This is a difficult one! I went in search of your other post and I think Patty Cakes has an excellent suggestion, not just regarding color, but what to do with the space. If you can watch a few of Candice Olsen's "Divine Design" shows on HGTV, she creates stunners almost every time. And she does a lot of modern. Right now they've got the program schedules all switched around, but they usually have her on Saturday's and Sunday's in the late afternoon/evening. Candice is one of the few people I've seen that I would let walk in my place and do what she wanted! She's that good..

I love every single transformation Candice has ever done. I, however, don't have the gift that she does to take a space and COMPLETELY change it. Hiring a decorator just isn't something that we feel comfortable doing at this time as I hope to score some pieces at garage sales or Goodwill, I would love a variety of options from the talented people on this board to get some ideas going. Thanks!

"Dilemma number one is right there as you walk in. The old style railing and bay window. Most living will probably go on in the family room further up front. What would make this a really attractive area that says wow when you enter?"

I'm confused there. Is that the actual entry (I don't see a door). If that is an entry hall I'd treat it traditionally with a center table and put a lovely piece of glass or art on the center table. Hall tree and bench against the wall and a piece of art on the wall...treat it like a gallery but keep the scale small enough to move around easily.

"Dilemma number two is the hall bedroom with the shelves. It will be occupied by a college friend for now. I doubt they have *that* many books to fill up two rows. The room is small, and I can't come up with a way to update and really make use of the space. It also has a chair rail, as does the adjoining small hall bedroom next door. "

So far that appears to be the prettiest room in the house IMO. I wouldn't fill that with two rows of books...I'd use it for display of collectables and some books on a limited basis, lots of blank space as well. I'd paint the entire room in a soft and somewhat bright color to lighten it up. Maybe a soft celery green? I love the window and the shelves.

"The last dilemma, at least for now is adding a breakfast bar or island to the kitchen, so there is a place for a quick coffee besides the gazebo. Would you place a small bar/island by the pillar and slightly obstruct the path to the dinette, or have a small work island plus put a small bistro near the french doors and visually block the entry to the family room from the kitchen."

Whew those are challenging spaces. My first thought was to find out which walls are supporting and which can go. I'm assuming you want to do something less invasive. OK so here goes my lecture....

Some homes aren't suitable to breakfast bars or islands. The layout is wrong or the size isn't compatible. Forcing one in causes (in the words of sir toppum hat...my son's hero) confusion and delay. Actually it causes a traffic nightmare. You might have room to tuck a stool under the end of that little bar area, but that's it and to force one in isn't sensible really. I have two homes with no area sensible for island seating...suprisingly we've survived and learned to sit at a proper table :) It's not all bad. If you feel you must have this...and really I don't think it's a smart idea, I'd put a very small bistro table right smack in front of the doors to the outside, NOT in any of the other walkways. But honestly, I'd put a smaller table in the gazebo and a very small loveseat or a couple of soft chairs with a table off to one side of the gazebo for more casual coffee seating.

It's going to be a fun space eventually, but you have your work cut out for you now. Take it slowly and you'll figure out how to live in the space :) Whatever you do, don't turn the gazebo into a pretend outdoor one with fake ferns, flowers on the walls, blah blah...I've seen it done and it's painful :oP

I see some oddities, but nothing too old or too ugly (altho' for my tastes, the gazebo and its raised floor would be on my short list for demolition!)

Is this a short-term home for your daughter, or is she likely to stay for some time? If for some time, what would suit her (and her roommate)? Depending on her interests, the front room and/or gazebo seem well-suited to alternate use as office/workspace, media room, library/reading room, or art studio.

If a breakfast bar is desired, I'd find a 42-in. high round table, probably 36-in. in diameter, and float it over the end of the kitchen cabinet run. (This way, it won't take up as much floor space.) Then add a couple of bar-height stools.

I have similar railings in my house, and also don't like them. Steel cable rails look modern, as does reinforced glass. I think the steel cables would be less costly.

In bedroom, I think removing shelf over bump-out might make room look larger.

steel railing from www.cablerail.com

glass railing from www.atlantisrail.com

I didn't see anyone talk about the various ways to do the window treatment in a bay. I recently wrote an article about decorating bay windows that appears in ezine magazine articles and can be seen at the URL below. Believe it or not there are several very attractive ways to use your bay windows to become a very attractive part of your decor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Curtain Design Options For Bay Windows

Allen your article was actually interesting but you might want to visit the rules about garden web and promoting your business or sites that contribute to your business to be sure that you're not violating the rules (I wasn't sure if you received financial incentives from the other areas of the website or not so just wanted to share).

Thanks for all the ideas so far. DD is reading them and taking it all in. Its pretty overwhelming when you have no experience other than your own bedroom. She'll be here for at least 3 years because of the tax benefit and market. No identifiable "room mate" yet so a neutral functional room is the safe way to go for the hall bedrooms. The other bedroom doesn't have the shelving, just a standard rectangle.

gwbr54
Those railings are awesome! Would love to incorporate such a modern design into the rest of this home but can that be done through accessories with the existing trim? Please do tell! I took inspiration from the top photo for the shelf storage area with the workstation. Thant would be great for the bedroom if we can get into the area underneath the shelves.

igloochic
You are right to see how the flow is before purchasing an island or bistro. Before your post breakfast bars were all I thought about, now I realize its not a priority.

Yes, the rail is at the point of entry, allbet 6 steps lower. She'd love a game area with table tennis and/or poker. Now that is a *living* room that people would actually use! Any ideas to soften the room out if it has a giant ping pong table in the middle?

jusolal
Your article had a lot of useful information. I have difficulty visualizing curtains and blinds or shades together. I would like to see more actual examples.

Ah, now that I re-read your original post, I see you're not planning to do any big projects (like railings). Biggest modernist bang for little money would be to remove wallpaper borders in kitchen and gazebo, replace the gazebo light fixture with a modern one, and remove scrollwork over family room windows.

And of course, modern furniture will change the feeling of space. Are you going to buy furniture too, or is that for daughter to do?

Due to the snow we haven't been able to get back in to the house to take measurements after the initial showing with the real estate agent.

I'm working reduced hours and DD started her first job, has out of town beau, and took a part time job and is obviously super tired, so if a great piece is at a garage sale its coming home and we'll find a place for it.

Looking at beautifully finished homes is a big help and chases away cabin fever!