I wanted to post some after photos and thank everyone who took the time to comment. It turns out that the wall was "indented" when we removed the chair rail so my DH has spent several weekends to build it back up with joint compound and texture it to blend in with the walls. It was a painfully tedious process (first trying to do it by hand, then with a sponge, then with spray-on compound that dribbled everywhere, and finally with a trowel lightly loading dabs of compound on). If you look closely you can still tell, but it's not as glaring as it was several iterations ago. Suffice to say, we are thrilled to be done with sanding, priming, texturing, and painting! Now, I need to figure out what wall decor to put up as the removal of the chair rail makes it a much easier space to deal with! Any and all advice would be appreciated. I was thinking of doing a photo gallery near the front entry, but that is a HUGE wall and I don't know that I can put photos high enough where you can still see them but not so low that the wall looks off-balance. Forgive the quality of the photos, taken without a flash on my iPhone.

I really like that!! You may be right that it is better done in a new build, but it's certainly a question I can run by one of our contractors. Even if we can't do it, you really nailed the look I was hoping for : )) Here is the best I've seen on Houzz, but it's difficult to choose online. https://tinyurl.com/SandedBronzeSquareHandRail

I was a total rink rat when I was a kid. I won my first transistor radio (first place ladies all ages) in a speed skating contest for the public. I think I must have been around 11. Because I won most of the races I had to start back at the wall instead of the starting line along with a couple of older girls that were in speed club. My older brother worked as a floor guard and in the summer I would go with him to open up and stay all day when I didn't have a competition. Sunday was club day and we had classes and practice. Then private lessons after school during the week. Friday nights there was a sock hop after the last session. So much fun and all the rink romances . LOL The manager's daughter and I were friends and we both got puppies at around the same time. We would bring them to the rink with us and they'd run around with us while we skated until the rink opened for the public.

You did not like what I had to say last time. Hopefully you will like this better. You don't seem to be wanting a patio or courtyard sitting space and have said you don't want to block the kitchen windows. Think of your rectangle as a picture frame instead. Now let's draw something inside the frame. Something Zen, calm and simple would be nice. Beth H. had some good examples. Find a piece of art, a sculpture, some large garden tchotchke, a fun piece of junk, something you would enjoy to be your focal point in the picture. Plant a drift of native Florida Coontie, Zamia integrifolia in a groundcover of Mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus. Add in a big sack of Rain Lily, Zephyranthes bulbs. The big pale pink ones are my favorite. You now have a simple, no maintenance, calming front entrance that will surprise you with small pink tulip like flowers on and off through the year.