The wall to my right, whose cracks and dents have been inexpertly mudded over, has been painted a neutral color. The (small) wall in front of me sports a really cool grasscloth, which does, indeed, cover a multitude of sins (okay, two square yards of beadex substituting for the annihilated plaster covering a foundation wall). For what it's worth, I love them both. But the grasscloth was free (leftovers), and complements room's chosen color scheme perfectly. Big bux were spent on (re) wallpapering parts of our house, and the new stuff was cheap-y enough that two bandaids, c/o my then-four y.o. (this topic was recently brought up elsewhere on this forum), pulled the thin sheathing (pattern) right off, forcing me to do a cut 'n patch job that I don't like. I don't like wallpaper. The old-school, die-hard stuff, the new, dainty, ornate stuff, most grasscloth........ but patterns can and should exist in moderation. Like you, I have grappled with the issue of refurbishing the skimcoat, since, scraping off the previous coat of (I'll give you three guesses) meant unearthing the underlying wall in unpredictable strata. I'm of the school that (from a purely aesthetic and lasting point of view) original plaster and a porterhouse steak are god's way of saying 'I love you.' But his graces don't come without effort.... I think re-surfacing would be worth it, especially if the job is minimal. You will be infinitely rewarded........

I'd embrace it too, since too many temporary solutions would read as an afterthought-as a renter you can't change much, and the space is tight there. I'm not sure getting the exact screens that's work in the space will be worth money and effort. Depends on screens of course, but the reason I don't have them in my place for example is because I can't afford the ones that'd make my effort worthwhile. It's a nice room, interesting fireplace, and I can relate to your landlords being proud..and to you being a bit frustrated by it too. I'd fill the shelves with things I love, and I'd start with plants and books. If you put there decor for decor purpose-you undescore the decorative element of the shelves themselves that you don't love. You bring attention to the shape you dislike, etc If you fill it fully wih books so the elaborate shape can't be easily seen anymore, as previous posters suggested-here you go, you have books as the element jumping at you, the shelves become just a surface (can books be there? in terms of fire hazard etc? I know I do keep some on mine..) add smaller plants maybe add a bigger one too in front of one of the winged shelf..so it's partially cover it but not enough to totally obscure or interfere with using it it's not a monstrosity. there are many monstrosities of fireplaces out there, this is not one of them. Pretty tame, and the proportions are good. It's not your taste. It's too fussy maybe when you prefer simple. So make it simple. Treat it like a surface that's not fussy. I think you'll be able to enjoy it much more that way.

Well, you could stain the table a cherry or mahogany stain. Or you could do something different, and younger, like you! Leave the tables and chairs as they are. Get a marvelous authentic rug, such as a handknotted Persian or woven kilim or nomadic. That will have some bold and bright colors. Find one that you like, and it will give your room and home instant luxe and history. Then pick up one or two of the colors from the rug and carry it into whatever art you out into the dining room. I do think large starburst mirrors are great in dining rooms too, they reflect the beautiful place settings, the candlelight, the guests in their finery, etc. I would keep the curtains a light color, like the color of your sofa, but you can trim the edges with a color in the carpet. You might want to recapitulate some of those colors in throw pillows in the living room, so the house flows from room to room.

They now make a peel-and-stick wallpaper just for the purpose of being about to remove it without a hassle, whether you are renting, or just want a change. Check out Amazon, wayfair, overstock, or any sites like that. Just Google "peel-and-stick wallpaper" and you will get all kinds of sources.