What to do about these decorative spindles?

Get rid of them! They chop up and date your house!

At first I did not see the ledge, it blended.

The beam supporting the division between the rooms is up there for the load bearing so the spindles serve no purpose other than decoration. If you want a more open look, remove and patch, I also wonder if then you would consider removing the ledge(s)?

Thank you for the picture.

take them out. Leave the ledge. Place large house plants on each of ledge.

I'm lazy and not into tearing out things as it usually gets more involved than one thinks it will. I'd paint the same color as the ledge or chair rail and call it good. Then use the spoindles for a base to decorate for the different holidays or the lights as you mentioned.

I'm going to be the dissenter here. I love old homes and their charming design elements like this one. Unless you remove that ledge you're not really gaining any extra space. They'll look awkward and could potentially be a tripping hazard. I'd paint them and the ledges white, though. It will match the rest of your trim.

If you don't want to remove them paint them. They will not stand out so much. Another option would be remove the middle one. Box in the other two with a column of 4 pieces of 1/2" wood and add shelves across the two remaining ones.

I would take them out and replace them with one large chunky pillar on each side. Then paint the same white as your trim color. Classic! :)

Based on your early American furniture and decor I would paint them same color as the living room. For a more modern look I would remove the spindles and knee walls.

This picture seems to be different than the other one you posted. Which is the house you purchased and are moving into? I think this one is very nice.

I think I would remove them and replace with open shelving, like glass or lucite. I think they would look odd removed if you leave the bottom piece.

If I were going to paint, I would match the trim work with bright white.

Remove the border and the curtain treatments.

Add some color in the form of an accent color. Pick something that is modern and current.

A small chandelier over the kitchen table would bring some bling into the room.

Perhaps some new lighting. My dad also had brass lamp stands.

Should have told us that was not your furniture. I did not want to hurt your feelings.

Take them out. They are dated. Without them there someone would trip over the low wall so that would have to go as well. One boxed in pillar closer to the wall would still define the separation but modernize the opening.

Brooke, the fact that you are going to replace the floor coverings changes my idea about not remvoing the post, short wall, and ledge. I was attempting to not cause repair work that usually gets more involved than one plans for. As you said, now's the time to do the big change out to modern and there's nothing modern about the spindles, etc. I don't know you, but am SO excited for what you can do with your new purchase. This would be a real opportunity for you to post onto Hometalk with individual projects, though it might take a lot of extra time and be much work of

taking pics along the way but it would document your work. Sometimes it's fun to look back at all the accomplishments as you renovate a place and serves as inspiration when you feel as if the work is never ending.

You need to find out if those spindles are on a load bearing wall. If they are you will need to put in a load bearing beam or your roof will collapse. If they are not load bearing, you can take them down fix the ceiling and either keep the ledge or take it out and open up the floor plan. But if you take the ledges out, you will need to fix the flooring that would be under the ledge.

If you are replacing the flooring, definitely take out the spindles and the ledge. This is the time to do it. Once the new flooring goes down, you'll be pretty much stuck. You will have a much more open flow and feel without the (useless) barriers. I've been remodeling homes for 50 years. Trust me when I say that you will be so happy to have all of it gone and will wonder why you ever questioned removing them. My very best wishes for your new home!

Hello again Brooke,

Hang Macrame Planters in between spindles. Best wishes

Hi! So I think you could do a few different things here depending on what you like. First, you could remove them, add drywall from ledge to ceiling and trim out the opening. If you like a more open floor plan, remove them and the ledge. In this case, I'd still probably add some trim. Another, more fun option might be to remove them, keep the ledge, and add hooks. You can then add hanging plants at varying heights.

I would paint them the color of the walls to blend in or remove

i would take them out. Leave the ledge. Place large house plants on each of ledge.

Just great decorative spindles. I would take everything to the village and set up a holiday home for myself. I often collect all sorts of Antiques and restore them. Once I made great yard furniture out of old boards from the garage. My wife and I ordered all our home interiors from https://nyfurnitureoutlets.com/living-room-furniture/oversized-chair because we really like their quality and price. We love to often change something at home from the furniture. We sometimes just change a month or something from the kitchen furniture or a sofa. The last time we bought a new great chair. It is very convenient to watch TV as the sofa has a bad spring.