Looking down from 2nd story. And sell is not an option, decorating help would be great.

Beautiful house. Your aesthetic does not fit the house. Trying to incorporate that aesthetic into this house will end up in a Mish mosh of styles.

So, I guess we want to give it a clean look, perhaps not true modern contemporary by definition. So what would you suggest color and decor wise? We absolutely love the house and the features so would like to what's possible. Thanks.

Consider taking the wood trim and shifting it - paint some of it out and taking the rest darker - the wood tones are very traditional but then you have lots of white painted trim and mullions - this is the place they come together. Consider a dark banister and treads but white skirting and risers on the stair. Use a mid tone warm gray - something dramatic on the walls here - you have lots of natural light - something like http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/museumpiece - now the trim will pop against it. You may be able to use just one coat of darker toned polyshades to get the wood tone deeper . .. rails, newel posts, but not skirting above...

ps contemporary art in large scale in a traditional home, with cool neutrals on the walls will help achieve the affect you want. Make an ideabook here of rooms that you admire and work toward that ideal.

Okay, if you can't sell, then I'd simplify what's there. Remove those draperies, the traditional rug and the faux floral. Those are probably things left from the sales brochure photos anyway,and not yours.

If it's in the budget, I'd change all the railings to a simple black iron railing. and paint the skirting black and hand rail.

You'll need an entry table or maybe a pair, I can't tell from the photos. I like the clean lines of the one below, tho it's only 47" long and I'd like a bigger one. Pair each console with a pair of lamps, simple ones, with contemporary art above.

Hi shere! Think about replacing the chandelier with a more modern or transitional one. It can really make a big difference.

I'd also like to see the walls painted, probably white.

Thank you for all the advice. I'm a fan of monochromatic themes. So might go with a light gray or white. What do you all suggest about the windows (3rd post with pic). Agree about the entry tables and rug. Will need something large for the wall left of the stairs.

Do you mean the lower windows with the swagged drapery? Burn the draperies and if privacy is needed, install plantation shutters. I'm thinking I'd paint the entry doors black, and maybe the other doors also that are off the entry. I'd try to stay with a black and white theme. Maybe pale gray would work, but I prefer white as one of these years, gray will go away. White will not, and it's a classic with black. I'm hoping that accent color on your entry floor is black. Is it?

Here are lamps for the tables.

Really like the first lamp with the gold base. Black and white.... Seems very bold. Could you give me any examples of what your suggestions?

Ps you're right the accent on the floor is black.

Here's an example of french doors painted black. Note that the trim around them remains white.

The second photo shows a black and white treatment you could give to your stairway.

It's also possible that you could paint the iron portions of your chandelier black. You'd have to have it taken down to do it, but you or someone else should be able to do it.

The colors that are in your home are very Tuscan. You need to get rid of that influence in the things that are easy to change...thus the black paint. In furnishings, I would try to keep them simple.

I, too, love the black and gold lamps. They're somewhat expensive, but I wouldn't want you to put them on both tables, if indeed there is room for two tables. I would put the other pair on the other table, thereby lowering the average cost per lamp since the other lamp is not expensive at all.

Here's an example of black front doors.

I think you can use black instead of deepening the stain if you want, and painting more of the trim out white is definitely going to take this in your direction. Carolyn's images have shown you how to shift the tuscan mishmash you inherited. Since the floor is such a warm tone, I'd be concerned about going white on the walls since the natural light is going to bounce that tone up on them - you could do something really neutral like an edgecomb gray (not really gray at all) - or on the walls do a dark white with a bit of a cool neutral in it to counter the floor . . you will need some contrast and we're going to help you get away from the buttercream tone.

Depends on what you're doing in the rest of the house, but painting a more current modern shade will immediately transform this foyer as well. Here is one color idea, more sophisticated and dramatic
http://houzz.com/photos/305228

These are great ideas. Thanks all. We want a nice clean, cohesive look in the house. The entry and kitchen/family are our first priority. Attached is a couple pics of that. Ideally want to incorporate the entry style with the rest of house.

And agreed want to get the Tuscan flavor that's there now, out!

Are the furnishings in the photos yours or the previous owners? You have a big job ahead of you and you'd likely benefit from hiring an interior designer to help you.

These are all furnishings by seller, not ours. We are going to paint for sure and slowly acquire furniture to our style liking. I've selected a lot of pics from Houzz for inspiration in our idea book.

Here's a thought. Change your style. I hope you got a once in lifetime deal on this house, because it is going to take a lifetime to change it to your taste. Sorry to be such a grumpy granny, but really! Look at the newel post in the sofa/rug picture. That isn't going to look modern no matter how many coats of white......or gray .....paint you put on it. And that is just a tiny detail.
Accept the house you bought. Bring what you can of your taste to it. But don't try to turn it into something it isn't.

You can do a great modern look in a traditional home. Here, the light fixtures are the worst thing that need changing out. Taking that stained wood to black and going to a neutral on the walls will do a lot here - there isn't a lot of extraneous trim and you can live with the floor.

Libra is right! Update the fans and light fixtures in the kitchen/family room and you'd have a much different look. It won't be contemporary, but the excesses of the Tuscan era can be banished.

So, Carolyn and I have a great prescription for you:
1. change all light fixtures - nickel tones and clean lined transitional fixtures will make a huge difference. Set aside a generous budget for this - look at high end fixtures like hubbardton forge and then obtain similar styling in lower brands - look at lightingdirect.com where you can sort for size, metal tone. Don't do anything matched.
2. Ebony stain or black paint banister / top railing / newel posts / treads, paint risers skirting white like trim (except bottom step - stain first riser black) - do the entry wood and doors and do the back staircase too. (Husband may accept an ebony stain where he would balk at painting). Try a striped runner for a little transitional flair - dash and albert sell great options.
3. Carolyn suggests white paint in the entry. To achieve the look I think you want and deal with the flooring you have, I'm going to offer some colors you can test in the next post.

Your entry has lots of natural light, so there I've chosen a green undertone neutral (to play of the gold in the floor) that can be like a chamelon no matter what your eventual color scheme it will work well. ben moores' sea haze http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/seahaze
For the family space and kitchen, since the natural light is not so strong, this is the place for a paler tone - here's where I'd try the edgecomb gray http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/edgecombgray#ce_s=edgeco
it is warm enough to work well with the floor but cool enough to signal your new style.

For the formal dining room room off the entry with the lighter floor (leave it) and the niche at the top of the stair, I suggest you use amherst gray http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/amherstgray or if you are a bit more brave and know your color plan, there are deep olive tones that would be even more gorgeous in there - aegean olive if you were so inclined, http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/aegeanolive

Then, when gray goes out, you can shift this to a more current tone. Consider your whole house palette - what accent tones will you use? depending on what you have for a formal dining room . . .what tones are in your current upholstery . . .or if you are thinking you'll start fresh there . . . try classic chairs with a stronger bright velvet - a plum tone would be amazing and unique, for instance with the warm gray or very chic against the olive walls .. . i digress.

The point is to introduce drama in a smaller dose so you deal with the dramatic architecture by signalling your bold style in contrast. A dining room is a nice place for dark walls since you will have an amazing light fixture, some buffet lamps perhaps, to show off large art in modern canvas style. When color styles change, you can just change this room, as all the neutrals on the other two walls should work well for some time to come. Put a modern sculpture in the traditional niche - nothing you buy in art or furniture should relate to old world / european / tuscan. Fill the house with clean lined furniture, modern art, large plain rugs . . you will need to balance the architecture with everything else heading contemporary but it can really be a showstopper in that direction.

This house was built to impress. Your furnishings can be bold and larger than average scale. There are great, creative suggestions above. Painting the foyer chandelier black would work because it is a highly visible statement piece. It will still be in style for another couple of years or so- those crystal ball bobbles came into popularity a couple years ago, maybe a little longer. YMMV; fashion trends can be highly regional.

Getting rid of the tile on the floor would make a big difference.

I think you'll be happier long-term if you hire someone to help you navigate all the choices. Painting this style home is an undertaking, and requires a good color plan...since many of the walls are connected, and open to other rooms. It's not a small job. The paint should follow choosing furnishings and fabrics, so it doesn't look thrown together.

In the meantime, here are color ideas to start you thinking. It will flow better if you keep the main living areas the same color. Then you won't run into the issue with where does one color start and the other end. Then, adjacent rooms that you can see, but are separate (like the dining room) should coordinate. But generally, I'd keep the foyer, kitchen, and great room one color.

These are some neutrals that are considered more current , yet will get rid of all that gold!

Coastal fog
http://houzz.com/photos/156270

Thunder
http://houzz.com/photos/5113774

Revere Pewter
http://houzz.com/photos/3877315

Snap out of it! You have a gorgeous house, why try to deface it? The only thing I would change there is the rug in front of the door,

Thank you for the advice from all. We love the house. We just want to update it. The "Tuscan" style is not for us. Thank you for the color ideas. We have been looking at restoration hardware and west elm for items. I agree keeping the entry, family kitchen all one color. I don't like the floors either but changing it right now is not an option. I may seek out a designer consult to help give us a longterm plan. Houzz is a great forum for a newbie like me.

Hang in there. Sometimes you need to live in the space awhile to get the feel. You can make some fairly simple updates to freshen it all up without going too crazy!

If you're in Austin, I'd love to help you.

Not sure if this will inspire you but it's a fairly traditional entrance (the client had already selected the stairs/bannister) but I was able to transform it with interesting lighting, a feature tiled wall (marble, glass and mother of pearl) and organic-inspired floor tiles.

If you are in Southern California, I'm available. Don't mind those attached to any one style. You can have a home that you love in this space.

I wouldn"t decorate at all. I'd move house. I could live in a much smaller space & feel very comfortable. As an entry, not for me at all. Too Big, too ostentatious, just too too . . .for me

The question was not should I move or not! Those of you (@libra, Carolyn, Rebecca, Laurak) that have provided great, helpful advice, much appreciated. Those with self views and opinions that are not germane to the topic can kindly keep to themselves. If you can't say anything nice or productive, stay out of it!

Yes, start with the color and style of the railing. I think that and the flooring are the main things that contradict your desired image. Also, since the layout and shape of the space is not contemporary as well, try to compensate with colors and furniture.

Well said shere. For my part, I think the flooring is more classic than tuscan, exactly - once the light fixtures are updated and all the previous owners tuscan art and touches are cleared out, the floors are going to work fine. The versaille pattern is pretty classic and can work in a modern home. The entry floor is a classic pattern and the dark elements will help you shift the wood tone so you love it. The warm tones of the primary stone in the family room did make me search for the green undertone neutrals. These will have the best resonance since the little bit of warmth in them will harmonize with the warmth in the floor - then they won't look yellow, they will just look neutral. If you do consider grays, make sure they have some green underneath to address this.

We are excited to see your things in the space and Congratulations on your beautiful new home. Navigating a husband's ideas of what he wants and finding the right thing in the right place is a big job to tackle - now you get to make it yours. That is what we are here for . . . Carolyn and I were just hoping to actually stand in the house ourselves, because we love to collaborate here. Many of us enjoy celebrating each others success and enjoy helping people find their way to something they find beautiful.

Congratulations on your new home. I think you have some great advise here, start with a fresh coat of paint, new lighting and consider painting or staining the wood trim darker. I would also take a second look at the front door. If you can do hire a professional to help. Good luck!

Hi! Ignore the unhelpful comments here. I actually saw your pic and question and thought to myself - she's my twin!!! I have a similar house I recently bought and am slowly converting since Feb. My favorite colors are also whites and grays as well as greige. I actually bought a similar type house as yours, but my taste is more modern glam, luxe glam, transitional combined with neoclassical. I too hate tuscan. I hate browns, beige, yellow tones. So here's what I would do (and am pretty much doing almost same with my house).

Some of this advice may not be in your budget. But perhaps you can do in the future:

1) Change the tyle. This tyle is too villa/tuscan/traditional. If marble's in your budget, checkout lighter marbles, perhaps crema marfil select, try light colored limestones. If not marble, then checkout glassos - it's pure white glass porcelains (that's what I did in diamond tile style.

2) To get the modern glam style, you have to restain the staircase as well as balcony (prob after sanding it). Both the stairs and the handlebar should be darker, either dark walnut, or espresso. To get a pop of color, you can make risers white. The iron rails are absolutely fine to keep.

3) Paint the walls. You can paint them white (there are dozens of whites, so be careful what you pick). Read some blogs online about types of whites. Benjamin Moore has a swatch book called "Off-Whites" - where you can see diff whites. You can also paint the walls light gray (don't do dark gray in this type of house. If your house is north facing, try warm light grays, such as classic gray, pale oak, balboa mist, etc. Don't do dark gray in the foyer. The colors I'm mentioning look light once painted. But def try out whites as well.

4) Definitely paint the french door white Would trim makes the door look old/tuscan, too traditional.

5) Get rid of sconce, furnishings, flowers - they are all too traditional.

6) Check out furnishings on Luxe Decor, Horschow, Wayfair - look for items with mirrors. Get nice big antique mirror glass from Uttermost. Uttermost has really cool modern luxe glam accessories that do not cost an arm and a leg. Feel free to browse my ideabooks for my inspirations.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

Just as an update, here's my staircase transformation, so that you can see it's possible and not too difficult to transform an outdated looking house into a glam one.

BEFORE (previous owner's sales-listing photo:

AFTER:

Holy moly...all it takes is hard cash!

That looks like a completely different house than the original pictures???

Interesting. And clearly a lot more than the staircase was remodeled! The new one is a bit busy for my taste. And I certainly wouldn't call it contemporary/modern. But I am glad you are happy with it!

I am a "newbie" at decorating as well (even though age-wise I'm not very new at all) and it seems like the terminology is what is causing all of the problem. Clearly, you love traditional type homes because you love the home you just selected--which is traditional and which has been pointed out with various degrees of politeness. It sounds like you mean you would like you home to be a more "updated" style as opposed to the pretty dated tuscan look. The photos from laurakdesigns look great and certainly show a more updated look to the type of home you have. Best wishes and enjoy your new home!

zzmom, same house, I assure you. I didn't say the new one was contemporary, but wanted to show the OP that a transformation is not difficult. Same effect could have been achieved without new moldings or iron rails by just refinishing wood color and repainting risers / walls. Oh, and for those wondering, I actually spent a very reasonable amt (especially here in NYC)....

Sorry Alina, I had you confused with the OP who did request contemporary. Not sure what happened to her though!

Perhaps she's busy remodeling. :-)