Thanks for posting new views of your room. You are right, nothing can go in front of the paneling, and we won't block the built-in cubby. In that case let's work with the rest of the space. I found a picture on Houzz for your gallery wall. I think this will allow you to bring in color and texture and interest to your wall without taking up space like furniture would. Try to play with portraits and a couple of paintings in there too - mix it up. Otherwise I would not put anything at the top of that landing (I'd remove that console table). That picture wall should be enough visual interest to your space and it'll draw the eye to the furthest wall as you walk in your house. I would try a small piece with closed storage between the bottom steps and that door by the entry. It looks like the space is no wider than 26", so it'll be a challenge to find something that fits and is tall enough. I would not use the wooden piece you showed above because you want wider proportions and fairly narrow depth so you don't bump into it as you walk by. (something like this ) I would hang a mirror on top of primping. By the cubby you could add a single seat stool. I'm not particularly suggesting these colors for the stool and bombe chest but something along these shapes. At this point if you do that big picture wall and add these two pieces of furniture and a mirror, you might not need to hang anything on the wall above the cubby. Also, I noticed your chandelier is quite substantial for the space and hanging pretty low. Would raising it a little or replacing it by something a little smaller be an option?

I like @kelly's idea of picking a lovely fresh color of paint for the door. You can then bring it down onto the stair risers. Either a solid color to match the front door, or go wild and add some decorative elements to the risers with stencils. Or think of staining the door a great color and coordinate the stair railings and risers. I have an idea book put together for just such project that might spark some ideas for you. http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/16700983/thumbs/Kathryn-Delany-s-Decorative-Stair-Risers

squeakerd - it is really hard to get a perspective on the whole area but if this is part of a much larger area then I feel you need to first decide just what you want as the end result. Do you just want your entire area to be one open plan or do you want to break it down into visually defined areas within the open plan. As you have the area now, I don't feel any cohesiveness between your table and the sideboard, I think I would move the sideboard to the end wall, it looks more like it would belong there, even just by the shape of the room. Definitely a larger rug will define the space better - just be careful of any trip hazard with the door nearby - but before you decide on the rug, consider window dressings and whether you want things plain or introduce some bold patterns and what colours look best in the area. Artwork can go where your sideboard is now, but again think colours and impact of design on the whole area. It is all very well to build a room around one piece, but you need to look at the impact that piece will have on other items and what limitations it could cause. I would suggest you set aside some serious time to look through photos on Houzz, especially if you can find areas similar to yours, till you find what appeals to you, put the photos into your ideas book and use that to build your room. I have found this invaluable in the past and it has saved me many an expensive mistake.

It is a pretty 'basic' look , but unless you spend big dollars , that is going to be the base you are working from . the first 2 things I'd do , is buy a waterblaster , blast everything especially bare timber ; and secondly , do every fence in a charcoal stain . Personally , I wouldn't paint the bricks , and I'd even hold off painting the block too . That brown peak has to change , I suspect I'd go a mid-Orange , to be reasonably 'sunny' . Red or yellow too bright for the cream and the style ; blue or green too old and too cold ; grey too boring ; black or brown too dark . I the short term , I'd leave the terrace panels , but do the top rail in a bright Orange , and the base timber that can be seen , in a charcoal . The stair railings I'd do in white with the same bright Orange top rail , the actual stairs in charcoal ( you may have to add a white bit at the front of each to meet Health and Safety regulations ) . Windows etc are okay IMO , but add a detail or 2 -- 2 matching $100 letterboxes ; your street number in a nice style , painted bright orange or even apricot , made from ply , and screwed or glued so it is 30mm 'out' ( protruding ) from the downstairs wall between the 2 windows ( maybe off-centre by 30cm for impact and interest ? ) OR maybe on the front fence . Then your idea of plants in big bright pots will really add too . There you go -- $2500 and some labour and some fun and it will look quite a bit better .