thanks everyone!  love the colors, stacia.  as you can see, I toned down the blue with a neutral couch but added some color with the pillows.  I kept thinking green would compliment the wall but I couldn't find the right shade.

Thanks for the advice, Keter.  I'll definitely repaint the walls but the carpet is beyond a carpet cleaner.  My father is a carpet manufacturer and I know when carpet has no hope :-(.  I would have torn it out ages ago but the apartment is just not worth that much effort.  It would encourage my boyfriend to put up with this place so I can't make it look too spectacular!

Thanks All!

Great design, stacia.  :o)

I agree, green might be what you need.  Note how the subtle green in stacia's room balances the blue wall and grey floor.  Note the white accents and the rug, too.

But before I comitted to any purchases, I would do a couple of things first:  repaint the dirty walls white and rent a carpet cleaner.  It's really hard to do any visualization past stuff like that.