First, I would pay a contractor to come in to verify what is or isn't load bearing.

Second, I would live in the house for at least 6 months, before hiring an Interior Designer (with remodeling experience) or Architect to look at the space, listen to your needs/wants and give ideas of how it could be accomplished.

If the columns aren't load bearing, I would probably want them gone, but hard to say without seeing the space and living with it for a while.

Thank you. We are having a structural engineer evaluate the walls for load bearing. The problem is that we want to get all the floors refinished before we move in.

I agree, with above. Wait at least 6 months. If you try to do things, before you have lived with them, for a while, it almost always turns out to be an expensive mistake. The floors look nice. I would wait on them too, until you decide what else needs to be done. If the poles are not load bearing, I would also want them gone. They are not a good look.

Hire a designer. Plan the whole project. Start construction. The columns are just visual noise and don’t enhance anything. Maybe it’s the angle but they are weirdly proportioned and look randomly placed. Hard to tell without a measured floor plan.

Agree with the comments to hire a designer and coming up with a cohesive remodel project. Have a structural engineer weigh in. You can do much better than the odd columns, door openings, narrow hallway and boxy fireplace.

What are the white rings on the floors in your photos?

^^^ these are screen grabs from a ‘virtual tour’ online.

I’ll echo everyone else about waiting AND to seriously reconsider those (fake?) columns.

You say this is a 1956 ranch? I have lived in ranch homes all my adult life, as have most of our friends and family, and I haven’t seen columns like that in any of those ranches. These look like outdoor porch posts to me. Did the previous owner buy plenty of them for his porch and then decide to bring some indoors?

lovely home! i also would rethink the columns. you like them from one view from another room but in the room itself they do look awkward.

We are having these walls and pillars evaluated by a structural Engineer. My guess is that the pillars were installed when a wall was removed.
I will take all your advice and wait on the floors, live there a while and hire a designer to really make the space updated. I really appreciate the comments!

Now to find a good designer!

One more

Have you previously had a large swath of wood flooring refinished in a fully furnished house while also living there?

The columns are just visual clutter that make the space seem busy. They are too tall and narrow so are obviously fake. Either remove them or build a wall with a large cased opening.