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Root's Hometown Furniture and Appliances More photos - front door opens into middle of living room cutting area in half. We don't have a family room or office so this space has to be multi functional. Thank you!

Portland Stair Company Being a Stair Guy you can add a handrail fairly easy. Suggestions; Stair post call a box newel with a handrail or in this case guard rail with wood balusters. A good finish carpenter who has done a few stairs systems can help you. It looks like you also need a wall railing which is different from the guard railing with wood balusters.

Root's Hometown Furniture and Appliances Thank you!

Barbara Ann Holmes - Lintels & Lallies Hi there! What a sweet story, thank you for sharing! Are you open to different paint? If so, maybe try something a little more muted. Which means a color that has more grey in it-a softer look/feel...if you need suggestions, I'll be happy to offer some ideas. Also, maybe a mirror over the fireplace & that section of the wall (vertical) you could paint an accent color. The fireplace should be your *natural* (architectural) focal point. Painting the wall above will help it stand out more. Some simple panels around the windows will help soften things. I think I would then, maybe take down the tree art above the TV so that you can mount the TV on the wall. The tulips are beautiful, and I think they can stand alone on that wall as the focal point art. I'm not sure where you live, but it would be easier to see the space. I hope these suggestions don't sound overwhelming. Just think of it as finding a *landing spot* for your eye...ask yourself what is the focal point of each "zone". Best wishes in you historical memory-filled home! :)

yvonnecmartin I agree to change the wall color to something more muted--could even still be yellow, just not so bright and greenish.

Root's Hometown Furniture and Appliances The yellow turned out much brighter then the soft buttery look I was going for and ready to move on from it now. We will be in this house two years this spring , we worked so hard to get it move-in ready and then the work stopped, it's time for us to start working and finishing out our home! I am open to suggestions, I love the warm layered eclectic looks seen in magazines but can't seem to achieve it. That's why I am on here, looking for a different perspective, I can't seem to get honest feedback from my friends or family. I know the room isn't working, it's the first room guests see and where we spend the majority of our time. Thank you for responding!

apennameandthata Read Colour Me Beautiful - there I said it. The walls seem to be lemon yellow and the furniture and floor seem to be tan. These two will struggle to place nice. Next time, paint 3' by 4' boards with colours you can use to see how they work. And do a mood boards if you will make other changes.

Getting crown moulding is a great idea. You have nice skirting boards to go with this - a big advantage. At the moment, only the bottom half of the room is decorated. I myself dislike white ceilings and you might paint the ceiling 1/4 of whatever you end up painting the walls. (I might have misunderstood your colours from you photos, but).

You seen to have divided the room into two, but I can't quite pick it. Most rooms look best with an axis going through the fireplace.

Your room looks cluttered with stuff. Your bookshelves see cluttered with little things. I agree that losing the built-ins was a big loss. I bet the past owners were trying to solve a problems and did the wrong thing.

Curtains will help big time, but you HAVE to wait till youve got your colours sorted out before you purchase them.

Lighting will help, too. You have only one light rose in the middle of the room. This is cheapest but does not look best. Have lights around the edge of the room emphasise things and have lighting at various heights.

olldbobbi I agree with decluttering, and that's free!! Put your money into a banister, safety first, and then into paint.

gayledopp I had a precious older aristocrat friend, who traveled the globe with her Father from the time she was a very young girl. She always told me, " Now my dear, get it exactly the way you want it and take two things away."
( I have a strong tendency to not know when enough is enough. )
For your situation, changing the wall color will inspire you. I feel that you want a very eclectic mix. It's my favorite as well. The secret to that room is surround yourself only with things that you absolutely love! What makes you smile, how can you repurpose something to make it sing?
Color will change the stage, then carefully edit what you LOVE to live with! Brainstorm with your husband, and make it fun. Post as you go!

Root's Hometown Furniture and Appliances Book will arrive on Wednesday, excited to get started! Will post pictures as the room progresses, thank you for your wonderful ideas!
You think this room has dilemmas, wait till you see the kitchen basement and nearly non exsistant master closet ..... those are for another day, must focus on one project at a time!

Mary OToole The trim would be better in a softer white, not quite so bright in the same hue as the color youmselect for you walls.