New Ideas for the Living Room/Dining Room

So I'm in the process of selling our living room rug on Craigs List. I really want something simple, like a sisal or jute rug. I found some great options on www.overstock.com, or I might go with a carpet tile from www.flor.com. At the same time, I want to make some new throw pillows for the living room.  I found these two Liz Claiborne fabrics yesterday at Jo Ann Fabrics. I just bought 1/2 yard of each to make some throw pillows, but more importantly, this fabric is what I needed to tie the dining room with the living room. Here's a photo of our existing dining room.

I've decided to paint the dining room a warm gray color to break up all the blue we have on the first floor. I'm either going to add a blue detail ribbon to the existing drapes or use the striped fabric below for drapes. I might take the blue from the kitchen and paint inside those built-in china cabinets as well, haven't decided yet. I'm also going to buy two white slipcovers for the two end chairs. Basically I want to tone everything down.

Here are the new fabrics with a carpet tile sample and paint swatches from the living room (Ben Moore - Beach Glass) and the hallway neutral color (Behr - Roman Plaster).

Ok, I'm off to Home Depot, wish me luck!