Those are some high chair rails! As far as the paint goes, I like the airy feel of the paint now -- I would just add some framed artwork up. And the tree... looks a bit juvenile to me. Especially with the furniture that is in the room. The furniture says adult, but the tree says child's bedroom. :)

Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net

That is not a chair rail. Chair rails are about 3 feet above the floor so that the backs of the chairs hit them instead of the wall. Yours is, obviously, much higher.

Put a row of small artworks right below the railing. Only put art above the railing if you're covering the whole wall salon-style.

If the moldings are original to the apartment, it could be that the bottom third of the wall was paneled, and the molding framed out the top. The top third would likely have been wallpapered.

If the ledge is wide enough, you could prop paintings/photos against it (with the addition of putty or tacks to keep them in place.)

I second the idea of the artwork above and below the rail, and only below it if you want one or the other. since your ceilings are so high, maybe you could even wallpaper above the rail. that could look amazing. And I say keep the tree!!! I think it's great! And then if you want color on the other walls, I'd suggest robins egg. mmmm.

With respect to wall color, your current scheme is quite neutral. I advise to find something to base the colors around--an oriental rug, painting, photograph--something that has a palette of colors to choose from. As it is, that shade of red and gray can really go with just about anything. Were you aiming for a certain mood or style period?

I would hang 6 largish pictures. 3 above the rail, 3 below. Black & white matted ones would coordinate very well with the gray sofa and white rail -- of course.

I love the oxide frames (http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=593&f=3591&q=picture frame&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1) as well as the gallery frames (http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=593&f=4522&q=picture frame&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1) -- both from cb2.

Btw, *love* your sofa. Where is it from and what model is it? We are in the market for a new gray sofa ourselves.

Have you thought of hanging some small framed artwork using ribbon or something like that FROM the weird chair raily thing? I agree that above it is too high.

A large scale mirror (or art, decal etc) hung from above the chair rail, hanging over the chair rail. You'll get a nice layered effect and a sense of depth.

Maybe use a picture / shelf below the 'chair' rail, and lean artwork collections against the wall covering the rail as necessary.

I say, ignore the molding and go with one nice large painting. I've had paintings sitting on top of molding in my own turn-of-the century place and it actually works fine. I think it looks far less forced than respecting an awkwardly-placed molding by placing artwork either too low or too high. I've also seen this look in some foreign shelter magazines and it can really look quite bold.

I agree with the previous: larger works (a few or a large rectangular work of art, perhaps) above and some below. Smaller ones should go at 5' which is just below the rail. B&W photos would work, but there's no reason you cannot put a single nice colorful work of art above the rail.

The chair looks awkward sandwiched between the couch and window. If it were my living area, I'd have a large plant there, and a more colorful rug. Love the couch!

The way the line breaks the wall makes everything look really strange, I also don't like that it doesn't go all the way around the room (why isn't it there on the TV wall?) I think if you can manage one or two more tall things like the giraffe and the curio cabinet with the plant on it, that 'break' the line of the railing then you can place artwork above the line. Something like a tall funky lamp, or maybe a potted tree near the window.
Other idea, fine things of similar size and shape to hang above and below the railing, create a grouping that is repetitive above and below the rail. Like three graphic prints above, and three graphic prints below that together make kind of a single painting and let the eye focus on the middle.

I suggest painting your walls a pale grayish green/blue. If you keep the tree silhouette, add other whimsical elements to the room like brightly patterned pillows and throws. You have some great individual pieces, the room looks good to start with. Consider replacing either the coffee table or the dining table with a lighter feeling piece of furniture (they are gorgeous items but perhaps placed too near each other). If you can't remove the rail, place frames directly below it in a variety of sizes.

You could use a piece of wood a couple of inches deep and mount that to your wall. Hang a painting or picture on it. This would bump out the the picture. I could be cool to add pictures at different depths. Paint the wood behind the artwork the same color as the wall.

My grandparents' house had a rail similar to yours, except it was a little higher, maybe a foot or foot and a half from the ceiling, and pictures were meant to be hung from it. The walls were plaster and couldn't be nailed into without cracking.

I love my living room with all its great molding, but it's posing a problem in decorating behind my sofa.

Sorry... its/it's errors drive me nuts. When in doubt, just replace your its/it's with "it is". If it works, use "it's". If it doesn't, use "its".

why not remove the rail? Then you remove the problem.

It's apparent to me that the height of the moulding is intended to give the impression of a high wainscot, which was typical of Victorian, Edwardian and Arts & Crafts era architecture.

The solution is to treat the space below the rail as a wainscot by giving it some texture: filling in below the rail with beadboard paneling, hanging anaglyptic wallpaper or installing box mouldings to give the effect of paneling. I would then choose paint colors that would emphasize the difference, with a darker shade at the bottom and a lighter tone of the same color above.

Any artwork of a moderate size would have typically been hung above the moulding - but larger-scaled modern pieces would be hung at an appropriate height regardless of the moulding, allowing the artwork to cover the rail.

^^ That was my first thought, but of course, it's far too low to be a picture rail as well.

This is a picture or plate rail, rather than a chair rail. Use it as such! But I agree if you're set on some larger piece of artwork, that it's fine to hang it OVER the rail.

Another idea that may work is to hang a large tapestry or other cool fabric (floor to ceiling-ish) behind the sofa. It would also add an element of color and texture...

With so many solids in that room, I think you should pick a nice patterned wallpaper (hopefully with that pretty red in it) and cover the bottom section of the wall behind the gray couch. Leave the top part solid and hang artwork over the line. The pattern on bottom would be an interesting backdrop for subtle furniture such as your own and it would give visual weight to balance the artwork that has to be hung so high.

"(why isn't it there on the TV wall?)"

I'd guess that either there was a moulding there that was removed for some reason, or more likely that there was originally a piece of built-in furniture in that location which was removed in later years to "Modernize" this old Victorian.

In either case, I'd get stock mouldings to match and continue it around the room.

depending on how far the railing comes out, you could put up some framed artwork to rest on the railing, and i would go with a grayish-blue paint color, it would go with the gray of the couch, and would be a perfect contrast with the red chairs.

you might also want to try some floor lamps that are taller than your couch and possibly even the railing to try and fill some of the space between the couch and the railing.

Given the age of the house, make sure you know what kind of walls (drywall, plaster, etc.) you have before trying to hang anything--make sure you have the kind of fasteners.

I think it might look pretty neat to get uniform frames (say black frames, white matting) and space them evenly above the railing with cool photos in them. Two tall thin framed pieces (like 3ft by 1.5 ish. disclaimer- that's a really rough guesstimate) on either side, so that they're bracketing the couch. I think you could establish an interesting visual continuity that way.

Alternatively I would totally put up a HUGE piece over the couch, centered over the railing- something like a huge framed quilt, mirror, or interesting textile, and just rock it.

i don't really think it needs to have any pictures. Painting all the walls a pale blue or green, as some have previously said, was my first thought. painting over the tree might be a good idea too.
if you have enough other stuff going on - like maybe another larger plant in place of that chair in the corner - then having the refreshing bare/picture-less wall might actually look really nice :-)

Definitely a plate rail . . . very country! You can use it as a picture rail, but definitely balance the art placed above the rail, otherwise it'll just look too high.

Your best bet is to just TRY things. A bit time intensive . . . but it can show you what you'll like the most . . . and what you'll be most comfortable with!

There are some great ideas above. :)

Use the rail to hang pictures from! Have a couple simple frames, with artwork that coordinates, and have different sized pieces. Then, hang them all from the rail, the same distance from the rail to the frame, and done! The different lengths would be interesting, and the hanging uniformity would make it cohesive.

I don't think this is picture molding, which is usually mounted right to the ceiling. I can't tell from the picture what the profile is. But if it is picture molding, there are special hooks designed to hang on it.

Anyway, I agree with what bepsf said. Do that.

I would just go with a paint job or wall paper like others have suggested. The rail itself makes for an interesting look...you could play that up instead of trying to work around it.

Ignore the rail and hang something over it. I'd hang three long but narrow pictures or tapestries, or a rug/tapestry that's wider than your sofa....hang them exactly where you would if the rail wasn't there.

Paint the bottom half of your walls a blue-grey, similar to the color of that house outside your window, maybe a bit lighter. Because the color is similar to that house, it will help you overlook all that beige-ness of the other houses outside. Leave the rails and upper walls as-is.

Lighter blue, grey, and red really do work well together. It's just not a combination that's very common, so it seems strange until you get familiar with it.

adapt it to make it work as shelves... from there it's just you and your imagination.... (and, of course, budget!)

If you have a big piece of art that ideally would span the molding, I would actually first install a nice piece of smooth plywood painted white onto the wall and even give it some molding to match your existing rail. Then you have an even surface to put art on and even more interesting architectural details on your wall.

I *love* the tree and want one just like it.

Unless you are a Victorian purist, remove the rail.

ChzPlz: I share your angst with contractions. My grammar meltdowns are fixated on the inappropriate use of the possessive apostrophe. None that I noticed in this chain but an example would be: "aren't dog's fun?" Cue the screeching brakes.

I love your tree!

1. I would go with a dramatic paint colour. A navy blue.
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/episodes.asp?e=0122#

2. I would put a series of 3 large canvas pictures below the rail.
http://www.artbylena.com/original-painting/21025/splash-of-champagne.html

3.I would put one large rectangular mirror or some sort of large http://www.wroughtirondecorstore.com/lowaddoto.html

3.I would put one large rectangular mirror or some sort of large wrought iron piece
http://www.wroughtirondecorstore.com/lowaddoto.html

You could drill some holes and insert pegs. Hanging ribboned paintings, smaller windsor chairs, and perhaps a checker or dart board would be cool.

I think enmnm is right. Some nice wallpaper above the rail would look right.

That seems to be a really high chair rail - too bad you can't take it down.

the tree needs to go!! it belongs in a kid's room!

Uh just remove the rail! You are going to paint anyway so it's easy to spackle over any nail holes before you paint.