What rooms open off your "dog trot" hallway and how do the doors divide the space up? Have you considered dividing the space into two seperate spaces. Not necessarily with solid walls but could be a screen to cover 4' of the width leaving a doorway opening into another "room". Then decorate each space for seperate uses. All depends on rooms leading off the hall and how they would be affected.

Oh my goodness, I came back from work today and was amazed by all your creativity! I see the advantage of having a strong "end" to the hallway. I checked CL and visited some used furniture stores. I found a table and a small chest that may be possible, but I will hold off for a few days because they are larger than the space really permits. mo13 and patty cakes  Ledges may be the way for me to go if I cannot find a piece of furniture to anchor the space. And yes an assortment of smaller mirrors GumbosoupÂI will tidy the books, but they canÂt ALL go away  because there is no other place in the house! Bookends and painting the shelves are a good idea. My sense that is that multiple small round rugs will feel cluttered (because the hall space isnÂt as long as it looks in the first picture.) calicocat1967Âyes, I like this. Do you have its dimensions? Teacats  thanks for the source for mirrors caminnc  This looks beautiful and I see what you mean about making the end wall dramatic. The challenge is that size of furniture really shouldnÂt be much bigger than 30 inches wide by (an average of ) 10 inches deep. I found a rectangular chest (not as pretty as the one you have) that is 32 by 11 1/8th and has an off-white stone top. It is at a second hand store and could be stained ebony and I could change the hardware to be like the one in your pic. I also found a two tiered demi-lune table that is 13 inches deep at its widest. This still feels too big. ideefixe  My leaning at this point is to tidy up the bookcase. elizgonz ÂWhy thank you. My LR improved dramatically after getting suggestions from the kind folk on this forum. In terms of color, most of the rooms that fall off this yellow "spine" of the house are vividly colored: two red, two dark blue, one teal, and one brown. We are not adverse to vivid color, but were trying to have a more neutral core to the house.

I'd sentence that worker and the gazillion just like him, who stick a thermostat, light switch, air vent, etc. in the middle of a wall with no thought to how it's going to look, to a lifetime of grief, just like the people who are trying to decorate around their handiwork.

Leaning ladder shelves are a trend that is pretty well on its way out, and was never a very good look. I'd opt for bookcases on each side; it will not matter if they're not symmetrical. I'd make certain to fill them primarily with books, not just as staging shelves for knicknacks, for this to look right.