I'm beginning to wonder if the upstairs of my house was simply not finished when the house was first built. It's odd, in any case. I guess at this point I'll just be thankful I still have all the old hardware intact and in good working order! After they get a fresh coat of black enamel and a little WD-40, they're going right back on the doors where I hope they'll stay for another 143 years. Thanks for the ideas!

I agree with handymac on the type that mounts on top the hinge. Usually the hinge pin runs through it. This type of stop has a smaller hole in it so it can only be used on interior bedroom or closet doors. These will put so much force on the hinge when binding that it will bend the hinge like Handy said. It will also force the hinge screws to pop out and cause the door to sag or rub. The Pigtail (I call them) are probably the most economical and commonly used on the market today. You can screw it to the wall or the door itself. I find attaching it to the door bottom causes less future damage to the door and less boing noise. The only other stop I use frequently is a wall stop. Personally I prefer these over any of the others. The reason being the wall mounted stop hits the door on the knob which is closer to the middle of the door. So your not getting a large amount of strain or bind from the top or bottom only. There are tons of styles to choose from. The only important thing to remember is your locking hardware on the door. If the door your putting this on has a push button lock on it. You must get the wall stop that has the recess to accommodate the button. If not the door will lock itself each time the handles hits the stop. The only other problem is people don't like things on their walls sometimes. As for manufacturer's Stanley & Ives have been around for ever. They are probably two of the biggest and most honorable companies out there today. They supply the residential industry and the commercial. If you don't like what you see at home. Get on the net and search them out. They have a great range of products to search from. Good Luck!!!

Thanks for all of the feedback. I told my husband last night about the suggestion regarding painting the doors the taupe. He thought it interesting and wanted me to get more feedback. Well it looks like more agree so I will have to tell him we should go ahead and do that. I love the idea about a book shelf or I was even thinking a ladder shelf Pier 1 or Pottery Barn since that is kind of the style of my home. I wish I had before pictures. We have only had our digital camera for a year and we started this room several years ago and have done everything in stages. My husband had this home as a bachelor so you can imagine the color choices he had going. :) I like the idea of plants but I am afraid since I had a bad experience with a pet dying after what my vet thinks was from a Peace Lilly. I had a cat that died so after that I never had real plants in my home again. I have two small dogs. I will try moving the rocking chair. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

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