Style - well that is a good question... I would say it is a modern contemporary urban style home, brick frontage etc... not a victorian style or anything like that. Have solid wood two tone staircase, with dark and natural color maple that stands out prominently when you enter the house. The rest of the house, the Kitchen etc is bit traditional, yet modern finish. Dark solid wood cabinets. I do have 9 foot ceiling but only 9', as that is the maximum that we are allowed to have in our neighborhood. I like to add bit of character and architectural personality to the house, but wasn't sure if wainscotting would in turn make the house look very aged, as we generally see them on older Victorian style homes. Or perhaps I am just mistaken in my limited knowledge about home styling and decor. I see soooo many different styles, which makes it so difficult to choose one because I like them all. So the challenge is to pick one that suits the best. Is it generally better to keep the stains neutral so that the wainscotting trim blend with the wall or will it stand out too much if I make panels that are stained dark. These are the questions that are holding me back from venturing in to this project. Any other comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Most wall art looks best when hung at eye level or slightly lower than eye level. Keep in mind how the art will be viewed most often (from a standing or sitting position). Also, consider where the picture is being hung. For children's rooms, hang kids art at the eye level of the child. When hanging art above furniture, have twice as much space above the art than below it. A general guideline to follow for framed artwork is 4 to 8 inches from the surface of the furniture to the bottom of the frame. For framed art prints, a good rule of thumb is to center the frame 60 inches off the floor. To do this, measure the height of the frame and divide by two. Then measure the space from the wire to the top of the frame and subtract this number from the first number. Now add 60 inches to this figure. This is the point to insert the hook. When your picture hangs from the hook it should hang approximately one-third from the top of the frame.

Most regions have their own prevailing construction methods and materials that are common and customary to that region. It may be driven by the available raw materials, local labor and their experience with a certain type of construction, and the cost of labor to build. Other factors that drive the different type of construction can be pressures from the environment and climate conditions. One can create recesses in masonry or stone walls but there may be structural weaknesses that become a factor or just more complicated construction that becomes involved. Building recesses in heavy masonry walls verses light stick framed walls can be equally possible. Reducing the thickness of a wall can also affect the insulation capabilities of that wall as well as the structure.

I dunno, do you like this (from our recently remodeled livingroom w/open entry area? Like Kah says, the easiest place to start is from color -- at least that's what my designer wife did first.