The door adds a Spanish ambiance, so I can see how corbels might have suited that style. It might be a much bigger job than you'd want to take on, but before painting consider removing those to enlarge the arch so it is wider. Apparently it repeats the design on the door, but the two pieces that jut down on each side are the issue, IMO.

Deco... so you are suggesting rework the arch to do away with the jut out?

i can see that.

Sometimes there is stuff that if you add or remove won't do much for your decor right now everything goes well together the light the door and the arch if you want to do different color paint go ahead otherwise believe me and been there many stuff that we tackle aren't wort the money and the effort

I would add them in a heartbeat! It may take a bit of work and you may have to have them customized but come on guys! Just do it!

Looks great "as is" -- less is more.

Looks great without. Corbels would just be one more thing to gather dust. The arch is interesting all on its own. Actually think that corbels would be distracting.

No to korbels, add a tall plant to corner.

Corbels, ha.

Lynartist, thanks for mock up... would love to see with the full view of arch.

You need a beefier trim around the door IMO. It is a Spanish look so as a minimum, paint the trim the same color as the door. That will help give it more presence.

Thanks Flo. The door is stained and only dark wood stain inside. Other interior moldings are painted white. Your suggesting remove trim around the door and replace and stain to match the door? That would be pretty. I was thinking if we put corbels back in they would be white.

Looks fine without, but if you added corbels back consider iron or Spanish style to compliment the style of your door (and presumably the rest of your home)....

Kris, for some reason when I tap on your photo it comes up as shown on mine. Maybe you can take another from farther back and post it. You could do white or wood and stain them dark or do plaster corbels and paint them wall color. I would take advantage of that opportunity though!

Not sure where corbels would be placed but make sure you have clearance to get furnishings in and out if they are in pathways.

I would put a corbel and paint it the same color of the wall. looks pretty odd without nothing

Flo. Corbels would not affect the access at all, and would be where lynartist shows them.

Lynartist Sorry I will try again. Thank you!

Here you go!

Btw, paint the trim around the door as Flo suggests to give it the visual weight it deserves.

Thanks lynartist. Would we stain or paint corbels same as inside of door? I think that would create interest and depth.

So helpful to see this lynartist! I kind of like that middle one!

I am curious why the previous owner removed the corbels. What style is the house. Are there corbels in other rooms? Fireplace maybe?

I guess I would describe the original style of the house as quasi Tuscan. It is hard to tell in the old photos I have found but I believe the original corbels were plaster with a more ornate vineyard design. Probably similar to what we still have on the fireplace. The last owners had a more modern aesthetic. While "updating" they also removed the ornate ceiling medallion from the entry ( good call I think -but left a uneven finish in ceiling) and the cove moldings in the adjacent rooms ( I am considering having those put back in).

Here is a picture of the fireplace in the living room adjacent to the above entry, showing mantle supports. This is still on my to-do list!

There's a lot going on in that entry and the corbels just makes it even more busy.

No corbels.....no reason.

I think the entry looks better without the corbels. The corbels look more Victorian almost rather than Spanish/Tuscan?? Painting or staining trim around door is very good because it gives the door a more beefy look. The mantel is very thin in proportion to those corbels and they don’t look authentic either. A 3-4” thick piece of wood distressed and stained would help the fireplace a bit. Stain those corbels to look like the mantel.

It certainly would of looked better if the corbels on the fireplace were in the right position and a simple design! A heavier mantle would look nice too. As far as the foyer; it’s a personal choice. You don’t need to put them up. If it were my house I would get rid of the ziggurat though.

Do you suppose there were columns there at one time that were removed?

Lyn. What’s a ziggurat? I like the corbels but another thought would be to put heavy trim molding around the entire doorway painted white in place of the corbels.

Like this as an example.

Corbels as simple as theses with some great trim.

This Seajay! This is an older home and I’m thinking way back it may have had columns there. When they were removed they added the corbels to make sense of the architecture.

Here’s yet another idea for corbels. Okay, that’s enough. LOL.

I do think that columns make more sense as an original element.

Lynartist... actually an 80s home and I’ve seen pics of the original listing and it was Corbels, not columns. I think columns would close it off too much don’t you? But I agree they actually make more sense of the ziggurat (thanks for expanding my vocabulary!)

i Am leaning to having the ”zigs“ removed if not to difficult, if not adding a simple corbel to soften them as I find the current arch so awkward, but it sounds like maybe it’s not so bad left as it is?

Seajay... are you suggesting trim around the arched entrance or beefing up the trim to the outside door? I do love Flo’s idea of painting the trim around the door if you don’t think it would look bad to have the Paint adjacent to the stain.

As for the fireplace I want to tear that whole mess out. These shelves, marble tile and the mantle will all need to go....just haven’t figured out what to put in instead.

‘Thank you all so much for your input!

You 've had two dilemmas on the fireplace and there was good advice given.

I rather like the opening as is. I would do perhaps your house number in the transom above the door or a simple stained glass element. On the fireplace a thick natural wood mantel would look more Tuscan. I actually love the style of your home and would try to work with the quirks rather than eliminate them.

ShirIpp- many of the suggestions were visually appealing but not able to be done with the odd angle of the wall. I believe the current advice is to hire someone to come and look at it—-a designer/contractor and so I would like to think through all of the things I want to discuss with them in advance. Since this is the adjacent wall I’m hoping it’s able to be addressed at the same time. But you are right...it takes me along time to think it through.

gypsyrose- Thank you. I appreciate your comment, maybe that’s why I’m struggling...I don’t want to change things just to change them, and I do appreciate your suggestions.

Kris, I would not suggest add columns;)! Yikes!! It just looked like there may have been some there to me! Here is a sketch of what it might look like opened up .

Thank you... love that I can show this to my hubby so he really picture the difference. I think this keeps enough of the character of the house while still improving the look. I’m a little nervous about how well they will be able to blend the textured walls so it doesn’t look “patched”. But I do like the cleaner look.

I kind of wondered about columns too until I saw the original pictures, and to be fair there are columns between the master sleeping area and the master sitting area.

The door suggests that more detail would be appropriate...however due to your aesthetic I would install a more contemporary door...or consider ....painting the door...

I love the opening as Lyn defined it and my previous suggestion was to put molding on this opening not the front door. Simple and classic.

A good faux painter can paint that trim to match wood on door for the trim around the door. No problem. I kind of like the ziggy archway. Good conversation item for guests!

ritasj, we kind of love the door. So it is staying.

I did find an original builders photo of the house to show the corbels that were originally there. Thought I’d share. They appear to be very ornate and color of the floor and not the front door Or the walls.

photo also shows crown molding... too ornate but we are also considering replacing it.

If you like the door enough to keep it...... the arches.. the cabinet ...the floors..the zig... the chandelier.. the raised circle in the ceiling... the rug....the side windows...are all a mis-match with the door...the foyer is the introduction to your home...it is a small space..with a distinctive and unique door like this..there should not be so much conflict...

So we do like the door, which comes with the side windows, and also like the circle ceiling. The furniture, fixture and rug can all be changed if it’s too much. Anyone else have thoughts on the entry needing to be toned down?

The door looks Mediterranean to me. I am not bothered by mixing wood tones as in the door compared to floor color. Two things that seem to not fit are the light fixture in the entrance and the corbels on the fireplace. I might change the rug for softer earth tones but it is not a priority. The fireplace needs more attention.

Think of the house as Mock Mediterranean. It has arches but they are modified and do not look like arches in a Spanish mission. It does not have to be a replica.

I would remove the crown molding and not replace it. It has never made sense to me for it to only be in one room when other rooms are visible.

Emmarene9

The entry Light fixture was from previous owners attempt to modernize. I am open to suggestions to replace it. When they put this in they took down a ceiling medallion, and left mismatched plaster on the ceiling...so we do need to fix that.

The entire fireplace wall including the awful mantle will be reworked for sure. I’m just really slow on figuring out how to truly fix our dilemma there.

‘There currently is no crown molding, —are you looking at the old picture? If so that is now gone. I was thinking or replacing it throughout the rooms with the high ceilings.