Split face is nice, but perhaps a little dated. Do you have lights to highlight the niches?

If you decide to tile, here are a few below that might bring a little bling to the area.

This may not be your style, but this large format metallic glass is gorgeous (gold, copper, platinum, silver). Someone used the gold in a bar area (on their Instagram page) and it's stunning. Or you could go with smaller format but these might work too....

https://tilebar.com/requiem-gold-10x30-glass-wall-tile.html

One of these colors could be gorgeous:

https://tilebar.com/komorebi-jet-stream-glass-tile.html

Waterjet is stunning! A beautiful marble is always a great choice....

https://tilebar.com/collection/stone-mosaics/waterjet.html

Look at some of these here with texture:

https://tilebar.com/collection/porcelain-tile/shop-by-look-porcelain/decorative-look-porcelain.html

Laura Mac, thank you for your suggestions. Some of those examples are really gorgeous. The house is pretty traditional and the tile needs to stay put for quite a while, so we want to stay away from "bling," trendy, modern. FYI, we'll be staying under $15/sf or so.

I can't tell what style you've got, but if you feel artsy, check out some Pewabic installations. Definitely not trendy or modern, bling ranking depends on your state of mind. :)

(For some reason your niches remind me of the fabulous drinking fountains with the Pewabic tiles. Not in a bad way!)

U P, do you live near a Floor and Decor? Pick up a few things that you like and take them home and hold them up. (Then return what you don't want). You might be surprised what will look beautiful and catches your eye. I think your split-face stone would be gorgeous, but just wanted to show you some metallic and marble options, etc.. A small 1/2" glass mosaic would be pretty too...

We had art niches with paper that looked like stone.

Laura Mac, Floor and Decor is a great idea. I was running out of ideas because my go-to tile galleries were coming up empty.

I have to agree with suzyq......I wouldn't put something as permanent as tile since style changes over the years. Here's a niche with wall paper that I saw in a Street of Dreams tour.

What will you display? I can't imagine much decor being enhanced by that style of tile..it seems it should be more of a neutral backdrop to your decorative items.

It strikes me as a not good idea to put anything there at all. Let what you put there be the star, not what's tacked onto the wall.

Perhaps just paint a few shades darker than the walls. Now that I see the close-up, tile or stacked stone and tile wouldn't really work.

What colors were you considering for your walls?

The niche themselves are an accent. You don't NEED an accent within an accent. Buy some related tall sculpture and put it in there. ONE color walls and niches, NO tile, no faux florals.

Personally, I'd drywall over both, get lovely consoles, and equally lovely art. Bye to the niches. Especially the one that looks as if it barely clears a window.

IMO the best is to paint the niche a color that enhances whtever you put in there ,I agree I would drywall over and hang nice big pieces that you love But I would also get rid of all the faux painting. I think those niches are overkill .

Agree, spend your money wisely and get rid of the paint and niches. It looks very dated.

Agreed. No to the tile. Decide what will be displayed and then decide what the backdrop should be.

Also that chandelier is too small for this area and should be updated.

Might be time to take a good hard look at the room and see if it shouldn't be revised and updated. The niches could run floor up to the door height. and squared off. The proportions of the room could be changed.

Jan Moyer, I am not sure what you mean about barely clearly a window. There are no windows on those walls. Perhaps you are referring to late afternoon sunlight (through an opposite window) that appears in the upper right of the picture?

Laura Mac, the adjoining rooms and hallways will be Behr Merino Wool. We have not decided whether to use the same color in the foyer or a darker neutral.

BeverlyFLADeziner, we will not be drywalling nor changing the shapes on the niches. It just doesn't cut it in the cost-benefit analysis. Also, squaring off the tops of the niches would require us to take a hard look at the eight other archways in the near vicinity of this foyer, which is not worth our consideration. Is changing the structure of the niches what you meant by " see if it shouldn't be revised and updated," or was there something else you would recommend in addition to the flooring, painting, and lighting already underway? Now is the time, if within our logistical scope.

How wide would you recommend for a new chandelier?

Flo Mangan, "Bite the bullet and get estimates." Lol, I think we'll continue with our existing plan to DIY the paint (I trust my own painting much more than a "pro," especially if a pro was whoever did the ghastly existing faux finish). While drywalling the niches would not be difficult, it's just not something we want to do at this time (I'm tired and pregnant and just finished a kitchen gut-out and two bathrooms), so we'll be working with the niches in place.

Any recommendations for new lighting? Both the (four) sconces and the chandelier are being replaced, but I just haven't found anything I like. Dark finishes are preferred, and "shiny" finishes are a hard no.

"...this entry will stop buyers dead in their tracks." I am not sure about your meaning. Are you saying it currently looks ugly enough to stop buyers and turn them away, or are you saying that with your recommended changes, it will look good enough to wow them? If the former, I think the paint and lighting changes will give us the biggest bang for our buck. Or do you think the room would still be offensive? Personally, I have hated the faux finish paint ever since we bought the house (at auction), but most people walk in and think it is a pretty neat room. My gazillion kids think so, too. They call it "The Rotunda." lol.

I understand pregnant and tired. I don't understand the desire to keep a thing that IS dated , despite arches elsewhere in the home. A pro paint job, does not imply the hideous amateur wall treatment now there. Which DOES look as if done by a home JOE. Drywall and studs are cheaper than tile and labor to achieve an even more dated look. You asked................: )

I think paint will do wonders for now, the easiest fix.... I'm not familiar with Behr paints, but here are complimentary colors if you are using Behr...

https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/HDC-NT-13

However, I love Benjamin Moore paint. Look on their site to get inspired.

Color Trends for 2019:

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/color-palettes/color-trends-2019

Lighting - a little sparkle and shine can be stunning! Are you sure?

Check out Restoration Hardware chandeliers for inspiration. So many gorgeous pieces.

https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/category/collections.jsp?cellBackground=false&parentCatId=cat1701013&topCatId=cat160075&categoryId=cat10160012&sale=false

Or, you could try a less expensive version from Lamps Plus or Arhaus:

https://www.lampsplus.com/chandeliers/

https://www.arhaus.com/furniture/lighting/

Hopefully you are getting your rest! Don't push it too hard! Congrats on baby to be!

I think the room is neat. I would update the chandelier and paint it as suggested above. Save the money you were going to spend on tile for art!

Or, save every penny for a 529 plan! LOL

Sorry I haven't read all the comments to learn if you were going for a more rustic or sophisticated style for your home. I am not advocating these colors or items, but simply trying to show you other ways to view the room.

I don't know the dimensions of your room, but I'm assuming your can use a fixture that is at least 36"+

in diameter and hang the fixture at 8ft in the room. I would try to not focus the attention on the ceiling so I might consider a chandelier that doesn't direct all the light to the ceiling. Something sculptural in nature.. I also might do something with the paint to lower the ceiling visually

If you keep the arches but drywall over the niches, then focus the attention on the center of the room.

Having a chandelier that extends from the ceiling down could be quite spectacular.

We have niches in our house too...and I’m struggling with what to do with them as well.

just wondering why you were considering tile for them. I am downplaying mine with painting like the surrounding wall... less focus on them and more on what goes into them.

BeverlyFLADeziner, those are some great lighting ideas. And thank you for taking the time to photoshop to show concept.

Kris Bruesehoff, I have a good idea about the artwork I want to put in them; it is artwork that is special to our family. Maybe simple--same paint color--is easiest and best? I am considering tile because I kind of like how these look:

Personal art in the entry needs to work with the overall design so make sure that whatever art you use works with the overall look you create. If it is personal, I wouldn't advise it in the "entry" public space.

Flo Mangan, thank you. Yes it "works" with the overall design (except for the fact that several people think the niches shouldn't exist in the first place, lol). Given the unusual story of our family, sharing that story up front is more important than a specific design rule, so the artwork will most definitely be placed prominently in our home.

Which is all the more reason to nuke them. Unless metal, glass, iron and a fabulous and interesting shape sit within?

Not a great spot for framed art.

And this is ............ No. Sorry. That's a case where a nuke is far better. :(

sorry but that is cringe invoking

U P Thanks for sharing those inspiration pics, makes sense, they come off more modern and “organic” which unfortunately won’t work in our house. I’m glad you have some personal art to put in them and would love to see pictures when you are done. I have considered covering up our niches too, but actually like the arches- and know that I have bigger issues to deal with right now.

Just place the artwork in the niches, but paint the inside of the niches the same as walls - so the art is the star, not the tile. Perhaps paint the shelf white to match the trim in the room.

Jan Moyer, our artwork is not a framed print/painting. It is hanging metal and fabric sculpture. Because it sticks out slightly (maybe 3-4"?) from the walls, the niches protect it from kids running by and getting caught on it. Sorry I can't show a picture; it is currently packed away.

Kris Bruesehoff, "bigger issues to`deal with." Exactly. Like, I need to get two more bathroom showers working for our family of eight, lol. The foyer niche issue I'd rather not deal with. I could always change that part at a later date (tile later, or drywall, patch, touchup paint). The pressing factor is just making sure that as I paint through the entire house--including the foyer--whatever I choose to do in the future down below (the niches) will match what I rented scaffolding to do up high (paint). Good luck to you on your projects!

We called our former home Los Arcos. There were arches everywhere including 4 arched niches in the entry and hall. That house was built in 2003 in a mediterranean style with 18' to 20' ceilings. It was a charming home and not "dated". I don't think the niches are inherently dated. I certainly wouldn't spend to take them out. But I wouldn't tile them either. Framed art does work or sculpture or your family pieces.

suzyq53, lol. Every house has it's own personality, doesn't it? From where I am sitting (dining room, open to foyer), I see FOURTEEN arches throughout the house. The foyer you see in the picture is an octagon shape. The man who built this house also built and lived in the house next door, and just recently moved over one more lot and built another house with...arches. Mediterranean would definitely describe the style. There are other things I would have done differently had I been building the house myself, but for the price we paid (and how it fits our family, and all the other great things about it), I'll certainly take it. ;)

lol U P! Maybe the same guy built our house too? Can you have too many arches?

suzy, your home looks lovely - even with arches.