decide where to start and stop with the wall colour.

If you can nix the popcorn then I'd suggest taking a paler version of your wall colour in the hallway and painting the walls, bulkhead and ceiling all in the same pale khaki tone. This should make the space feel both cosy and cohesive, and help to visually wash out all the architectural challenges in the room. Keep the trim in a white and with the beige carpet and dark wood bookcases you have a nice simple palette to work with.

As for extra furniture I'd suggest a nice small-scale leather club chair and, rather than a bed, grabbing one of those inflatable bed-in-a-bag options for when guests stay over. And then for lighting make sure you have a couple of small lights placed on the bookshleves (Ikea does great frosted glass cubes that would be perfect) to add a nice glow to the room, as well as perhaps placing a brushed nickel floor lamp next to the chair. Check out West Elm for a small-scale end tables or stools to place next to the chair. For the draperies I'd pick a toothsome heavy woven linen in a cream, or hefty velvet in beige, and have them hang from floor to ceiling, placing the rod as close to the ceiling as possible. You might want to jazz up store-bought drapes with a chocolate grosgrain ribbon trim to help tie everything together.

Hope this is a start for you!

Cheers, Arren