Auntjen -- thanks! I do hope you'll try some GG. Did you see my comments/directions about it above? I hope they help. Moonkat -- I'm delighted you showed up! I thought of you and Nanny often while doing this. Your ceiling and her walls were inspiration for this project. I'm very glad I stuck with it, but I wish I'd just done the BB wallpaper to begin with. It turned out much better than I expected, I think largely because of turning the railing shiny black. That made a huge difference. Glad I could inspire you back and can't wait to see what you do. I gave some instructions above and hope they help. Artlover -- yes she is a Mucha above the stairs. The plexiglas "sg" window over the door is *not* mounted. Got any ideas how to mount it? Chloe's mom -- I love what you did with the $5 clearance wallpaper! It looks just amazing. That wallpaper was perfect. The answer to your q. over there is yes, a coat of good paint will help your beadboard wallpaper be tougher against bumps and bangs. I'll be watching to see what you do with Vivian's room. Mistyhayes -- I hear you; wood is easier to upkeep than white paint. What if you paint your woodwork and the plant shelves shiny black? I put several coats of polyurethane over my railings, and the shiny black, with the satin white, and the flat beige looks just amazing in person. I took the railings and that little bookcase into the garage on a plastic tarp w the car in the driveway, roughed them up just a little with sandpaper and spray painted them black. Misty, it could look amazing if you scrap the curtains and blinds and do GG in there. It's just tracing lines and filling in color - you can do it! Plus you'd get a lot more light in. You can make the GG so you keep your privacy, or leave clear places where you can look out. I can see out my big window, but from outside you just really can't see in well. Part of the reason for that might be because the GG is angled, leaning? Dunno, but I retained the light and view, and gained privacy. No curtains/blinds to wash, hooray! You can go snoop the web for designs you like. Then you can make them on your computer and have Staples/etc. print them, or you could draw them yourself on paper full size. Then pick your fave colors. You will enjoy doing yours on plexi, rather than directly on the window. Your choice, but you can work the plexi on your table, but the windows will have to be done on your feet/ladder. Gallery Glass For those of you wanting to do GG, I recommend the plexi. You can get it at Lowes and they will cut it whatever size you want. It comes 72" x 36". You don't have to worry about being cut or accidentally breaking your window, and it's very lightweight. Or, just mess around with the clings, and that's a great way to get started, and you can cover your entire window with them if you like. The dragonfly window was part clings, and part done on the real window. I cemented the clings in with paint onto it's borders. I did put jewels on my windows. Mostly I used the clear marbles you get at Michaels, but I also found some plastic jewels with no silvering on the back, and I love those. These add an extra dimension and more believability, I think. But they're a bit heavy for on clings.

I like the balance of the dresser picture, maybe a bit more eclectic than traditional. Maybe a second tall apothecary jar instead of lamps? Should I maybe move the bookshelf to the opposite blank wall and have nothing under the stairs but maybe some kind of art? But what shape of art for such an odd angled wall? We took a look at some things we've been holding off throwing out yesterday. We have some large, slender pieces of white laminate from some old flat pack furniture we've been 50/50 on tossing or keeping for some kind of project. My husband thinks he could cut up and use the pieces with some creative use of trim to make a little custom-fit bench/cabinet to hide the shoe rack under the coats very similar to that very nice picture of the rather expensive looking one.

Palimpest-I do agree that the ceiling changes clearly define the spaces. My previous house had about a 10 foot opening into the living room, so there was a partial wall there. I guess it never bothered me. While the kitchen could be turned to face the living room, I did not want that view versus a view outside. Doing so would have also eliminated any painted wall in the living room. My ceilings will be very similar to the photo that you highlighted the ceilings. I'm not sure what I will do over the stairs, but not what they have. The rest will be very similar. I can see how it would turn off someone who desired a true craftsman. I do find it interesting that both houses which cost over a million dollars would be referred to as an architectural mess...especially with so many people copying these designs. I do love them though. Even if I do change to Virgil's suggestion, I will still have a partial wall. Hopefully, the beams will draw the eyes up and off the wall a bit. I do want to keep the fireplace visible from the island, but do not want the kitchen more open than it is now...so I guess it is a matter of priorities.

I would paint the stairs a dark brown to match the railing -- be sure to use porch paint, so it can withstand some wear. Then add a runner (although this is not a cheap option). Be sure that the landing isn't plywood, or no amount of paint will make it look decent. Anyway, dark treads plus (current) white sides, means you can keep dark railing and white spindles. It's a classic look. As for the tile, it's just not great. Easiest fix is to darken the grout so that the pattern is minimized, and then find a great entry rug with some color and pattern, which will add cheer and distract from the tile. Someday you can replace it with simple cement-look or slate-look tile in a single color, but meantime, just look at as little of it as possible. A nice picture on the wall opposite the closet will also help happy up the space. Note: keep in mind the rug possibility when picking a runner -- you may want the latter to be solid or in a very simple pattern so that your choices for other decorations in the space aren't too constrained.