When we first moved to Colorado from NY in 1990 we purchased a 1200 4 bedroom 2 bath house. We had 3 kids and since it was our first house together we had no gauge for how big was big. To us, since we were just starting out 1200 felt huge! Once we moved in though we realized for 5 people it was tight. One of the problems though was the layout of the house, 3 or 2 bedrooms and more living space would have probably worked out much better. So we moved into a larger house about 10 years ago which is 1850. I always wanted a formal dining room and den, so now it is just 3 of us (we have a 7 year old son, and the older kids are grown and have homes of their own now) and to be honest it feels "huge". I actually got rid of our dining room set and we never use that space. The extra living room area never really gets used much either. We have a rental that is 850-900 (2 bedroom, 1 bath) that eventually i want to move into. My husband thinks our current house is perfect for us, i would eventually like to downsize to our rental. Maybe he is right but for me, cleaning this house is a lot of work. Sometimes i feel like moving from our smaller house to begin with was a mistake. In retrospect, while it was a bit cramped, our smaller home was cozy and had a really wonderful backyard with a covered patio that i missed once we moved. While I do love our current home sometimes it just feels way too big for 3 people.

@Olychick Thank you for the great advice, neutral is what I’m going for but but a few pops of colour here and there. I agree that I should do artwork instead of another mirror. In fact, I‘ve been thinking of replacing the current mirror for a solid one, you know, something less chaotic. I’ll be sure to hang it lower. We’ll see if I can find something as large. I’m actually open to changing/adding anything except the dining set and rug. The things I know I will be changing/adding for sure are as follow: - The curtain. I really don’t like the brown curtain. I initially put it up just to add some privacy in the dining room in the evening, until I find something more suitable. - Tray. I would like a nice silver tray to set on the buffet. - Artwork. I’d like to add some artwork above the buffet. - Bar cart. I’d like a small bar cart on the left corner of the dining room. something I can keep fresh cut flowers and cocktail glasses on. - Chairs/Bench. For this one. I have two ideas. Either keeping the current 4 chairs and add a cream coloured leather bench. Or replacing all the chairs for 6 fabric upholstered/tufted cream dining chairs. I open to other suggestions.

Well, a painting can add some perspective and color.

I appreciate the suggestions all around On this last one there really isn't a hall before the steps down to the basement. It is a quick left and down through that door in the LR, no other door. And yes you wouldn't want to see the garage door. We ae thinking maybe an hidden door with bookcase in place of the LR door and it gives some storage, On the wall in the kitchen, there is nothing on the other side. Yes we wud have to keep the ductwork and encase, and if there is a load beam, then thinking it could stay and be a pillar in or around the kitchen island we want there. Here are two more pictures. One kitchen and you see wall on right we want out. The other is the other side of the wall from the LR view.