Hi Radley, The doors appear to be a mix of original stain and a newer gel coat. I had to paint the half bath and utility doors in the nearby area as they were so badly done. I kept three doors in the badly done wood at the end of the hall along with double doors (just like entry) going into the master bedroom. I will tackle the striping and re-staining down the road. I was told the kitchen cabinets were cherry but I swear they look like Lyptus. The crown molding appeared to be a sort of walnut stain (now painted wall color but in a gloss).. Close-up of door stain on master doors. These are different to the attempt at gel coating on the other bedroom doors to hide a “mom stay out” carving and multiple dog scratches. I don’t have a close-up of front door but these master doors are close. Thank you Kswl, the house has been a lot of work believe it or not to get it to this point. Lots of oddities here! Husband and I have worked our way to the end and have closed this guest bath slider in and added a door with a doggy door. It’s not magazine worthy but will make my life easier. This week we also gutted the master and master bath and will be adding a closet. The fireplace was tweaked as well as it was originally an attention hog the minute you walked in. However, so was the kitchen so we tweaked that a bit and it doesn’t scream as loud. There were no electric outlets beyond the wall cabinets between windows. About that brass thing at fireplace…yes I think I agree and that’s why I haven’t hung it. After I finish the drywall in 2nd bath husband will hang to dining light and we will take it from there. Also, in my mind I would love to find an old but nice black metal cabinet of some sort with brass on it to use as a media cabinet. There does not seem to be any such thing in my searches. In fact I can’t find any of the ideas that are in my head. It just seems like that area needs some brass (a bit) to say it’s part of a certain time. An area I'm doing dual time in. And, some "before" pic's.. Geokid I like that idea and actually looked on Conestoga last night. They didn't have my configuration. It's looking like I need to find a vintage something with brass and tweak it. I'm thinking that although I like the light wood it seems I might need more of an anchor...and brass! This post was edited by jterrilynn on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 12:29

Ditto what Annie said. You are talking about the structural integrity of your house and it looks like you have a second story, and you probably also have a basement. By removing the wall, the beam needs to support the floor above and the roof. And if you're in a "snow zone" that has to be factored in as well. Another thing, walls are distributing the load from above to the floor or foundation. When you remove a portion of the wall, you are creating point loads on the floor or foundation, which may require additional work to your foundation in the form of footings or additional beams below. These are examples of how removing a wall can get complicated. Maybe you are already aware of this. I hope so! Edited to add another thought I wanted to share regarding openings to let in light. You're only going to get sunlight during the daytime. How often are you home during the day when you can benefit from the daylight? Painting the paneling and better lighting in the family room will to wonders for making the room look brighter. Also, consider replacing the back door with a slider. That will allow more light into the family room. This advice is coming to you from someone who is considering taking down walls to let more light into her dark family room. :) But I've been in my house a long time whereas you haven't even moved in yet.

Thankyou now I kinda want to do a picture collage area and some real simple art or something any ideas ? I ordered some brown baskets for bottom of tv stand area

I really like it, especially with your very 'airy' plant. All 3 objects give one the feeling of 'floating'. Like magic! It makes the oversized electronic, look like it's in a home setting. Very nicely done. Couldn't be any nicer. Now, look for all those with the giant 'entertainment with a bridge' armoires or wall shelving be putting them up on resale websites, so they can lighten the load in their tv rooms... LOL