The painted lady

My apartment painting is FINALLY complete. Bedroom, bathroom, tv room (photos are forthcoming) are complete. I had to paint my bathroom twice because what I thought was gonna be a nice green in it turned out to be horrendous. It looked like a large group of drunken bar-hoppers could only find one toilet in the city (in my apartment) to hang their heads in and missed it, but made the walls. So it is now a light blue. Not the best color in there, but soothing and it makes me happy--happier than puce.

However, now that the painting is completed and the space feels livable and not temporary (I've been there for over 3 years!), I need to furnish it properly. Container Store shelving for my bedroom and tv room (books, DVDs, CDs), a sofa and maybe a chair and or side table, a new lamp in the tv room, and (shame on Alex!) I've been inspired to get a flat panel LCD television to hang on my wall. I have determined to put that off until Christmas though so I can take advantage of the holiday sales. I think I should do bedroom shelves and drawers first (Elfa system, care of the Container Store) and then the tv room seating, table, lighting--that way I can finally have people over! This is going to be a fun project. Any ideas for colors that go with key lime green walls? I think darker is better (keep the area cool and soothing) like a gray or charcoal. Well, I have a lot of time to sort that out and friends are offering their interesting furniture. I'm looking at clean lines, more modern. I know about IKEA and West Elm and recently was informed about Crate and Barrel's CB2 with more modern items, but I welcome any referrals to places where I can get inexpensive and interesting pieces.

I also will start my programming class so I'm going to be exceedingly busy. It'll be really good for me and my Type A personality, Capricorn work ethic--I feel useless when I don't have something to do which leads me to find some way to stir up trouble.