Yes, I would do the back wall.

I would mirror the fireplace wall with a pair of camber-topped or elliptical-topped arched panels with a rectangular one in the middle although the width proportions can be different. I would keep the height similar to the fireplace elevation.

I think I would leave the window wall as is. Since you have ellipses on the tops of the book-cases and a radius arch flanked by split radius arches rather than a true Palladian window or camber topped window, I would not emphasize the difference by adding more panels.

Thanks palimpsest. When you say keep the height similar to the fireplace elevation, I should have the arched panels be across from the fireplace arches, and then have taller panels below leading up?

Yes, mimic the general shapes of the fireplace wall on the opposite one. It doesn't have to be identical but I would keep the height of the detail on the fireplace wall and the other wall similar. The division of the lower to upper panels could line up with the tops of the doors.

Hi beaglesdoitbetter.

My own suggestion is to look closely--before you go any further--at the differences between the panel moldings in the blue hallway and those in the beige hallway. The fact that your room is double height isn't the issue. It's that one of your photo models is deeply flawed.

In the blue room, the panels are perfectly proportioned and correctly placed in the spaces they fill. In the beige room they look like they were stuck up there at random, in a hurry, without any thought. One room is elegant & restrained and the other is cheesy & amateurish. Panels, in themselves (and no matter how high the room) cannot create an elegant effect. It's how they're sized & placed that makes all the difference between lovely & laughable. What do I mean? Well, let's take a close look at that beige hall to see what's wrong with it--and I'm not even taling about the awkward juncture of the two rooms, or that weird stub of a cornice sneaking around the corner. From the front door (from where its presence on the large wall makes no makes no visual sense) that little pit of white molding peeking around the corner must give the same effect as a woman's slip peeking out from beneath her designer gown. Oops! No, I'm not really talking about any of that. I'm talking about the thing you asked about: the panels. And about what's wrong with them.

For one thing, they aren't centered on the wall. The far corner is too crowded and the near corner is too bare. Why? They're certainly not laid out that way to align the center panel with the door below, because the panel & the architrave above the door below don't line up. Why not? And why are the panels three different heights? Pick one height & run with it, don't show us all the options. And, panel heights aside, why aren't the tops of any of the panels aligned with any other lines in the space? And why is there no lintel above the columns/closets by the door? Why isn't the horiziontal header at the base of the window's arch the proper thickness? It's scrawny & undernourished. Why?

I'll tell you why. It's because these folks didn't hire a real designer, or a real decorator. And I'm not necessarily talking about a degree'd designer: I'm talking about someone who simply knows what he or she is doing when designing in a traditional style. This room looks like it was laid out by someone who tried to save money by doing it all herself, with nothing but a fistful of inspiration pictures to guide her--and it shows. In a cozy cottage or a simple beach house, offbeat, hit-or-miss effects can be charming. But in a place that takes itself as seriously as that beige place, does, trying to do it all by yourself is just asking for trouble. This room is the architectural equivalent of a little kid all dressed up in Mom's old prom dress, Nana's opera gloves and some glittery beads from the neighbor's garage sale. It's a supemodel strutting down the runway and falling flat on her butt. If someone was aiming for elegance in this room, she not only missed it by a mile, she wasted a ton of money in the process. I'm reminded of couplet by Alexander Pope':

Such labor'd nothings, in so strange a style
Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.

It's obvious that you, too, are spending a boatlaod of money on your new place. If you want to make sure you don't flush that money down the drain, now's the time to call in an expert.

Regards,
Magnaverde.

palimpsest what do you think of this general idea- is this what you meant by arches?

It's not to scale so it looks busier, but what I'm thinking is to do the arches and the center square on top as you suggested and then for each arch and the fireplace, there will be too panels below. I'll try to get those two panels to line up where the break in the book case is. The book cases are each 7.5 feet, so each panel will be a little less than half.

Thanks for your comments also Magnaverde. Hiring a designer is not something we are doing at this time. I've designed everything myself down to modifying the floor plans and creating the kitchen, and I'm happy doing it myself. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to look nice to me and my fiance :)

Palimpsest, also, one more question. Here, I lined the panels up on this wall which isn't directly parallel to the fireplace wall. If I were to line the arches up so they are directly across from the fireplace wall, then the one arch would be partially over the door. I am guessing that wouldn't look right.

Would you try to line the arches up directly across from the fireplace arches, even w/ it having to be over the door? If so, how would you deal with the panels on the bottom?

I did not realize there was a doorway there.

Can you make that a flat topped doorway? Everything else at that level has a flat top, only that door is arched.

This is how I would try first:

Doorway (with flat top) Panel above same width as door with Camber or elliptical arch like bookcases. At the other end of the wall, panel same size as door, with camber topped or eliptical arch panel above. Panel or pair of panels the same height as the door.(I don't know what the width is here) Flat top(s), I think, aligning with the point at which the ellipse starts.

I would not do three panels high or panels broken by chair rail, I don't think.

There's doorways on both ends. The doorway has to be arched because it lines up with the arched door leading into the gathering room on the other side of the kitchen, so it is symmetrical. It was done for the kitchen, and because most of the other open openings in the house are arched. Does this help?

The reason I was doing the three rows was because I wanted to do the two rows broken up by chair rail in the back hallway that leads into this room and I wanted it to all flow together.

Does seeing the floor plan change your opinion?

Not necessarily. If you look at classical revival architecture of the early 19th c. (and Georgian/Federal before it), there was generally a hierarchy that was assigned to rooms, openings and doors, and it was based upon their hierarchy how they were treated, so the same room may have arched or very imposing openings or doorways, and very simple doorways. (For example the main entry to the dining room may be treated in a very formal fashion, the door that the servants brought things in would be simple and unobtrusive, because why emphasize that?

In your case it is the only arched opening within the general three wall boundaries of the room, at least down at typical ceiling level. Since the great room is central to the house and appears to be very balanced if not exactly symmetrical, that room should take precedence, and a door leading into the kitchen that isn't lined up with anything else in the ktichen should be based upon aesthetic impact on the great room, not its aesthetic impact on the kitchen.

Same with chair rail. There are reasons that chair rail was commonly placed in dining rooms and other public rooms originally, and it had to do with pushing furniture against the walls, or protecting walls in passageways. It was not used as much (in many periods) in parlors and chambers and such. Once wallpaper was in vogue, people wanted as much wall to show off paper as possible. (Chair rail showing up randomly everywhere including bedrooms in an otherwise contemporary house is bothersome to me).

Remember, if everything gets equal emphasis, nothing does.

Makes sense to me. I'm not sure if the door can be changed at this time since I believe they just finished drywalling everything, but I am meeting with the builder over at the house on Tuesday and I will talk to him about it then.

Worst case scenario, if I am unable to change the door, how would you handle the paneling? I'm not married to the chair rail and can get rid of it to achieve an overall better look. I'm not married to the panel style either and can do wainscoting or, if you think it would look best, nothing at all. I could also just do the paneling on the bottom and do a layer of crown or something above it even with the tops of the doors and then stop and do nothing above if that is the best solution too.

Also, have I mentioned how grateful I am for you sharing your extensive knowledge with me as I figure these issues out. Your help is invaluable and my house is going to be so much better because of you :)

If you leave the arched opening the next thing I would try is:

Square panel over the arched door. At the other end of the room I would try an arched panel the same height and width of the door with a square panel over that. Then in between, an arrangement of a rectangular panel below and one above that lined up with the tops and bottoms of the others.

I like that palimpsest. I'll try to draw that up later tonight when we get back from dinner. That will create nice symmetry I think and bring the arch down to the lower level so that there's a more cohesive look.

I think I like this- does the arch look strange on the end though?

Make them all the same height.

Try one large on on the bottom between the two arches and one large one on the top, two instead of six.

Analyze it on a straight on elevation, not a perspective.

I wish I had a better picture of the room with that wall straight on, but I don't. I'll see if my fiance can take one when he goes tomorrow because I won't be going up to PA until right before the meeting. It's hard to do this all from far away.

I'll try to draw it up with one big one. The wall is almost 7 fit. long so I'm not sure if that will be too long, even with the arch taking up part of it. I was trying to align the three, one with the fireplace and the other two with half of the book cases.

There are wonderful resources that explain the underlying principles for rules in architectural designing of wood trim, wall panels, etc. We have DIY'ed woodwork in several homes, and while we've surely screwed up here and there, the overall effect has worked. Perhaps you feel confidant enough to wing it, but we found books on the subject to be a huge help explaining the basics. The rules do help, and It definitely involves math, so It's good I wasn't working alone on the projects! Ignore this if you've already done your research. Looks like it will be a lovely home. Be sure to post pics when it's complete.

Thank you for the instructional discourse on the differences between the undeniably upper class blue room vs. the run of the mill McMansion taupe room, mangaverde. I really appreciate your detailed response on proportion and trim work, there is great info in the details you provided.

sandyponder

IMHO I think the trim moulding looks very busy. I might pay a few bucks, and have an interior designer come up with a plan.

leahcate can you recommend a book or books you found useful?

I have a few more options. What do you think? Palimpsest, I did the one panel like you suggested and fixed the heights. I also like the idea of doing sort of a raised panel look, either in the color of the trim (with everything the same color) or else in the color of my book cases so it could mimic the book cases on the other wall (they will be stained blue)

Any of these options look good?

If I went with option 4 or 5, I'd probably have the paneling look more like this than exactly like above:

I like the first of the list. You will still need to verify how any of this looks on the flat elevation.

The high, raised wainscot idea gets into another style altogether.

Thanks palimpsest. I like the first one too I think. I don't love that the other way would sort of be fake raised paneling. I am hoping to get a straight-on picture tomorrow when I go to PA and then do a photoshop with the straight on picture, it will depend what time I get there. I want to see what my builder says as well, every home he's done has been beautiful and he's bringing some moldings with him to show me for ideas too.

But wait...what about saving room for large art? How about two tall but narrow vertical rectangles, with chair railing inside them, balancing both sides of the wall? Then you could leave space in between them for the big art that would bring color, balance and mood to the room. I could picture an elegant table under the art. That would seem tasteful, stately, purposeful and not too crowded or busy. This is my opinion.

Thanks zagyzebra. I will look at that as an idea and draw that up too. I'm going to take a straight on picture if I can and that should make it a lot easier to see what works.

"Researching" at Borders.... which may soon be a thing of the past:>( helped to saturate my brain with the look I wanted. For hands on advice we used: Decorating with Architectural Details, and Decorating with Architectural Trimwork, both from Creative Homeowner, and found at Home Depot and the old HD Expo store( Amazon, too). Also, 1,000 Trimwork Ideas, I think was the title. Good luck.

Thanks leahcate. I'm writing them down and we'll make a trip to borders maybe tonight as well as to home depot.