The door adds a Spanish ambiance, so I can see how corbels might have suited that style. It might be a much bigger job than you'd want to take on, but before painting consider removing those to enlarge the arch so it is wider. Apparently it repeats the design on the door, but the two pieces that jut down on each side are the issue, IMO.

Deco... so you are suggesting rework the arch to do away with the jut out?

i can see that.

Looks great without. Corbels would just be one more thing to gather dust. The arch is interesting all on its own. Actually think that corbels would be distracting.

Lynartist, thanks for mock up... would love to see with the full view of arch.

You need a beefier trim around the door IMO. It is a Spanish look so as a minimum, paint the trim the same color as the door. That will help give it more presence.

Thanks Flo. The door is stained and only dark wood stain inside. Other interior moldings are painted white. Your suggesting remove trim around the door and replace and stain to match the door? That would be pretty. I was thinking if we put corbels back in they would be white.

I would put a corbel and paint it the same color of the wall. looks pretty odd without nothing

Flo. Corbels would not affect the access at all, and would be where lynartist shows them.

Lynartist Sorry I will try again. Thank you!

So helpful to see this lynartist! I kind of like that middle one!

I am curious why the previous owner removed the corbels. What style is the house. Are there corbels in other rooms? Fireplace maybe?

I guess I would describe the original style of the house as quasi Tuscan. It is hard to tell in the old photos I have found but I believe the original corbels were plaster with a more ornate vineyard design. Probably similar to what we still have on the fireplace. The last owners had a more modern aesthetic. While "updating" they also removed the ornate ceiling medallion from the entry ( good call I think -but left a uneven finish in ceiling) and the cove moldings in the adjacent rooms ( I am considering having those put back in).

Here is a picture of the fireplace in the living room adjacent to the above entry, showing mantle supports. This is still on my to-do list!

There's a lot going on in that entry and the corbels just makes it even more busy.

Lynartist... actually an 80s home and I’ve seen pics of the original listing and it was Corbels, not columns. I think columns would close it off too much don’t you? But I agree they actually make more sense of the ziggurat (thanks for expanding my vocabulary!)

i Am leaning to having the ”zigs“ removed if not to difficult, if not adding a simple corbel to soften them as I find the current arch so awkward, but it sounds like maybe it’s not so bad left as it is?

Seajay... are you suggesting trim around the arched entrance or beefing up the trim to the outside door? I do love Flo’s idea of painting the trim around the door if you don’t think it would look bad to have the Paint adjacent to the stain.

As for the fireplace I want to tear that whole mess out. These shelves, marble tile and the mantle will all need to go....just haven’t figured out what to put in instead.

‘Thank you all so much for your input!

You 've had two dilemmas on the fireplace and there was good advice given.

I rather like the opening as is. I would do perhaps your house number in the transom above the door or a simple stained glass element. On the fireplace a thick natural wood mantel would look more Tuscan. I actually love the style of your home and would try to work with the quirks rather than eliminate them.

ShirIpp- many of the suggestions were visually appealing but not able to be done with the odd angle of the wall. I believe the current advice is to hire someone to come and look at it—-a designer/contractor and so I would like to think through all of the things I want to discuss with them in advance. Since this is the adjacent wall I’m hoping it’s able to be addressed at the same time. But you are right...it takes me along time to think it through.

gypsyrose- Thank you. I appreciate your comment, maybe that’s why I’m struggling...I don’t want to change things just to change them, and I do appreciate your suggestions.

Thank you... love that I can show this to my hubby so he really picture the difference. I think this keeps enough of the character of the house while still improving the look. I’m a little nervous about how well they will be able to blend the textured walls so it doesn’t look “patched”. But I do like the cleaner look.

I kind of wondered about columns too until I saw the original pictures, and to be fair there are columns between the master sleeping area and the master sitting area.

ritasj, we kind of love the door. So it is staying.

I did find an original builders photo of the house to show the corbels that were originally there. Thought I’d share. They appear to be very ornate and color of the floor and not the front door Or the walls.

photo also shows crown molding... too ornate but we are also considering replacing it.

So we do like the door, which comes with the side windows, and also like the circle ceiling. The furniture, fixture and rug can all be changed if it’s too much. Anyone else have thoughts on the entry needing to be toned down?

The door looks Mediterranean to me. I am not bothered by mixing wood tones as in the door compared to floor color. Two things that seem to not fit are the light fixture in the entrance and the corbels on the fireplace. I might change the rug for softer earth tones but it is not a priority. The fireplace needs more attention.

Think of the house as Mock Mediterranean. It has arches but they are modified and do not look like arches in a Spanish mission. It does not have to be a replica.

I would remove the crown molding and not replace it. It has never made sense to me for it to only be in one room when other rooms are visible.

Emmarene9

The entry Light fixture was from previous owners attempt to modernize. I am open to suggestions to replace it. When they put this in they took down a ceiling medallion, and left mismatched plaster on the ceiling...so we do need to fix that.

The entire fireplace wall including the awful mantle will be reworked for sure. I’m just really slow on figuring out how to truly fix our dilemma there.

‘There currently is no crown molding, —are you looking at the old picture? If so that is now gone. I was thinking or replacing it throughout the rooms with the high ceilings.