Paint it black, hang a black-light-ready velvet Elvis on one wall, a dogs playing poker picture on another, and you are good to go.

Just wall paper it.  Everybody loves putting up wall paper.

Seriously, watch some HGTV, or some trading spaces, while you were out, shows like that for a few days and you'll get tons of ideas as to what you can do to your dining room.  If you see something you like take detailed notes or tape the show, it will help.

Okay then, no black.

I do have a suggestion that might help...

Most everyone is afraid of [red]C[/red][orange]O[/orange][green]L[/green][blue]O[/blue][pink]R[/pink]

Don't be.

My wife and I were, and she always chose eggshell, or off white or whatever you want to call it.

Then she went nuts.

Now, my hallway is burgundy, the dining room is green, the kitchen is a cool red-orangish adobe color (with plaster texture added by yours-truly) and our house looks AWESOME.

Our bedroom is next.

My wife doesn't like the black idea either.

I gotta move and get a house with a basement...

I'vve 'eard the colur* eggshell 'as calming effects in most institutions. Marriage is sometimes refered to as a institution. [;)]

I was sorta being sarcastic with the wallpaper.  When we redid our kitchen the idiots who built the house just glued the wallpaper to the drywall.  When we peeled it off, it didn't go so well and to cover the damage we had to rewall paper the thing, which was a huge time consuming pain in the ass.

Shadowblade's idea of wainscotting is a good one.

Put up white wainscotting and a white chair rail, and paint the walls a darker blue or hunter green (since those are your preferences).

Well, how else is one supposed to attach the wallpaper to the wall? Duct tape? Staple gun?

My computer/den is a dark blue, I really like the color. The rest of the house is a white color and the contrast looks pretty good. I also second the wainscotting. We have it in our dining room and it would also look awesome in the den.

A pale yellow, maybe?

I painted the kitchen and dining room in my first house a sort of southwestern sandstone color - not red, not pink, a little rose colored - I really liked it.

Wallpaper? - maybe we need an AR15.com tutorial; that is not a job I do not want to tackle.  All I can see is multiple opportunities to screw it up, and I hate redoing work.

thats why us married folk feel institutionalized!  i always wondered about that.  thanks for clearing it up for me.  gotta go. time for my medification.[;)]

Her and her "hubby" both get banned for this post, right?

The rest of you are just gay. [;)]

A word to the wise is sufficient: never paint or do anything to a house in such a way that would turn off potential buyers when it comes time to sell your house, and EVERYBODY sells their house eventually.

Pleasant earth tones and off-whites, beiges, ecrus work the best, and are also easier to clean and get a paint match on, too. They appeal to buyers more easily, because they can project their own personalities on to the walls and rooms more easily with neutral colors than with strong bright or dark colors. If they no like, they no buy.

My wife and I are putting our house (and ourselves) through the hell of major house renovation. Among other things (such as septic tank and leach field replacement...), trying to cover up an orange wall (don't ask...) is a lot harder than it sounds.

I belive, but I could be wrong since I'm not an expert, you are supposed to put some kind of primer down before you apply the wallpaper so you don't tear the drywall.

I am VERY concerned they know those colors. And talking about sponges and all?!?

Aviator

My words of wisdom:

Cheap paint is just that, cheap paint. Get the Best latex you can for around $20-25 bucks a gallon.

It isnt just that the warranty is crappy.  It is harder to work with, usually thinner, more runs, drips, errors, have to do more coats.

It is easier to paint over a dark color than a light color.

Get good rollers and brushes. Clean them well when you are through and they will last.

If you cant paint it all in one sitting get some cling wrap (or a ziplock bag, or even a good plastic shopping bag) and totally cover the brushes and rollers making sure no air can get to it.  You can leave this out for lunch like this, or toss it in the refrig over night.

A gallon of paint should do a 10-12 x 10-12 room (if you have 8' ceilings)

With good Latex paints you can put it on VERY thick, this is good.

Surface prep is the key to everything though.  You can make cheap paint over a properly prepared surface look better than the BEST paint over a ill-prepared surface.  PAtch the surface, sand the surface (especially if the paint up is a 'gloss' type, you HAVE to rough up gloss (anylevel of gloss, not just 'shiny) with a quick fine grit sandpaper), wash the surface, prime the surface (if necessary, if you already have good paint that was correctly applied then priming isnt really necessary), then paint.

Have fun, put on the tunes, remember you can always repaint later.....

Here's an idea.  Don't paint it..stain it.  Start with a white-offwhite wall.  Put oak stain on it with a rag.  Just dip the rag into the stain, then blot and smear.  Different effects can be done with the type of rubbing you do.  Do on a warm day so you can open up the windows, the smell will kill ya for a couple of days.  It turns out very nice.  

If your not that daring, try Navajo, it's a nice creamish brown.

Watch trading spaces, while you were out; both good shows.

edited to add:  True Value  "E-ZKare" is a very good paint for about 20.00-25.00.  I will not use any other brand. It covered up a rooms with Denver Bronco Orange, Bright Yellow, and F#cking puck light turquoise; all in one house....mine.  Even the orange only took two coats.  I have made the mistake of buying other brands...not good, and they still were 20-25.