SFGate

Aja Mazin I am interested to hear the creative idea of others.

The space is beautiful and has great potential.

Currently, it reminds me of the Vatican's balcony where the new pope greeted the masses!

LOL

handymam Hey, that's an idea Aja, lol!

I got nothin, but I love the fireplace wall and the rest of the room!

nana25 I can see how that cut out is problematic. I would consider actually getting someone to drywall over it you could perhaps keep the wall open upstairs. Adding moulding to it will just draw attention to it & I think it will continue to be a source of problems. You have a very large space to decorate so I would suggest your room could accommodate very large art work or stretch canvases (less expensive) & really large lamps. Good luck.

Nana25

CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc. Here is a 22 foot ceiling with paneling...

Why in the world would you trim out that castle like window? I'd draw absolutely NO attention to it at all and I'd ask the client to have it closed. The idea is to not accentuate whats at the top of the wall. You gotta make the attention and eye travel around the room and look just up to the moldings and that is it.

meglietz I definitely see the point about not drawing your attention to the and that makes perfect sense. I saw this photo on Houzz and thought it might work to do a board and batten look in the room in the same color of the walls? No?

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Rica don't seal the cutout in the stairs. i would put a large art or a large rug as an art work. i've seen picture frames added strategically so it becomes an art. or some kind of wrought iron decor. i think a large canvas that would pull all your colors together would be nicer.

CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc. Well here is something a lot of people never consider: Can the ceiling and is the house even built to take on that kind of weight. Most of the time the structural engineer will tell you NO, because these homes are built to minimum code. This ceiling line is totally different from yours-it has a peak . This would not be my first idea for this room. Covering up the window would be my first priority. Then getting an architect or designer to draw up drawings to have a carpenter implement. Look at my palos living room project. you can see the before and afters and see how it went from dry wall to structure.

meglietz CMR, you think I should just ignore any trim or wood work on the angle ceiling as well? I really like how much warmer the Palos house was after you added the woodwork to the bottom half. It never occurred to me to only do the bottom half because it's the top half of the room that feels so cold and boring.

ekc3502 My gut is to say beef up the crown and door casings...my perspective may be off, but they appear small compared with the size of the room. Love the fire place. Art on the wall might change things (says the person with bare walls)

meglietz Ekc, yes we have a guy adding a header to the doorway to our living room next week to match the headers on the window. The builder fell way short on every wall in this room except the one with all the windows go figure : )

meglietz Closing up the cutout might also help our children sleep better at night..the noise of the TV carries throughout the entire house because of that dang cutout!

lara1014 I wonder if you could have a decorative window (that can maybe even swing open) installed in the opening?? That way it would reduce the noise and be a beautiful addition to the room. Also, love the previous idea of the woodwork for the bottom half of the room. Good luck :o)

OSIRIUS DESIGNS I would tone down trim colour and I would change cut out window with my glass designs. Not to toot my own horn lol, but I honestly believe changing your glass and having light behind with graphic glass design would add some wow. Cheers

maggiemae0552 maybe paint the walls a warmer tone.

jjdesignkloos wow...i'm not sure either!
maybe you could play Shakespeare every night...?

kitasei I am going through exactly the same thing! My initial impulse was to add moldings, beams, trim to break up the sheetrock expanses (also curving, cutout, two story, etc.) And you know what? After some very expensive forays, I am embracing the sheetrock! I decided that the best thing was to make it more streamlined and simple, not less. All white (I'd get rid of the contrast in the trim you have now). And the historic gestures, the interest, will all come from paintings and furniture. You have a beautiful gallery! Consider going with it.

jjdesignkloos ...or would anything like this work?
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granen I would close up the window and use the walls for artwork! You have great space for hanging and paintings add so much warmth! Or... Blow up some black and white family pictures.

Dar Eckert John McDonald Co.
Bedroom

Well this is really a puzzle. I don't think closing off the window to the upstairs would help much because you still have the awkward curved wall. This is my suggestion, put a moulding along the height of the first floor ceiling as in the first photo. Paint the upper area a slightly darker color. On the sloped ceiling put beams along the slope like the second photo. For the curved wall, my first thought was stone similar to the fireplace but think something more subtle would be better like the curvy wallpaper that Suzanna posted above.

meglietz jjdesignkloos, Hysterical! Best comment of the night!

kathleen MK Rugs, flags and Quilts as art could work on a curved wall. Oriental screens, Large scale artwork or objects could be grouped to fill the walls.

meglietz Dar, I agree with the trim idea along the crease of the angled wall and bring it around the room to divide the top from the bottom. I am really starting to gravitate to CMR's idea to panel the lower half of the room to bring the eye down and leave the rest of it untouched so your eye stay down. I think filling in the cutout with a window could be really pretty if it's done right and not overly decorative. I do like prefer a more simple but warm lived in look over a grand overly decorated look. These are really great ideas. I just feel better knowing other people are trying to help me resolve this problem. I was feeling rather overwhelmed!

Susanna OK, I deleted everything. Good luck with your room.

whitwhatup Making the center wall (with lookout) the focal / accent wall similar to how you would accent a Fireplace wall (inverted with fireplace on top)

Brenda Fisher From what I can see your mouldings are similar to classic Georgian and yet you have a Juliet style cutout less the balcony....odd! Definitely beef up the mouldings as you stated. As for the curved wall, I think the cutout is out of proportion to the room. There is not enough separation between the top of the cutout and the mouldings, thus making the mouldings look skimpy. Either close the cutout in entirely if you can sacrifice the light upstairs or make the cutout shorter and possibly narrower then trim it out and add a small railing to the bottom. You would still have to balance that wall. Possibly hang a quilt / tapestry / art or drape plants down the wall. I had an old professor who had a similar wall, she designed a quilt that mimicked a waterfall effect and hung it over an iron rod. It was gorgeous. Beautiful and interesting room though!!! Have fun with it!

Aja Mazin Susanna Artistea,

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Angela Pascoe Hi guys feel free to comment on my thread because I need all the help that I can get either good or bad.

Susan Mills Design Susanna, just as we all like to throw our ideas in for the original post, just as many may be reading this and finding information that may be useful to them, even iff the original poster did not. That's what makes this all so interesting for so many!

Susanna Hi Darzy,
I know what you mean. This is a tough one. LOL. Well maybe nothing would be best :-)

Hi Susan,
Good point. I didn't think of that. Hmmm.

Susan Jacobs How about a rock climbing wall? Seriously, though, I like the idea of board and batten paneling on the lower part of the room. Also love the paneled/beam ceiling. And less contrast between the molding and wall color. Closing up the cut out, I believe, would draw less attention to it.

whitwhatup Similar to this "rock climbing hall" in my own house that I was more or less referring to treating it like a fireplace Or media niche. But even better.....a rock guilded Juliette balcony from the stone ages

Susan Mills Design Had to laugh as a mother of three sons, what they would have given for a rock climbing wall!

Aja Mazin Susanna Artistea,

Biting my tongue.....

whitwhatup How do I get a "like" button to determine if my ideas are whack ?

Susan Mills Design We could name it the whitwhatup whack button. Say that fast.

whitwhatup I've tried. Ends up whack for short.

meglietz I'm really not sure how to comment to everyone. I have really really appreciated EVERYONE"s idea's. I had reread what I wrote because I didn't recall singling out any one person's comment and saying I didn't like it. When I reread "I do prefer a more simple but warm lived in look over a grand overly decorated look" I'm not sure how this specifically refers to Susanna's post or even indicates that I did not like her post.

I am so happy to be getting help and would like it if any comments that are posted stay so I can refer back to them. I apologize if a statement about my preferences was taken to heart by anyone just because I didn't hit a "like" button. It was after 10pm and I was exhausted. I think it's unfortunate that instead of getting help that this has turned into a page that now has nothing to do about this room.

This is the first time I have ever posted a discussion on Houzz.. I hope we can all get back on track, thanks again for any help : )

Aja Mazin meglietz,

I think a lot of us are like you - "totally stumped", and we are frustrated we can't give you an acceptable solution that does not require a major architectural change.

Humour, even weird humour, is just a release.

Your fireplace space is so beautiful.

♥♥

lmmcgarry Make a loft floor out of great warm wood.extra space.

kegofron I would finish the crown at the top. A good carpenter can cope the end to make it seamless. I would also mould around your arched cutout. It will act as a picture frame.

meglietz Would it be too crazy to drywall the entire curved wall, close up the opening and make it a straight wall instead? I know I would lose a little bit of square footage but it's not like it's usable at this point anyways..at least it would turn it into a wall I could put furniture on and pictures?

Aja Mazin A thought:

What is on the other side?

More views or a floor plan?

Susan Jacobs Firstly, meglietz, you were not the least bit accusatory when you stated your preferences. Secondly, I am in love with the great warm wood loft floor idea. I wonder if that would just be ridiculously costly.

Susan Jacobs I thought of making it a straight wall, too, but you are still left with an enormous wall that dwarfs whatever furniture you put on it. But, you could at least continue paneling, etc. on it more easily.

meglietz I was thinking the same thing Susan..I really like the idea of paneling somewhere but as soon as you get the curved wall it might start to look busy. The other good thing about closing it up is it will make it easier to do wainscoting on the otherside (which is my stairway in the foyer). Right now that cutout the type of wainscoting I'd have to do in the stairway would go up to the cutout which is more expensive that just having wainscoting that is 3ft high following the stairway. Here some pics of the other side.

meglietz I'm not sure I understand the idea of loft floor?

Aja Mazin meglietz,
loft floor?
As CMR pointed out, I doubt the structure of the house could hold the additional weight.

Aja Mazin No plank ceiling on the angled wall with beams and a board and batten look

Do nothing to draw attention upward.

So the sheetrock would need to retain the curve on the stair side and be straight on the other side.

Correct?

Aja Mazin Even if you put up sheet rock, your furniture would still look dwarfed.

CMR is correct.

meglietz Right, the drywall would have to be curved in foyer for the stairway and then you could build the wall out on the otherside to make it a straight wall.

Susanna Meg,
I did not take any of this to heart. I simply deleted to open thread space for you because my long post, with four photos, is a lot to scroll through when threads get long. Your posting has the potential to run very long. I was simply explaining to Aja in response to her comment to me. If you want posts to stay around, responding or hitting the like button is a sure way to achieve that. Just trying to help you by removing the post because your next comment and "like" was all the response I had to go on.
I have faith that the excellent pros on Houzz will find a way to transform your room. Ciao, Susanna.

Aja Mazin Check out CMR's website for before and after.
You have to scroll horizontally.

http://www.cmrinteriorsinc.com/ba.html

which would be costly and involve an architect/designer to draw up plans plus a carpenter plus materials. And the structure might not support the needed changes, as CMR surmised;

OR

Scroll up and review :

Dar Eckert John McDonald Co. Bedroom suggestion about visually dividing the wall into 2 spaces with trim and paint and wall paper [as suggested by Susanna Artistea]

which would be relatively easy and inexpensive.

Geez! Suzanna, an art professor, deleted her wall paper suggestions.

Aja Mazin meglietz

"Right, the drywall would have to be curved in foyer for the stairway and then you could build the wall out on the otherside to make it a straight wall."

But it will not solve the problem of the furniture looking dwarfed.

And you will need to redo the trim.

Suzan J Designs - Decorating Den Interiors Just to chime in here - lots of good ideas; I like CMR's ideas, and I think, armed with all this information and these suggestions, it would be a great idea now to hire a designer or architect. Your fellow Houzzers have come up with numerous ideas on how it will look better, but ultimately it needs to suit your family and your tastes. This is where I feel, that, having posted your dilemma on Houzz and gotten lots of great feedback, you now can see the different directions your project can take, depending on your personal needs (i.e. - not overly decorated, noise issues, etc). Bringing a professional in to look at the space, your lifestyle, budget, etc is the next step. You'll feel confident talking with a pro when you have some visual clues (thanks to the pics posted here) as to what you like and don't like. That pro can then take your cues and draw up some plans/ideas with the proper dimensions (taking into considering structural issues), THEN bring in the carpenter/contractor once a plan is in place. And Susanna - don't delete unless it's really obnoxious! :) As someone else said, even though it might not be something the poster is interested in, it might be a perfect solution for someone else. And it also shows that there often is more than one solution to a dilemma. Love Houzz and all that it has to offer to homeowners and professionals alike! Keep us informed meglietz, on what you decide - post "after" photos too!

Aja Mazin meglietz ,

The first "pro" I would contact is your builder and ask him what he was thinking.

Then check out Houzz for professionals in your area.

I am so thankful that we had an architect, a designer, and a builder working together when we
built our home.

At the time, I thought my husband was being unnecessarily cautious and that we were paying too much.

Natural Home Design I have read some of the comments..not all, some are veryfunny! Shakespeare,rock climbing wall. Cover
it. My first thought was paint the whole room blue..hmm than came..subtle mural. than now this is far
out a fabric that is shear to let necessary light in and it melds with the mural! I would have to play with it..but something dramatic.

sweetnoor It requires an architect, a designer, and a general contractor, working in coordination to build a house
properly and avoid costly mistakes.

Building a home is the biggest investment many people will make in a lifetime and requires skill, experience, and planning.

Aja Mazin Custom made Circular bookcase!

Stately and functional!

Lkristine Wallpaper just the curved part of the wall. You could do a grasscloth in colors that would look awesome with your fireplace. http://www.lowes.com/pd_119769-12013-LW1341532_0__ Or you could do paintable wall paper and either paint it the same color as the walls, or any other color you would like. Either way, it would add some texture and soften all the bare wall feel at the same time. Example, but there are many possibilities. http://www.allmodern.com/Inhabit-Drift-Wall-Flats-DFTWF-INH1806.html I think putting white bookcases on each side of the curved wall would look great too, and you could display some pretty accents on the shelves, and use the drawers for stuff you want to hide. http://www.dcgstores.com/halifax-white-mahogany-bookcase-inf.html And the tops of these bookcases go with the tops of your windows too! Then over the entrance to the dining room I would add white moulding similar to what is above the windows as well, and then above that a very large round detailed mirror that goes with the rest of your room. Example, http://www.dcgstores.com/halifax-white-mahogany-bookcase-inf.html

Aja Mazin And

The Semi Circular Bookcase Instructions:

http://www.bissellwoodworking.com/custom/drusemi.htm

http://microfence.com/large-circle-projects-i-34.html

I AM LOVING THIS IDEA.

Build to the height of the top of the trim on the highest door or window.

Storage, books, and display!

Aja Mazin And the pièce de résistance

http://www.pacifier.com/~lutescw/furn/4h.html

sweetnoor Aja,

Fantastic!

The last one you posted shows how the area on and around that wall
could be made fully functional and attractive while deflecting attention
from the awkwardly high ceiling and trim issues.

Aja Mazin meglietz ,

What do you think of a bespoke curved bookcase?

My husband and I are book collectors and our home has a library.
He wanted an oval desk with burled wood.

He could find nothing he liked so he "designed" what he wanted
and had it made by a master wood craftsman.

meglietz Aja, I have thought of a curved bookcase and it is certainly something I can reconsider. I just didn't care for the idea of something coming out further than the wall because the wall is already curving out into the room. I also thought of doing a custom built-in book case and shelving that would actually look straight but that is very pricey!

meglietz Aja, I just saw the link you posted on how to make a semi-circular bookcase...you are awesome thank you! Soo cool!

Aja Mazin Build it out of cardboard!

http://creativedesigncognition.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/stenciled-circular-bookcase/

Marie Hebson's interiorsBYDESIGN Inc. Your room is lovely - and - yes, the larger walls are quite cavernous - why not either do
- large tone on tone wallpaper pattern
- wall tattoo - or mural in subtle tones to compliment your design style
- add room divider in millwork then wallpaper lower half, paint upper half

studio10001 Or perhaps an ombre paint effect that incorporates the ceiling at its darkest,lightening as it comes down to wherever you decide to start your moldings. You could incorporate the cutout into the effect through ombre glass (or acrylic) treatment to match. It's possible(?) that you might be able to run your trimwork as you wish unseen on the other side if the glass were dark enough...( If I were queen for a day,I might ask my contracter about rounding the ceiling edges, too,just to know for sure that it was impossible).
My other thought is that you could have a pretty incredible movie screen there located over that incredible curved bookcase.(?!?!) Kidding - That bookcase is pretty darn great.

meglietz a projection screen to cover the cutout would be great for the superbowl : ) Of course we'd all have to start going to the chiropractor from having to look up all the time LOL. We moved all of our furniture around yesterday and are seriously thinking of doing a built-in bookcase on the curved wall that will go higher than the doorway and it can house our TV. It means that the TV won't be the first thing people see when they come into the room, they'll see the fireplace instead. My husband isn't keen on closing up the window (I'm still trying to get him to "see the light" on that one, lol). I may have to compromise and put in a custom window in the cutout to help with the noise issue and still allow for the light to travel to the foyer and upstairs.

I also thought about doing a bookcase on the wall with the walk through to the living room. We found after moved the furniture around yesterday that getting the furniture off the window and moving it to the walls with the curve helped balance out the room. I was thinking that a bookcase like this one could weight the other side of the room too...less expensive than curving a bookcase to a curved wall, would think?

Or curving a case like that last picture with a ladder would be really cool too! The nice thing about that is we can take it pretty high and add lighting which the room desperately needs.



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Aja Mazin "a projection screen to cover the cutout would be great for the superbowl : ) "

Ouch!

Dar Eckert Here's another thought. Remove the flat ceiling and embrace the structure of the living area. Add or enhance the beams and structure (open the ceiling). That way the beams will be the main focus instead of the window. I'm assuming that the roof isn't flat over this area of the house.

Kelly Moran That cut out is odd and doesn't work, for me. I'd get rid of it, have your guy stud it out and cover with drywall. What might be fun, a huge drape on that curved wall from floor to ceiling, fabric isn't that expensive and it will be dramatic! It also absorbs sound and makes the room more warm & inviting. Plus you have that very nice fireplace with all that stone work making a large mass on the opposite side of the room. If you have a large dramatic floor-to-ceiling drape, gathered for softness, on the opposite side - on the curved wall side, it will give balance to the room!

If not a drape - a large art work on a canvas would provide interest & balance to the room.

Darzy I was actually thinking as Marie. Subtle wallpaper below and moulding above to "bring the ceiling down". That is pretty, and most economical. You could even try just a horizontal stripe painted "moulding" above the wallpaper (small moulding/paint/moulding) above the wallpaper. That way you can live with it a while to see if you like it.

meglietz We considered adding dormer windows on the angled ceiling but again very $$$

Susan Mills Design I would remove the partial crown, v groove the ceiling and replace the fan with this twin orb polished nickel chandelier. That would drop the focus down from the opening and create an interesting focal point, as right now, everything is so disimiliar and distracting.

Aja Mazin I believe the curve is not as severe and awkward as it first appears.
2 things are accentuating the curve:

1.] The white trim on the curved wall and on the walls on either side of it.

Make it disappear with photoshop and you will see that the difference is amazing.

2.] The arc of the upper opening.

The upper opening should be rectangular. Make the arc disappear and the difference is amazing!

The curve in the wall visually diminishes!!!

I am adding your pics for convenience of viewing.

[I grew weary of scrolling....]

Denice Shuty I sympathize, similar issues in my canyon-like condo that has a small footprint, weird angles and cut-outs. Plus nothing lines up - windows are offset from each other, ledges don't line up with mouldings... argh! Most of the fixes can get pricey and since this is not my forever-home I struggle to reach a decision that makes sense.

Not looking to distract the conversation away from meglietz - just thought that seeing mine too might spur some other ideas for her. I will be following this post to see what I can learn here.

Aja Mazin meglietz,

"I have a 2 story living room that is seriously lacking in trim work and moldings ..."

I disagree!

You have an excess of trim work and moldings that act like a battery operated neon highlighter
drawing attention to curves and angles.

Add nothing to further draw attention to the upper walls or ceilings, please.

Aja Mazin meglietz,

I finally understand the reason for the curved wall.

It is to accommodate your spiral staircase on the other side of the wall..

One reason the builder added the cutout was so someone on the 2nd floor could view
what was going on in the living room and communicate with the occupants below.

meglietz Aja,
Yes, the cutout is great for checking in on the kids and being able to easily see what is going on in the house. You nailed it with explaining it as a neon highlighter..that is exactly what the molding is at the top of the room and it's why the can lighting drives me nuts too. The painters didn't paint the can lights and you see little white circles all over the room. My husband said he liked it?!?! HUH WHAT? But when I told him it was light a highlighter he FINALLY understood why I don't like them white. Thank you!

meglietz @CMR, I really like the paneling you did in Palos but I don't think that is a great option if you want to hang pictures. Bead board is probably too casual and country for the room, right? I'm trying to think of a flat molding that would allow me to hang pictures too.

jgoodmon Just a quick question... it looks like the opening on the stairway side is fairly low, especially on the left side, true? You mentioned children and I wondered if the opening is a potential fall hazard.

Aja Mazin Textured, paintable, paneled wallpaper on dry wall.

And a carpenter could make this for under $500 using a good wood.

Stamps Design Services Have you considered hanging a stained glass panel in the opening? It might transform what seems like an awkward feature into an asset... Stained glass panels come in a variety of sizes and patterns, but would not comepletely block the opening...

lsaly1home Custom juliet balcony.
-Lisa

sweetsugar Add abstract art with bright colors so your eyes draw attention to them not that part of the room

Sustainable Dwellings Great room. Fan is too small for space... try a larger more dramatic light fixture... Add some oversize artwork(?)...

meglietz Our house is very traditional with dark floors and white wood work so some of these awesome suggestions won't work well with the style of the house or the decor I am trying to implement. We have white slipcovered sofa and sisal rugs to give you an idea of how I decorate but I have thought about hanging a leaded or clear glass window in the cutout or to just install a window that is fixed into it. It's not a fall hazard although it probably looks that way in the pictures.

Aja Mazin meglietz,'

Unpainted can lights!!!

Those little white circles have almost driven me crazy.

meglietz Me too!

Aja Mazin meglietz.

A window?

What type of window?

An open and close type of window?

A curved glass window will not be inexpensive.

meglietz Well since everyone seems to agree that it should be closed up because its a strange architectural eye sore (my husband disagrees) I might have to compromise and fill it with a window. If I do, it will be something simple and traditional so it doesn't seem out of place or odd for the decor and type of home we have...not sure yet. It will be a long while before we can address that issue with a custom fitted window because it will be pricey. Hopefully in that time I can convince my husband to drywall it up instead.

Dar Eckert You do know that everyones opinion doesn't make it right. If you like it its right for you.

Aja Mazin meglietz,

I did not recommend closing it up and I would never put in a window.

I recommended doing nothing to draw attention to it.

No stain glass,....

studio10001 Meglietz, some of us ( moi) thought YOU wanted the opening closed, and that may be affecting some of the ideas. We are just brainstorming various options, don't think of this like a poll. Take what you can use and live with.

trasgorshek Good example of spindle balcony with use of shadow box trim on large scale wall. Simply change out the fan to a large scale iron chandelier to add to the look. You mentioned noise further up the thread, you could add the doors like example to close off sound when needed. Personally I would play it up. Could be a great feature.
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trasgorshek Then you could continue the shadow box trim up the stairs. [houzz=
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