Decorating and Design - Putting it all together.

I have a high ranch house that's 35 years old. Central entry with stairs going up and down from the landing. Big "L" shaped livingroom/diningroom with a small kitchen in behind a hearth that you can walk around. It's huge and pretty much open concept. There's also a hallway upstairs and one of it's walls is the wall that faces you when you enter the door. My couch is a medium country blue, carpet, blue/grey, furniture is French Provincial...honey coloured with dark cherry diningroom set. Black wrought iron railing with gold rail and all gold accents on lamps and hardware. Hearth is a quiet plum colour. After 15 years of having the couch opposite the hearth and living by the rule of "focus", I have moved the couch to the end of the livingroom and am still getting used to it, but am liking it more and more...boy, did it ever open up the space! I put my diningroom china cabinet on the short wall between the 2 windows which are big also. I plan to replace them eventually, but have to do it piecemeal cause all the windows are big in this house....costs. Only the diningroom has a window that's so high off the floor that I feel like I'm in a basement when I look at it. House is drywall, but concrete block all the way up. Front of house is stone. I have a lot of questions popping up in my mind right now, and I need a plan. With 4 kids, work and farm, I just don't have the time or money to make mistakes. Here goes....

1. I'm thinking that I'm going to paint the whole livingroom/diningroom all one colour. At this point, a rich creamy ivory to do the furniture justice, but will not clash with the hearth. I'd like to update and freshen the feel of the room, but the brighter I get with the paint colour, the duller the carpet looks. This area is huge with the back wall at 26' and the front wall at 20' with the 2 windows. I like the flow of it all, and figure I should paint it all one colour, but would still would like to paint an accent wall in this area. I'm thinking a couple of shades darker than the creamy ivory and doing this on the back of the diningroom wall going into the kitchen (won't see until you get around the corner)and maybe the high wall going up from the front entrance? What do you think?

2. Then there's the trim....so l970's, minimal, nothing to write home about, same for the windows, now painted the same colour as the wall, which it deserves. All the rest of the trim/doors is varathaned and dark honey coloured with age. I want to paint the trim in this house, which would include atleast this room and the front foyer closet and upstairs hallway. I'm not sure what colour to paint it. Should I paint it the same as the wall colour like the windows? Would it be pleasing to the eye where the trim hits the accent wall? I'm really itching to paint the trim. I think this is the feature that really "dates" this house.

3. I don't have any pictures on the walls right now, and this space is really showing it's cavernousness. I plan on painting the outside of the L all one colour and designating the livingroom from diningroom with furniture placement instead. Right now, the couch is on the end, balanced with two huge marble lamps, endtables and coffee table and creates a nice focus that draws the eye to the end of the room. I could put the sideboard on that wall also in the diningroom space and create a focal point for it as well, but was wondering if it's o.k. to have two focal points beside each other like that. ???

4. The end wall in the diningroom has that basement window that I mentioned. It's new this year and is sitting there raw while I think about things. I've found that if I put any furniture on this wall, then I can't center the chandelier under the table. Since my china cabinet is between the two windows in the livingroom, all I have left for furniture to play with is the sideboard, table and chairs and a wagon-wheel style tea table. I am also playing with the idea of making this back window wall the accent wall, rather than the less visible wall going into the kitchen. I understand that darker, makes the wall come forward and painting the accent wall on the kitchen wall, may make the diningroom look narrower, so what about the end wall of the diningroom instead?

5. Should I keep the ceiling white? (Plaster sprayed....ugh!)

6. Ugh! The hearth. Nice, but useless! Double fireplace with the downstairs the prime one with wood stove. Upstairs is never used. Brick inside is yellow...atleast it's not a black hole, but design of it is weird. Goes up from floor to ceiling in clean line, no mantle, hearth about 6" off the floor (grey slate). The fireplace hole is not centered, is about 1' from the right side and 4' from the left side. Brick just opens up into the hole, no trim. I see a tall plant going on the 4' side, but am totally at a loss as to how to hang a picture on this thing. Maybe less is best anyway, considering the two focal points at the end of the room? I just can't seem to create any balance with any kind of picture hanging ideas that I come up with! I'd love to have a mantle....dare I? Would it help with the balance? If so, how high would I put it?

7. Now, a stupid question! Which do I paint first..the walls or the trim? Figure I'll have to sand down the trim (will probably take it off and away to do) and the windows are going to be involved...colonial style with fake centers that give the look of smaller panes?

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Anybody got any ideas or advice to help me get the big picture of all this. Sorry this post is so long and they are not all painting questions, but feel it was needed to give the whole story, to get the whole story. Thanks!

sorry to be ignoring this post but........quite frankly, this question is just too long, overwhelming (& somewhat confusing) for even me!!!

anyone else wanna take a stab at it??? :o Carly? TwelvePole? anyone??

Sorry.

1. Furniture placement. In order to establish the diningroom from the livingroom, on the same wall, can I have two focal points side by side? (Livingroom....couch, end tables, lamps and picture above and Diningroom...sideboard with picture (or maybe mirror?) above it. When you enter the livingroom, you will see them both.

2. Hearth. How do I balance it with a hole that is not centered?

1. yes, absolutely! you have to, really. they're 2 different "rooms", just without a wall between them.

2. you could leave it as-is & keep it simple, as it was intended by the builder/architect. the "something tall" to the side of the opening is perfect. with maybe a "something short" next to it. simple & artistic. not sure if i'd hang a picture or anything on the wall. it might work against the design, as in, it might break up the large/tall expanse of brick which the builder intended to be large & tall!

or, you could add a mantle & completely change the lines/design/style of it. i sounds like you're not much into the artsy/asymmetrical/simple style that it currently is, so you might as well change it into something that YOU like. i've seen fireplace walls mostly walled in with drywall or stucco or paneling, they add a different surround & mantle, and voila - a whole new looking fireplace. it can be done, but to what extent you're willing & able to go is up to you. but if you hate it as-is, for heaven's sake, change it.