Hi all, I’m looking for decorating advice on the following for my living/dining/entryway (yes, this small room is supposed to serve three purposes!):

· Making the room seem larger/or, at least, not so small!

· Furniture placement

· Managing entry way necessities (coats and shoes)

· Lighting

As you can see, one of the main problems in this room is that has three doorways, so furniture placement is challenging; the solid door is the front door, the door with the window leads to the office and the doorless entryway leads to the kitchen. The room feels even smaller because the ceiling is only 7’5”!

We had water damage that wrecked our hardwood floor so now we need a new floor and a new ceiling; I decided this might be the best time to redo the entire room, including the upholstery, since some of that was also damaged.

What will stay:

· Most furniture: loveseats (51”x27”), armchair, mirror (not hung), end tables and floor lamp.

· I also like the bookcase, but it could be moved to another room.

· The tile in front of the front door. I know this breaks up the room, but it is practical. We have a ton of weather in Southern Ontario including rain, ice and snow, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a wooden floor come right up to the entryway that would then have to be covered up by something to protect the floor from water.

What will go:

· (the upholstery on the seating will all be recovered -see swatches below- loveseats solid and chair in the pattern)

· Wall paint colour. My thought is to go with almost white walls with a tint of the green that will be in the new upholstery.

· Tea trolley. It’s just there because I haven’t thought of where to put it, but it doesn’t belong in this room.

What will/can be replaced/changed: (ADVICE WANTED)

· The floor. I like the dark floor, but I’m wondering if I should go with a little lighter shade to lighten the room?

· Ceiling fixtures. Although I like this style, the one in the middle takes up a lot of visual space, and I feel it lowers the ceiling. Also, folks who are 6’ and taller can’t walk under it. Since I need a new ceiling, someone suggested recessed lighting to me and I almost laughed out loud, because I thought it was a ridiculous idea for a traditional room. But then I discovered these beautiful ~12” Skygarden Recessed lamps by Flos and I am seriously considering installing two of these to replace the existing ones as a way to “raise” the ceiling. Is this a crazy idea?

· Wondering about adding narrow crown molding and panting it and the baseboards the wall colour?

· The dining set and the china cabinet. Current table is 42"x 58" and will be replaced by a round 48" (and has many leaves). Still have to buy chairs and looking for a china cabinet (or two smaller ones) because I am in need of serving storage in this room.

· Drapes. Need new sheers (considering these) and heavier curtains to go with new paint and upholstery. FYI, the window is a bow window.

· Table lamps (I like them, but they could go).

· The art. It demonstrates the style that I like (botanicals, nature) but is not a deal breaker. I do like the frames though, so I would consider keeping the frames and changing the art and mats).

I think the mirror has to be hung on either side of the opening to the kitchen because it faces the only window in the room, which faces exactly NW, so we really only get bright sun in the afternoon.

I’m also hoping to get a new front door with windows to help with the lighting.

I’ve attached pics of the room (standing in each corner) and dimensions. The kitty wanted to be in one of them... The original structure dates from 1867, so the angles and dimensions are "interesting."

Any and all ideas are welcome! Thanks!