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Is the back wall a hallway?

To the right is the green kitchen. To the left is the great room.

Kinda narrow for furniture. And yes, another rug!

OK- I know you won't like what I have to say......but here goes. First. let me soften my blow with saying the floors are magnificent!! Now, I want you to go back up and read what you just said about the faux sponge wallpaper and how it will be a nightmare to remove. That is what people will probably think too. I would give that some thought. First impressions matter. Starting off with someone thinking about all the work it will take to remove this could be a downer for many?? maybe not a 'huge spectrum' but many;))

Tell people they must take off their shoes :)

I think I would get rid of plants and art and let the detail of the floor be the star. I think the floor is gorgeous.

They do take off their shoes. And put them on the rug so they don't drip on the floor! @margo, I can remove most of the paper, except for the high parts. But then I have no idea what color to paint. The dining room is a pretty yellowish color, SW crisp croissant. The great room is a goldy neutral that is not the same. I'd need to go very different or it will clash with something one one side or the other. I'm very open to removing the paper. Been on my mind for years! This open concept is a pain. Everything can be seen from everywhere else.

Why can't the entry be one of the two other colors?

Oh, wait I read that wrong. I guess I would go with a creamy beige?

It did start out that way. Just seemed so stark in the 90's when I was using deep rich colors. If I do go creamy, will it look cavernously empty? I avoided a chandelier because would be so hard to clean, but wired it to add one, if necessary. Would that help? Keep in mind the sconces, which really warm up that space at night. I've tried tables and chairs where the plants are, but the space is small and those things overlapped. I will never do crazy high ceilings again. See it time and again on houzz. I thought about painting the closet areas a darker color to "hide" them. Would it help to do that without stripping all of the paper?

It's not that the paper is a bad color or design. It's the fact that people are scared of wallpaper and like you hate to rip it down because of how time consuming it can be.

Yes, you're right. So what would you do with this. If I leave the wallpaper, can it be made better?

Someone said let the floor be the focal point - maybe buy large pieces and lean them up against the wall? Where the sconces are ?

Hire a guy to remove the wallpaper. It's dated and you'll be surprised how little it costs to get it removed by a professional who has all the proper tools to do the job correctly. It's just not worth the aggravation and mess to do it yourself.

Update the sconces or just use the electrical supply for picture lights and select some art that has no glass covering it. Select diptych paintings for the front with color and place x based stools below each painting in place of the plants.

Ooh, I love the pictures! I think my large artwork has faded and should be replaced anyway. It was a signed print, didn't think they did that. Hear's a visual with a stool I have elsewhere.

Well, your architects managed to redeem themselves with those generous and functional wall openings. I would suggest adding an element of transitional interest by selecting a barn door or some other type of sliding system to define your large living areas and simultaneously make the best use of your immense wall openings. Contrary to common thought, adding doors between rooms does not create a spatial disconnect-rather doing so showcases the home's architectural "innards" in a very complimentary way. A few examples are found here...http://www.houzz.com/projects/453857/sliding-systems

Hope this helps!!!

I don't know if this kitschy- back wall hallway

To go along with what I mentioned before. 86 the wallpaper and figure out a color for the foyer to change the appearance totally.

What is over your front door? A reflection or another room. It looks too dark and very confusing. If you are selling your home, hire a professional stager to come help you.

Wow those are great ideas! Beverly, your graphics are awesome. did you see the color in the adjoining rooms? I think I'm ready to strip, (racy!!) If I did a striking color, it will mess up the room next door. Also, I am staging. Is that kind of risky?

I did see the color in the other room and I think you can use it in the foyer successfully.

Staging???????????/are you selling the house?

longer runner perhaps!

A mirror instead to the art ,long and narrow , a seat the remove wet boots , a shoe tray like the one posted above for the Winter months , a chandelier for you dining room ,and one for the foyer ,unless there is already one of course :)

OK you are selling. Don't worry about the size of the dining room rug. Not sure gold is the best color for the room. Definitely paint above the chair rail off white. Cecil and concern about the zebra rug is nonsense. Zebra rugs have been high design elements for years and acceptable in interiors. If buyers were concerned about cleaning spindles, no two story home would ever sell.

Yes, I'm dying to downsize. Thats one reason I'm shying from color. So many good thoughts! I wish I hadn't bought those rugs 20 years ago. I liked them then, now, not so much. They are Karastan and didn't come cheap. :( The dining room is wired for two chandeliers, if I do anything, I/d like two colorful pendants. I"ll see what I can find. I love the idea of the benches and colorful artwork. So its agreed the sconces should go? And the wallpaper. And the artwork and the door rug. GARAGE SALE!!!!! I'd love help with lighting. I don't have a talent for that, which is why I have no hanging lighting anywhere. Thank you all for your help. Im taking it all in.

@sunnydrew, The pic didn't turn out I'll take another when my iPad juices up again. It is a glass design that goes with the door windows. With a ridiculous niche, that I keep empty.

Right now, not six months from now, I think the vibe of the heads and rug will not go over well. I did not say anything about their validity as design elements, but selling is not about design per se. It is about getting all the value you can out of your home. If your husband were a weather afficionado with a penchant for photos of hurricane damage, you'd be wise to remove them from your home if you were trying to sell it in the wake (pun intended) of Katrina!

That's funny deco! I think that tragic issue about Cecil has broken a lot of people's hearts. I know what you're saying about the heads and they do somewhat agree with you. We probably won't have an open house because I don't want to bunch of gawkers coming through. We live in a small enough town that we would certainly get those. I will make sure the potential buyer is vetted enough to know what I need to do. Unfortunately in our price range it may be a long time before anything even happens. When we built a lot of our friends are building homes of this size, and a lot of our friends are hunters so to me that's a common decorating elements. But I totally understand what many people will think

I live in a rural area but about three city blocks behind me, overlooking the river from a high bluff, are some $1-2MM homes. Advertized on the web they've drawn interest from coastal dwellers, so you never know. That's why it might pay to have a pro photo the staged home.

Replacing the double front doors with a single door and side lights would really open the space up.

Moxie, while I like Beverly's color change and modern art, I think it might be for another time and place for you. I can just see people screaming that the entry is 'too dark' if you did that, and the art too modern for the rest of the house. The entry should foretell what is to come in the rest of the house, and I would expect glass and chrome with that look. As for the wallpaper--I think it would be better without it, but, there is nothing in the entry that would make a buyer queasy.

I think it's important to keep the goal in mind. At some point, you have to ask yourself how much money and time/effort you want to invest at this stage. Painting the kitchen--yes. Not a big investment. But removing the sconces probably wouldn't have much of an impact, and would require an expensive new fixture. Light paint above the chair rail in the dining room--another quick and profitable fix. Decluttering, an easy thing to do. (Just ask yourself if each piece serves a purpose, or does it just take up space) Who know, after you get all that done, you might just decide not to move after all!

HIre a stager, do exactly what is said, the house is no longer yours but the check will be! A stager will hide design flaws and accentuate what is good about the house so that other people will see the good too. Plan an open house and go away for the weekend so you do not have to participate. Good luck the house is gorgeous and I really love what the designer said about the foyer. Maybe not for this house as stated above but for the next house!

If you are itchy then start cataloguing all your stuff and wrap and box up for moving day. Best of luck to you in your downsizing!

Food for thought before selling
http://www.realtor.com/advice/true-purpose-open-houses/

Agent Caravan - probably better

For one house we sold, the agent had a Realtor's Open House (i.e. agent caravan?) . One realtor brought a client, and the house sold that day, before the public ever saw it. A Realtor's Open House exposes your house to those doing the selling- not the "looky-loos". There are usually snacks served to the realtors, and you need to vacate the house during the Realtor's open.

You could do a photo gallery under the light where you have plant, do similar on other side with perhaps a small bench underneath. For the far wall love the oversized mirror idea, will open and lighten that area

No photo gallery for real estate staging! De-personalize in every way!

I read the above linked article, and it certainly confirmed my ideas about getting good pictures for the web listing.
"Most buyers find houses online in the middle of the night, when the kids are asleep, comparing one listing site to the next, clicking through slideshows, and scanning every angle of every photo. Websites, virtual tours, and virtually furnished floor plans are all used to find houses buyers deem worthy of actually visiting. Qualified buyers simply won’t waste time visiting houses they haven’t already checked out online."

So, spend all your energy making sure your LOVELY home is pared down and properly staged for professionally done photos. Then, once that is over, you can relax and go back to living in your own home until it sells. Despite your market, you may be surprised how quickly it sells if the online presence is as perfect as possible.

Thank you so much, all of you. Sign is in the front yard as of today!

Good Luck Moxiemom!

WCC did you get my request for you to private message me? I'm not sure I know how to do it but I think if you start it I can answer you.