I need home decor advice. Any ideas?

I've just moved into a new rented apartment and like it very much. Before we moved in, the landlord has spent a lot of money renovated the dining room and spent a lot of time on the wooden paneling. This paneling is not to my taste at all, in the rest of the house it is painted white which looks light and airy, but in this room it is a dark teak color. I want to make this room an office so I can work at home and want to soon buy some furniture. However, I am at a loss at how to decorate this room. Should I go for an Old-English style drawing room look complete with leather chesterfield sofa or would it look to good to contrast the old paneling with contemporary furniture which is more to my taste. I'm not an interior designer so don't have the vision. What do you reckon?

You're smart to appreciate your landlords hard work.
I know your situation, I lived in apartment with dark panaling, but they let me paint it.
Don't worry about matching your furniture to it.
It's there to complement the apartment, thats it.
It should also complement your furniture, not your furniture complement the wall.
You say you like contemporary furniture, and you want to brighten up the place. Buy furniture to do that. You won't get any work done in an office you're not comfortable in.
Get furniture you like. Sounds like you have pretty good taste, you'll make it work.