apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think painting your walls a darker color would help. Check out "caramel sundae" by Behr (found out Home Depot). It might also be nice to paint the china cabinet white and hang a pendant lamp like this one.http://www.2modern.com/modern-furniture/Hanging-Lamps/Lights-Up-Meridian-Pendant

I suggest a drum shaded pendant light or two, depending on the scale -- two smaller ones look great over a large table. check out Crate and Barrel's. http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1240&f=6912

Well, you could go with the neo-classical lines of the furniture and go Colonial Revival with the fixture, like this, or possibly this. On the other hand, Streamline design would have been contemporaneous with your furniture and I really dig this.

I agree that a stronger wall color would be a good idea, but I'd shy away from painting that furniture if the finish is in good shape. If you do paint it, consider a nice thick, glossy black enamel.

I think other people are suggesting a darker wall color to add a little contrast (is the paint also washed out a little from the flash?). I think you could also achieve that with some brightly colored cushions for the chairs and coordinating colors on the table -- in the form of a runner, candle holders, etc.

in terms of a light fixture, I think you could add some sparkle with a more contemporary fixture. I'm thinking of those French fixtures encased in a mesh drum. The drum-shade idea could work too -- Restoration Hardware has some new two-tiered ones that look nice. Either way, hanging the light lower would also help the scale of the room.