How high are your ceilings?

I could see it going just below the lower band of the lintel on the window which appears that it would clear the arch over the door.

Since you are going to have to strip the paper and repaint, I would suggest you paint (or even use tape) to draw a representation of the molding. So paint or tape the same width of the type of molding you are planning to use. Do one right above the arch like one of your inspirational photos. I would also suggest doing one at the arch where the square part starts. I think that look would more match your photo with the reddish walls.

You could even paint your color up to your perceived point and see if it needs to be higher or lower. You might want to consider even putting molding around your arches to get a look that matches your inspirational photos.

Palimpsest, our ceilings are 8'. Do you think clearing the arch will look wonky...being that a straight line will come just above a rounded doorway?

Housefairy, I don't know if the wood around the arch is feasible to do. I think it's out of my DH's woodworking expertise heh heh.

I did draw a line with wood-working pencil to kind of eye it up but so far that hasn't really helped. DH is whipping something up on Paint to get a better idea of how it'll look. I'll post that when he's finished.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Still hard to see it for what it will really be because of that awful wallpaper border chopping the fluency. But anyway:

The options:

A:

B:

I like the first. I was thinking about the second because of the detail on the large arch but that is too low.

The moulding in the inspiration photos are picture rail and it should probably be close to 7/8s the height of the room. You could put the Bottom of the moulding on TOP of the detail on the bottom of the window lintel to move it up a bit from the door arch.

JMO but I think 8ft ceilings are too short to do picture rails? You usually see them with 10ft or 12ft ceilings so the rails are up quite high and that means there is room for the pictures to hang down to a viewable height. Even if you dont use them for hanging pictures they sort of lose their original function.

That's just my opinion though. Me, I wouldnt attempt it with short ceilings but maybe Im just not thinking outside the box

I like the lower version. Looks more in proportion to the room. But then that was my first thought when I originally looked at the pics.

If you go with the higher version you need to come down from the cross bar on the window casement. You want to notice the details in the molding.

Another thing while you are in destruct mode. I would also think of running pot lights into the little arched areas.

I think the idea is great, but I agree with the other poster that said it may not be the best choice with 8 ft. ceilings.

What about stenciling a great arts and crafts design on the ceiling and letting that be the focal point of the room?

You can get a similar look with arts and crafts wallpaper borders.

Sorry to be off topic, but is that adorable liitle dog on your sofa a French Bulldog?

Laurie

DH likes the idea of the wallpaper border but I'm still really pushing for this picture rail to work haha. Now, say I go ahead and do the moulding, beside the window lintel. Do you think people would walk into our house and think something was off since our ceilings aren't as high as they normally would be with picture rail? I think if I did option #1 I could still hang photos with picture wire and them come to eye level.

Laurie, that's our mis-marked boston terrier Gunther. Here's another...perhaps more flattering...picture of him =P :

It isnâÂÂt about thinking that something is off. What it may do is make your room feel shorter, because the wall is cut off by the trim and the paint color change. It will also likely make the arched doorway and side insets feel short.

Cute dog!

gastroc - Oh, he's just adorable! Bostons and Frenchies actually look similar to me. I have a Pug now and I've thought about getting either a Boston or Frenchie next time.

Okay, now back on topic. Don't you think the room in your inspiration picture is an 8' room since the ceiling isn't that far above the top of the door frame?

Laurie

I agree that if you decide to do it, #1 is the way to go. As #2 is way too low for a picture rail. I would place it just a little higher than in your #1 picture. I would put it just above the detail on the window, instead of right below it as shown in your picture.

We do have picture rails in our dining room, but there are 12 foot ceilings so I can't say whether it would make the walls seem shorter or not. I also think that I would not emphasize the insets, but would paint them the same as the lower wall color.

You have a beautiful home and I am sure that whatever you decide, it will be lovely.

Laurie- bostons and frenchies are qute similar. You can tell the difference in that frenchiies have rounded ears and bostons are pointy, and frenchies look fatter lol. We decided on a boston terrier instead of a french bulldog because they have less health problems. (Though Gunther has all sorts or ailments and he's only 2!) I've never spent a lot of time with frenchies but I can testify to that fact that bostons have the most personality out of any other dog I've interacted with. Once you own one you become 'boston people' and quickly come to realize how weird those pups are. =P

It's funny that you ask if they're 8' because after I turned off the computer I said to DH "Are doorframes in rooms with higher ceilings higher or do the door frame heights stay the same?", because I too got to wondering if they were indeed 8'.

Mary Lu, thank you for your input. With the insets we were thinking of doing a bit of a Spanish Revival look, tiling the insets. I don't have a picture of the tile but they are small accent tile. Light in color, earth tones. What do you think of that idea?

Proportionally, I think your inspiration pic does have 8 ft ceilings. Look at it yourself and compare the table height to the trunk and then see what you can come up with. I also see a door knob sticking out of the pocket door and, again, proportionally it does appear to be about 8 ft in my opinion.

I totally think that you should do #2! That ledge in your arch is just screaming out to be accented! We have a 1930s Tudor that also has arches, but ours are lacking your cool ledge.

Please keep us posted with what you decide! My family is doing remodelling as well, and I would appreciate your final result brag pics!

I like the lower option too. I think if you do a thick molding the bottom edge will line up with the arch notch.
You may want to try photoshopping your colors over the wallpaper and seeing how it looks. It tales a little work, but is an invaluable tool to see exactly how your choices look without lifting a real paintbrush.

Our past 1914 bungalow had 10 foot ceilings, and the inspiration picture "feels" very similar to the way our living and dining rooms looked. The windows and doorways are often taller proportionally in older houses with high ceilings; at least that is my experience.

That being said, I actually like option #2. Many Arts and Crafts style homes had paneling that went 3/4 of the way up the wall, and the molding in #2 feels reminiscent of that, IMO. I wouldn't necessarily use it as picture rail molding at that level, but I like it as a place to transition the color. It might really highlight the arches to have the upper curved portion in the different color than the straight sides below.

Since it's much easier to paint the two areas before you install the molding, you could tape off at the lower height and paint your bottom color first to see how you feel. If you don't like it or the room feels short, just move your paint tape up to the higher spot and fill in the additional six inches or so.

Well -- after looking at the photos -- I vote for Option #1.

And I do think that tiling the arches in earth tones will look wonderful! Hopefully there will be enough space in each one to hold a wonderful pottery vase! Just for fun -- check out the vases done in raku glaze on sites like etsy.com -- lots of pottery there!

BTW -- check out pumpkin-toned paint colors -- I THINK that the color in your inspiration photo is more of a deep pumpkiny-red or brick red. Just a thought!!!

Here are some ideas for colors to check out:

Benjamin Moore "Warm Sienna" 1203

BM "Merlot Red" 2006-10

BM "Tucson Red" 1300

BM "Autumn Orange" 2156-10

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Found two more colors that might work well in your space -- and in an adjoining one:

1) Benjamin Moore: "Olive Branch" 2143-30

2) BM "Gold Rush" 2166-10

The above name "Gold Rush" is very misleading -- this color is actually a deep warm pumpkin.

Again -- just some names to add to your list -- hope you don't mind!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Equest17, thanks for that tip. I think I will follow your advice with the painters tape.

Alohamillion, I will surely keep you posted!

Jan, thank you so much! I'm not sure pottery will fit in the recess but I have been searching for pottery for our dining room and hadn't found any affordable ones. Thanks for recommending Etsy. I just found quite a few affordable ones by typing in 'raku glaze'!

The paint colors you suggested are great. I went to Lowes yesterday to see if I could find something similar. I ended up with only one. I really like the Warm Sienna you suggested, I think it matches well to my inspiration photo. Do you have any suggestions for the top half of the wall and the ceiling?

I was going with a monochromatic scheme (with added accent colors) for our rooms because of the way they are layed out. You enter through the front door into the living room and from there you can see the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.

I used Valspar historic colors:
Kitchen: Molera Garden Ochre
Dining Room: Del Coronando Amber
Living Room: ...was thinking it would be Homestead Resort Gold but now I'm not so sure if that's the right color to go with the warm red wall color...

Thanks again for all the help everyone!

Thought maybe this picture might help. Yes we have 12 foot ceilings, but there is an extremely tall arch between the 2 rooms. The sitting room walls were originally divided like you want to do. Not sure if this was 2 different wallpapers or if there was a chair rail there(picture taken by PO before remodel). The arch was opened back up during remodel. But as you can see in the picture the division is fairly close to the top of the arch. Hope this helps?

How about:

1) Benjamin Moore "Linen White" 912

2) BM "Ivory White" 925

Or for more contrast:

a) Benjamin Moore "Raccoon Hollow" 978

b) BM "Van Buren Brown" HC-70

Glad that you found the pottery at Etsy -- I think that pottery with tones/accents of copper would look GREAT in your home! Also check the site for items "hammered copper" -- might work too!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Mary Lu, that does really help me to visualize! Thanks so much.

Thanks again Jan for more color suggestions!