The herringbone is going to come in at a 45 degree to the planks, no? So you will need to cut each one of those anyway. If you cut them, you can route them. The plank will have a tongue straight across the door unless you run it from that wall into the opposite, in which case you just put a spline in. And if you have routed the herringbone, you just slip them over the spline. I do it all the time. If you've never routed anything, just go buy a router and table. You can get them both for $150 or less. No need to go top quality since it's not your life work. Just get a good 1/4 inch bit and remember that the wood is made so that the tongue or groove has more wood on top than on the bottom. Take a look at any piece of flooring and you'll see what I mean - the groove is not dead center along the length. It's not that much extra work. Don't know how your transition is going to be - in other words is there a doorway or an arch or something? If so, you can put a strip in there to break it more cleanly visually. In my house, I had a lot of wood around, so I put in something like wenge, maple, birch, walnut, or something similar. They are at the same level so you don't have something raised between the two. I hate not having the 2 tied in. Some people don't go thru the effort I mentioned, but for me it's the best solution by far.

If you're going for modern, an easy trick is to keep it minimal and focused on function. I don't see art or a mirror fitting that space properly without taking away from the architecture of the home in such a tight space. A rectangular shape will make the arch at the top more pronounced. I would consider finding some cool hooks if you could use the entryway storage or 3-d art that isn't rectangular. Or reconsider adding drywall. Also, the antler chandelier makes the entryway look smaller. Try repositioning so it follows the length of the hall better.

Some things you could do are ... Widen the walk and especially the entrance landing. (The skimpy walk seriously cheapens the whole home, especially since the entrance is far from the drive.) If you redo the whole thing, consider if it needs to be a bit farther away from the garage -- at least 6' I think. Remove the center tree. It gives a goofy look to the garage wall. Hang a piece of outdoor art on the blank wall if it bothers you. Or, a wall mounted flag. Plant below windows as if it's a flower box .... color and annuals. With windows so low to the ground, it's not practical to have the typical shrub situation. Instead, some evergreen shrubs can go near corners of the garage. Incorporate a bed of groundcover in order to knit everything together. It is much more luxurious looking than a bed of mulch. Plant some medium height (3-4') colorful perennials to wrap the far corner. Limb up the front yard trees such that they do not impede view of first floor from the street. Limb up the small trees at the garage so they clear the window tops. Since they are very formal elements, keep their tops shaped and height in the vicinity of the eaves. There are probably other things you could do fore of the space that is shown. I see what I think is a mulch bed below the tree at left. This could be a sumptuous, lush bed of groundcover instead of a dry, flat, brown space.

I can appreciate what you were trying to accomplish with this. :-) Part of the problem -- at least for me -- is that the bricks aren't stacked in a natural/logical orientation. If they were laid horizontally, so that they gave the appearance of being structural, I think my brain would have an easier time understanding the column (it would appear solid and less like a veneer). The corners/edges would also have been easier to integrate.