Hi my name is Heather and I'm known as the "stripper" in the family and my husband is the "ripper". My advice is take a small section and work only on that section to ensure what is underneath is what you think is there and that you'll be happy with it. I stripped (as in taking off the paint off) door frames and baseboards only to discover the wood had never been sealed, so I couldn't get to the bare wood and had to repaint. Many years later I striped the handrail and the spindles on our staircase - 320+ hours later, the varathane went on and when I stood back I said " it would have looked JUST fine being painted. Having said that , it does look great and everyone makes a fuss (maybe because they know how much time went into the project). I don't think you'll be able to leave the spindles white as your striping solution will drip and run, I even had the problem of it running down my wall but I was able to sand and paint that area so no big deal. A note from the other side of the family, Heather stripped the bannister balusters and newel posts in our 1919 house that had 16 steps and a 10 foot return . She started with regular cheap stripper and then for the " finish" work cut the stripper with wood alcohol to prevent the gummy build up. The interesting thing was that when she started we thought that the balusters were square when in fact they had four grooves cut in the inside and outside faces. We guessed at between 14 and 16 coats of paint. We ended up selling the house a couple of years ago but the new owners absolutely love the house , especially the staircase.

I was about to suggest radiator covers and then teacats beat me to it! I would do a radiator cover and then mount a shelf and appropriate sized mirror over that. I am going to be the naysayer about hooks on that wall at the bottom of the stair. You don't have a ton of space there, and that means that the bottom of the stair will look even smaller and more crowded when you have a bunch of coats hanging on the pegs or hooks. I would use that wall for the 14 pix that you discussed. Use the upstairs wall to do the family geneology items. By the way, I don't think the window at the top of the stairs looks high at all. It is in proportion to the upper floor. Once you hang artwork on the wall to the right of that window, it will connect with the window and make it all work together. The topiary you have there only accentuates the height of the window, as it is still taller than the top of the topiary. If you want something there, I would look for a small arts and crafts style plant stand and put a large vase or a plant with trailing ends like an ivy on the stand. Or you could stand a large vase in the corner with tall twigs and grasses coming out of it. Your home is fabulous - I am SOOOO jealous. It feels like a place that I could just walk in and be at home.

Move in with what you have an live with it for a while until you see how you want the house to live. I'm not sure how anyone sit on the current position of the sofa and can view the TV Here is a layout for your room, and definitely select a rug that is much larger for this room. Maybe a classic style to anchor the room. Would really bring out the wood and stone http://rugs.rugstudio.com/newnav/Traditional-Shalom-Brothers https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Handmade-Herat-Oriental-Persian-Hand-knotted-Tribal-1930s-Antique-Heriz-Wool-Rug-710-x-101/19420327/product.html?refccid=EYDKVHEPO5WZA7SJZRFZ2SDL6I&searchidx=107

I think the sectional is to big for the space. Maybe you could shift the sectional away from the fireplace and closer to the tv, if there’s enough room? Or do you have another room you could swap the furniture out? Not sure what to do with the tv wall. I’m a fan of leaving those blank as long as it isn’t huge. I would also consider art that is more horizontal over the fireplace, I think it would look better.