Madelyna and olychic, then you know what im up against here! Daisy, leafy, pirula (is that a type of cookie?) Thank you for suggesting the pure style home blog, it's exactly the sort of thing that I was asking about! I will spend some time this evening browsing through it and the site you posted Awm, and the northcrest site, thank you palimpsest. Patty cakes, I have searched for 70s contemporary and 70s remodel on houzz, but had few hits, I'll follow your search suggestion and broaden my search a bit. Mj lb, my house is a two story with a walk out basement (so effectively three stories from the back) with some lovely : / diagonal cedar siding on part of the front with a small, slightly inset front stoop. I'm just flummoxed about where to go from here.

I think that is a partner's desk in the middle of the room in Frances Elkins' house. The room appears to be divided in rough thirds. I do notice a lot of arrangements that would not be common today, including a secondary bedside table and sometimes a chair right at the bedside. See the third photo Chijim posted, and you will see the second table with phone and TV. I think the side chairs were actually pulled in for the photo, but I have seen the table-oriented-lengthwise to the bed a lot in midcentury rooms...particularly McMillen, Inc. rooms.

Remove planter, maybe replace with a decorative basket that adds a nice look from both far and near. If it's the two-part railing you hate, have it replaced with a continuous one that bends to match the wall line -- they're used all the time. Can get in wood or metal.

A simple fix to your Craftman style house is to first remove the awnings (they camouflage the house - look into indoor blinds or solar shades). Enlarge the window frames and remove siding from the columns and recover in white (wood or other building material). Install a new front door (paint a pop colour you like) and paint the window surrounds in black with white trim, and all trim on the house in white. From the picture I can't tell what colour the siding is but a light grey or a greige would be nice with the stone and white trim with black accent windows. I also suggest you powerwash the stone. Work on the landscaping to give your house more curb appeal.