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.

Hi there! I’m in a similar situation, except that our 2 story foyer faces north and doesn’t get much light. The floors are a white oak stained walnut. The adjacent north facing family room will be painted BM stonington gray (to complement the south facing dining room, which will be painted BM Newburyport Blue). I was planning on painting the foyer and upstairs hallway BM Wickham Gray. But after reading several articles about northern exposure, I’m second guessing the Wicham Gray. Trying to keep all the light in, and not darken the entry. Any suggestions / thoughts for the 2 story foyer??

Ok let me start out by saying you do not need a huge fixture there, or a chandelier, In fact, your options would open way up if you started looking more at entry fixtures. This one is kind of plunked if you will, in no man's land. The only good view of it is at the landing area, otherwise, you are looking at bulbs from the top. Or you would have to crank your neck from the bottom to even look at it. If you change the entry fixture, you should also change the landing fixture. I would consider putting a recessed light in the landing or a semi-flush, this way there is only one "star of the show." Also, you would be better off to look at oil rubbed bronze over black as it will lend itself to more paint finishes. satin nickel (imo) is rather dated builders look for an entry. I see a chandelier in your dining area there that would be a good jumping off point for you. I'm not saying dont hang a chandelier, but if you have searched the entire internet..maybe a little gear shift wouldn't hurt

@jck910....some grest suggestions there....thank you! @Sammy....actually, we have noticed an increase in the brightness of the room even with the new windows. Getting rid of the transoms and the 1/4 round windows made the room a lot lighter. I do think an additional window will make a difference as well. Now, it will not bring in any direct sunlight as a skylight would, but I’m not a big fan of skylights so hadn’t even thought of that. I will definitely run that by them.