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I have these empty huge wide walls in my dining room. One side has a higher part (about 20 ft) and the other is more standard size because of the stairs on top. What can I place here. How high and how big should the items be? How many should I have? Please help! I included what I have on the other side which is a buffet with a mirror on top. I think I'm going to buy a bigger mirror for it...seems too small. So you can't say mirror since there is one on the opposite side already. Thanks in advance!

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other side of room

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Wow...striking space. Lofty spaces command large scale items. Definitely beef up the mirror above the buffet. It should run vertical and have a large frame not to exceed the width of the buffet. Optionally, a gallery wall of mirrors artfully arranged can cover much of the buffet wall OR feature a mirror gallery on the wall opposite it, and opt for a large painting, tapestry, or trompe loi above the buffet. Either way, both walls should create a balance in the room. When budget allows, search for a tall china cabinet to fill much of the void along one of the walls. You can then merchandise the top to future emphasize the height of this space.

Alternative large art could be:

a gallery of ceiling medallions of varied sizes and styles

an oversized clock

beefy corbels w/ pottery or plants atop them

a lg. ornate piece of ironwork

adding picture molding and painting the insets a color in your rug


Place a large potted tree along the stairwell wall w/ handsome oversized pot and up lighting.

Hang elongated draper panels to soften this space while adding much needed color.

When budget allows, a more dramatic, colorful rug w/ larger print will suit this space better.

Wow! That's a big wall. Maybe a tapestry?

I'd like a grouping of art work but it would have to be pretty big to be in proportion to the wall.

What if you did some kind of picture mouldings and painted the insides a deeper shade of your wall color or maybe something that contrasts but co-ordinates.

Froo, I was wondering if a huge mirror wouldn't overpower the buffet?????

The mirror over the buffet is plenty large enough.
The ceilings are high in proportion to the footprint of the dining room. Your goal should be to bring your eye down to human level and give the room a more intimate feeling. Anything large that you hang up high will draw your focus upward rather than down where you and your guests will be dining. Concentrate your art and window treatments to an area no higher than you would had the room a normal ceiling height.

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Originally posted by SusanBradfordKent:
The mirror over the buffet is plenty large enough.
The ceilings are high in proportion to the footprint of the dining room. Your goal should be to bring your eye down to human level and give the room a more intimate feeling. Anything large that you hang up high will draw your focus upward rather than down where you and your guests will be dining. Concentrate your art and window treatments to an area no higher than you would had the room a normal ceiling height.

I, wholeheartedly, agree.

If I had walls that tall I'd be stacking framed pieces like a collage. I love the look.

You may get some ideas from this site I found.

http://www.interiorsbystudiom....ith-your-tall-walls/

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Originally posted by sms29s66:
I was wondering if a huge mirror wouldn't overpower the buffet?????

It would indeed. The sideboard has taller legs which makes it less weighty so a larger mirror would appear top heavy.
I also agree with Susan that your goal should be to create intimacy conducive to conversation around the dining table. You could certainly use art on the wall opposite the sideboard but it needs to be in proportion the the length and width of the room not the height.

Search for a large landscape painting or interesting tapestry for the wall opposite the buffet. Give your dinner guests something interesting to look at, but not so dramatic that it takes away from the focus of the room, which is dining and conversation. The focal point should be the table and I notice there isn't a centerpiece there. A large vase or urn filled with spring branches would be nice this time of year. When summer flowers are in bloom, keep it filled with those. If you aren't a gardener, visit your local farmer's market. You can usually get a grand bouquet for under $15 that will last for a week.
Emphasizing the ceiling height makes me feel like I'm dining at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

Yep, I immediately thought a long tapestry on the tall empty wall which could get pricey. That AC vent is Definitely in the way. Try Googling "How to decorate a Tall Wall" and look at images for possible ideas. I do this a lot and find it helpful.

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Originally posted by SusanBradfordKent:
The mirror over the buffet is plenty large enough.
The ceilings are high in proportion to the footprint of the dining room. Your goal should be to bring your eye down to human level and give the room a more intimate feeling. Anything large that you hang up high will draw your focus upward rather than down where you and your guests will be dining. Concentrate your art and window treatments to an area no higher than you would had the room a normal ceiling height.

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Originally posted by M_Thornton:
The sideboard has taller legs which makes it less weighty so a larger mirror would appear top heavy.

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Originally posted by Cavin:
Search for a large landscape painting or interesting tapestry for the wall opposite the buffet. Give your dinner guests something interesting to look at, but not so dramatic that it takes away from the focus of the room, which is dining and conversation. The focal point should be the table and I notice there isn't a centerpiece there. A large vase or urn filled with spring branches would be nice this time of year. When summer flowers are in bloom, keep it filled with those. If you aren't a gardener, visit your local farmer's market. You can usually get a grand bouquet for under $15 that will last for a week.
Emphasizing the ceiling height makes me feel like I'm dining at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

All of these posts bear repeating.

I also advise focusing on lighting in the room. Lower the chandelier and perhaps use buffet lamps with low wattage bulbs on the sideboard. *Never* use uplighting with such tall ceilings. At night the voluminous ceilings will not be a feature if the lighting is kept below where it would be with a more 'normal' ceiling and the room will seem more human scale which is what you want for your guests to feel comfortable.

IMO any architect who designs rooms like this needs to go back to school. Seriously. Houses with such tall ceilings are meant to impress and they do that but are not to human scale so they are not comfortable to live in and not easy to decorate to make comfortable but the above ideas will help.

You've gotten some great ideas. What I see is a room screaming for color. On the walls.

Here's an image of a dining room with double height ceilings similar to yours in scale. The lovely -- and lively -- green walls reflect the view from the tall windows. Perhaps there is an accent color you can use to wash the walls with and to give it some life.

Couple of more ideas. You could paint a large stencil on the wall, something like this.

2

large art pieces

3
Several art frames together or even frames hanging on the wall gives a some architectural detail.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: victoriangirl,

This could be interesting, a few strips of wallpaper in the middle.

I'm still having a hard time figuring out what to do here. Anyone have anything more specific they can help me with? My real problem is the fact that the wall is so huge and it is kind of broken up into two areas because of the stairs on top. the wall is about 20 feet wide across the room and very tall at one area. Do I do the same exact thing across or do I do one thing one area and something else the other taller area? Please HELP! :0

Do you have curtains on those pretty windows? I thought I saw a curtain rod.

I really like that handpainted flower mural idea. Maybe just three super duper large flowers.

Another option, which would make that area seem even taller, is to put a gold (or a different color) stripe down the center of it. I know you said you didn't want a mirror suggestion but a mirror running all the way from top to bottom would look stunning (and be pretty expensive, I am guessing).

Another option? Just leave it bare. Not every wall needs to have something on it.

I love all of VG's inspirational photos!

I think you should not repeat the other wall's treatment (sort of like a mantel with something hung above) so that means a large painting or something large and not too busy. I love the wall art (inexpensive and has such impact!). One idea would be to stretch fabric over a frame to make a large picture and absorb sound so as to quiet echos.

What height are the other ceilings in the house? And to you have crown molding in any of those adjacent rooms? I am asking because that is a way to divide the all so as to be upper and lower, the lower wall treated as the dining room and the upper wall treated as floor above.
That is another way to treat the wall.

Since you have a wall of windows on one wall, which is stunning, you do not want to compete with the grapics on that wall, that is why VG's inspirational photo that has curves is nice.

How about stenciling shapes on the wall as if wallpaper on that wall? Use a lighter color than the wall like the flower in the inspirational photo, it could be any shape really and an organic shape goes with everything.

Or do nothing... that room is wonderfully filled with light!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

I like all the ideas above, and someeone may have already had this idea but blank walls are nice too, and I don't think i'd worry about decorating the short wall. If you have one large tapestry or other nice art piece, that would be enough. To hang something on the short wall might take away from the art on the tall wall and blur the dining room down into the hallway.

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The mirror over the buffet is plenty large enough.

I agree. Several people have suggested treating the higher wall as if it were the same height as the lower wall. Or rather as a normal (8 or 9') wall. This would encourage a feeling of intimacy.

There are many choices to be had for the opposite wall to the mirror. A single piece of art or a grouping. Even something like the large stencil VG showed. But that might need something like the moulding in that pic to "stop" the eye.

Please take this in the spirit which it is given. I think you need to stop wondering and asking advice and just take a leap of faith. Find a store that will let you bring art home for approval and start trying things out. What's the worst thing that can happen? You make a few nail holes in your wall? Those can be patched. If you review the ideas that have been posted, surely something appeals to you. If you don't take a step forward you will be in this quandary indefinitely.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but sometimes not making a decision IS a decision. You will never know what you like (or don't like) until you try.

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but sometimes not making a decision IS a decision. You will never know what you like (or don't like) until you try.

I agree... being and staying on the fence gets you 'on the fence'!

Getting off the fence gives you a clearer picture like the other side looks better perhaps? So go to the other side, then the 'other side' looks good then... in other words, nothing becomes clear while you are 'on the fence'. And fear is nothing but an emotion...

Not a fan of tapestries. I do like the idea of a really cool, large clock. Something where maybe you don't hang it like a pic, but you hang each individual number on the wall separately.

I have not read all the replies, but what I would do is add architectural moldings to divide those walls into manageable areas. I would either follow the line of the stair molding around the room, or the line between the upper and lower windows. Another solution is to create a paneled effect...either on the full height of the walls (which would be gorgeous), or choose a line as suggested above and create the panels. This way, you can choose to hang art in either space (above or below the line), making your choices much more simplified.

Hope I haven't repeated someone else's suggestion...if so, apologies.

I love the idea of an antique ethnic textile- something Eastern (I love the work from Uzbeckistan or even the decorations further east used to decorate Yurts)


Color and texture will warm up the space.

Came back to offer this... paneled walls
4th one down could work?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Belstone,

I think the best way to cover these empty huge wide walls is to add some oversized paintings on it.Not only it will cover the walls but it will also give a nice touch of color to your dining room I found this website that have some large paintings www.wallartavenue.com.Take a look at the one I have attached

Out of nowhere comes three posts all advertising the same stupid website. Did you read the rules "jenna"? Do you care? Of course not, that would require some integrity.