Then add a starburst gold mirror. Grown up.Done.

I would eliminate the stripes at the bottom and paint it the same as the wall.Then I would add a thin grey stripe to the top. Click picture to enlarge.

before you paint over (if you paint over) be aware you may have raised lines that need to be sanded down, or you'll have a monotoned but still visibly striped wall.

do not paint while husband is away, that is no way to have a relationship.

@nnigrt, I agree, the painting should not be done when he is away - he needs to do the painting... hahaha. Just joshing.

I thought it looked fine also - except for the top but couldn't figure out why. Mark's suggestions would certainly improve the look.

They gray and the brown don't work at all together IMO. You could paint the brown strips gray, and then it would be okay--not great, but okay for now.

If you repaint with wider stripes, you may be able to "raise" the ceiling visually if the top stripe is white.

i've just realized that only one wall is striped...there are multiple photos which i didnt notice were all the same.

stop worrying! its just one wall. put up some art or mirror and leave it for a year. let your husband know you intend to revisit the situation in the future.

These stripes look OK. (Next time, I might use slightly less contrasty colors.) I believe they will grow on you and look better over time. It's just a bit of a shock now, that's all.

I know re-painting or papering is not feasable, but you can alter what you have.
You can re-paint the yellow stripes a more subtle, elegant kind of colour. you can also combine Mark's idea of the half wall with this

Repainting or papering is feasible and I would like to do it very soon! I truly appreciate all of the comments and help to try and salvage the stripes but I really feel like I need to start over with a "clean slate". My vision has always been to do a soft yet interesting wall paper. I would love for it to be a conversation piece as we sit at the DR table with friends and family. The stripes make me want to bang my head against the table instead. haha.

@ haleydaniels - it's not really "brown". maybe the picture doesn't show the color that great. The other walls are Amazing Gray (SW) and the darker gray is Anonymous which was on the same color strip as Amazing Gray, just two shades darker.

I've purchased two mirrors for between the windows. One was too small and one was too large. The space between the two windows is 45 inches if I remember correctly.

miacometlady - I love your wall paper ideas. That is the look I'm going for.

Loving all of your table runner, napkins, accessories, etc ideas!

What do you think about plant in the corner? Host chairs.

Please, please, please, don't go behind his back to paint out the stripes! It's his home too, and most men, even those who say they don't, care a lot! Ask him what it is he likes about the colors, and the pattern. Once you both have a feeling for why he likes it, compromise! As suggested above, wainscoting below, only one way striped, and other compromises can make it a room you both love, because you've done it together. FYI, I love the stripes, just not on every wall. And as suggested above, bringing in different colors will help.

I found a post separate from this one with a stone fireplace - is that your adjoining room?

He honestly doesn't care at all. He just wants me to be happy. And I wouldn't go behind his back :)

The stripes are only on one wall. I'm realizing the multiple photos of slightly different angles are confusing people to think we painted all the walls. It's just the one wall behind the hutch.

everbebz...yes, that sounds like our living room. Stone fireplace with white built-ins on both sides. Sectional with two gray leather chairs. You would also probably find a post with the kitchen. All three rooms flow into each other on the main level.

Here's a well executed accent wall and chair rail:

Just saw the RH mirror in your previous post. It's perfect!

er612 - the black one? it's not too small?

Not at all. I think the horse prints may have been throwing you off. Just lower it a bit and it really will be perfect. The frame sort of mimics your molding. Here's another wallpaper/chair rail example (I know it's a bathroom but you get the idea):

I think you will be much happier without the stripes on the wall-- I agree with you that the DR is not the right space. Since your hubby just wants you to be happy, go for the wallpaper! I'll leave WP choices to actual designers, but one wall is a doable project! It's also doable for when you get sick of it, and want it down!

thanks er612. I will try it again! You're right, the horse pictures may have been throwing me off. I think the other thing I was struggling with is there is so much black already with the table, chairs, and hutch and I was thinking I would like gold to play off of the chandelier and make it less heavy?

I would turn that little section into a banquette.

Any color would work (though you might want to wait until you have the wallpaper installed to decide). Do you have any ideas for wallpaper? You wanted a statement. How do you feel about either of these:

…or if you want to stick with yellow and grey...

If you don't like it, you don't like it... :) Just prime and paint over it if you can't figure out an immediate paper option. Wallpaper would be nice too. If you keep the stripes for a while, I would elminate all other decor or streamline to minimal white. Then you just have 1 bold moment. You'll get it... good luck.

Mark - I've always wanted to do a bench. I love the look! I just didn't think it would ever work in my DR but replacing the hutch with a bench is a great idea.

just so everyone is aware...the stripes are only on one wall. I took multiple photos at different angles...sort of. Even tho just one wall.....I still don't like.

I would live with the wall stripes for a while.

Once, I moved into a home with pale pink walls. I thought that pale pink color was horrid at first.

After a while, I loved the pale pink. It was, in that house, the perfect color to set to off my dark antiques and Oriental rugs!

Just mix some of the light and dark grey together and paint over the yellow stripe to make it less circus tent and more tone on tone and add a gold modern mirror.

I like the wall. I would try to go sort of mid century modern by adding a poster above the hutch centered between the windows and some small vases in the window sills. I would also remove the runner and placemats and place a very plain white dish or tray with a few lemons in it in the center of the table.

I think the problem is there is to much contrast in the stripes. I would try painting the white stripes the softer lighter grey that is on the other wall. You will have two shades of grey and the yellow for the color he wants.

This reminds me of a fast food restaurant, I'd either wallpaper or repaint that wall!

I think what hit me the most was that the white stripe near the ceiling blended in my eye with the ceiling & it brought the ceiling down too low. I also did not like the chair rail combined with the stripes. At least you figured out where the chair rail would hit & put the white stripe there.

I do not like wallpaper & you can't just buy one roll. They are priced by double rolls. So be sure you want wallpaper before buying it. Paint is so much easier. (Especially if you do not do stripes!!!)

Sand rad - Mark has already addressed the issue of the white at the top - and really.......

who cares whether you like wallpaper or not, it's not your home - and the poster likes wallpaper.

Really thinking about doing the gray banquette bench like Mark suggested and getting rid of the hutch. I'm assuming I would want the bench to be pushed back almost against the wall but then what do I do about the chandelier...it would no longer be centered over the table if I pushed the table towards the soon to be papered wall :)

Also looking for more wall paper suggestions, if anyone has ideas please share.

Benches don't have to be pushed against walls. Consider using a settee if you want something that covers more of the wall. You could even use both if you wish.

They sell banquettes on overstock. Have a browse http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Baxton-Studio-Madelyn-Grey-Linen-Modern-Banquette-Bench/8749998/product.html

You've gotten some great advice. Not sure if you've changed things by now but my thought is that it might have seemed a little more cohesive if you had let the stripes extend to the window frames so that only the glass was showing. I hope that makes sense. That would be an easy fix to me. I love Mark's suggestions (as always) but if you want to try to salvage the look, maybe painting the frames would help.

You might need a white base coat over the darker color if you intend to paint the wall a much lighter color than the darkest brown.

Since you chose these colors because you like them but don't like the effect, consider reusing the colors but in a different way: Paint the lower wall area between the chair rail and the baseboard the darker color and paint the upper half of the wall the lightest winter white (?) color and then choose some wallpaper trim with some of the yellow you like as well as other colors -- or perhaps sunflower print -- to add a horizontal stripe of it for the very top of the wall at the ceiling.

Stop highlighting the yellow! Remove all the yellow accessories and use white as the accent colour. Also, add curtains. This will do two things: 1) make your ceilings appear higher 2) break up all the stripes. Patterned curtains will help balance the stripes.

I got rid of the stripes. Went back to a solid gray wall that I now want to wall paper.

Darn! I'm seeing this for the first time and loved the wall of stripes! Poop! Boring solid gray wall? waaahhhhh!!!

Darzy, not my cup of tea, but the 70sare on their way back in!

I thought all she needed to do was remove the placemats. Anyway, interesting wallpaper will look quite nice too. cslund...will you show us the wallpaper you like?

Yes, do.

Wallpaper is expensive; why not stencil?

I'm not that talented to stencil. I do love the photo above. I wouldn't need very much wall paper for just that one wall. I would also love to add curtains. Just not sure how to pull it all together. I'll try to post some photos of the wall paper I was considering.

No to the flamingos. ;-)

Well, one thing I want to try in my house is gray-on-gray-on-gray stripes, maybe with stencil texture, in the bedroom. Using the same color but layering eggshell on flat or satin, to get a simple wallpaper look with a simple painting method.