Is that a set of turn of the century press backs? Put them on ebay; they are great!

I have to say something. Ship lap is not paneling. It has a rabbet (groove) cut at the top and bottom of each board so they overlap to form a tight waterproof seal. "Proven effective against water and wind, ship lap went from a go-to shipbuilding staple to weather-tight siding on homes." Now it is a incorrect name for an interior design trend.

There is no "reverse ship lap".

No accent wall there, as it is not a full wall.

I like your ideas of shelving in the windowed recess. Rather than books, etc, decorate it to go with dining room.

French Bistro shelving would be perfect storing dishes and glasses.

This doesn't need an accent wall

This needs something OTHER than gray paint on the walls - you're in a palette fight of warm and cool

Unless you're in love with table and chairs

Put money toward a new table, new chairs, a rug on the floor that work better , and aren't so creamy yellow?

Center the black painted cabinet.

Consider some curtain panels on the windows!

Add More pictures, show the KITCHEN!

Yes, I’m completely starting from scratch. The black piece is already sold and I considering mixing the white table with my black chairs in my breakfast nook. Otherwise it’s gone too. Trying to decide if I want to paint the entire room white with the accent wall or paint 3 walls white and accent wall black or navy. If the accent wall is one of the dark colors, do I paint the crazy corner dark as well?

I don't see any wall that could be an accent wall. You could continue on with your idea of doing something with the recessed area...maybe wallpaper? Choose your wall paint color first.

Breakfast area using the off white table and black chairs. Don’t have any pictures of the kitchen.

If you keep the table I don't think you want to paint the walls white. Look for a rug and pull a color out of the rug for the wall color. Dining rooms are in general kind of boring because they're just a home for a table and chairs. If you have white walls you should look for some interesting art to perk it up. But as the other commenters said, that wall should not be accented with any type of paneling. Shallow shelves or a shallow console are better ideas.

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Breakfast area is great. Start with rug for the DR. That's where you'll get your color pallette for the walls & window treatments. Wall paint numbers in the thousands of choices so better to start with the textiles. And yes move from the gray. Your floors are lovely but gray kills them.

Bad news for your niche idea: the example has drywall on both sides, but you only have about 4 inches before you hit the window frame! I guess you could try to do shelves that attach on two sides (back and right) and stop short of the window, but they will be *in front of* the window, with all the inconvenience and awkwardness that implies.

Find a cool floor lamp, large plant, or sculpture for that niche. Then just paint the wall to match all the others, and find a nice console or buffet to hang a substantial painting over.

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Not sure why you don't have the black sideboard centered on the back wall. You can add botanical prints to either side and decorate the sideboard with ceramics.

If you keep the sideboard and table and chairs, that sets the direction for the room, and that's 'Farmhouse - Country', not the contemporary wood pattern you thought about applying to the wall. That's not for this room unless you decide to replace all the furnishings.

The gray walls seem harsh compared to the farmhouse table and chairs.

A good rug could anchor the room.

You have a nice room with high ceilings, a good floor and nice windows.

I would concentrate on decorating basics. A pleasing color palette, properly sized window treatments, a rug that fits under the table, large art (no sayings) hung at eye level and a good hanging light fixture.

The niche is a great spot for a plant in a woven pot. Don't take off all the horizontal wainscotting fussiness and replace it with a different version.

Thanks for all the ideas. Lots of great ideas. Buffet is sold, table and chairs will go soon too. If you have a round table, do you get a round rug🤷🏻‍♀️

No round rugs........no. : )

Don't buy a rug until you advise the size of the space. Rectangle with ANY table

lol. Thanks!!

I'd put a tall plant in the niche with an uplight. No to accent wall as you already have windows, doorway opening and a niche going on.

As you're starting from scratch, start with an inspiration piece, be it fabric, a china plate, a magazine picture... from which to pick your color scheme. I think color will really be your friend in this space to help cozy it up. DRs can be both cozy and dramatic.

Agree with everyone- no accent wall. New paint color. New rug. I like your idea to remove the chair rail. Plant, floor lamp, or a narrow console with art above it. (Also agree with no sayings!!)

Do you need a formal dining room if you already have a table? Could you use that space for something else? When I moved in, I moved the chandelier that was above the table over my island and use the space as a family room. When I host dinner parties, I use folding tables with my old dining room chairs. Which is more convenient because I can arrange based on numbers.
If you keep the table, add a chandelier.

Post the final result!

No accent wall. Mid height voluminous floor plant that is half in and half out of the niche. It will soften the edge and distract from the niche, as would nice curtains. No round rug. Balance of furniture and lovely colors will make this room sing.

I didn’t read all the comments, so this may have been mentioned, but please remove the word art and generic big-box-store decor, and replace with interesting (preferably original) artwork.

Where is the darn kitchen NEAR this space about which you have asked??

I'm guessing not up the block? The house Next door? Show it: )

Add an outlet in that niche. Get a low chest of drawers, one that you can store candles and a lighter in, and one that’s high enough off the floor that the roomba fits. Add a petite lamp, and something interesting on the wall. Not a painting, but perhaps something woven. Now it is useful, is interesting from the outside, and is something to see besides the window from the inside. If you can add something interestong outside the window, you have a little visual destination vignette.

This is the kitchen across the hall from the dining room

Is there an outlet in the niche? I would turn the little area into a coffee bar or, maybe a cocktail bar. Or simply put a tall tree/plant there in a beautiful pot and uplight it from the bottom.