What do you see? (An Entryway Revamp)

I've always been fascinated with homes; more specifically, other peoples home's.  My husband was previously a real estate agent, and when he was licensed - and before kids - I could honestly spend countless hours browsing the MLS.  (It probably comes as no surprise to you, then, that I'm so fond of "visiting" the homes of bloggers.) 

 

Of course I would spend some time looking in the upper end of the price ranges for each community; but it was never the most expensive / perfect homes that really drew me in and kept me coming back for more.  It was pictures like this one that I loved to come across:

What do you see when you look at this entryway?  Yellow walls, an awkward wood staircase and bad tile / linoleum?  Or, are you like me?  All I can see, when looking at this picture, is replacing the wood spindles and hand rail with black iron (not to mention bringing the walls down a notch with white/cream paint):

 

 

 

 

(The home pictured above is the home of interior designer Dana Wolter and it is GORGEOUS...  Hers is probably the closest to what I would love to have as my own personal interior design style.)

On the floor, I see large scale rectangular limestone floors - or natural marble floors of some type - in a scattered or staggered pattern:

 

And can I tell you, I never knew that I needed an urn and tree / topiary until I saw the one pictured above?  It would be PERFECT in my make believe entry.  Also, as you might have noticed in many of the pictures above, I see black accents, including painted black window molding and front door, and a large scale black lantern (or two or three):

 

 

 

.....maybe even a cowhide or zebra stripe (faux of course) rug on the ground, because well, it's me after all and it has to have a little something crazy / fun / unexpected.....

 

What do you think, am I crazy for imagining all of that in this entryway, or can you see it too? 

And for those who are curious...I'm not technically in the market for a new home.  However, I do find myself looking in our community every once in a while in the next price range up (usually to only be majorly disappointed in the options).  The picture I shared here is of a home that just went on the market this week and I'm actually dying to go to the open house this Sunday.  The home is in our price range....actually it's priced REALLY well for the bedroom / bath / square footage that is has.  However....the location is just ALL WRONG even though it is in our current town.  With that said, I still feel drawn to just walk through the rooms to get an even better feel for this one.....

It's a home crush.  I get them every once in a while and then go on to remind my husband for years that it was "the one" and that we could have turned it into something special.  Don't get me wrong I love what we've done to our current home...but I was never a bungalow type of girl.  I've always wanted a 1950's - 1970's sprawling ranch.  Who knew?!?!  Those are kind of uncommon in our community, and that is why I'm so compelled to go check this one out. 

Ok, I'll stop there for now....I've been pretty busy working outdoors trying to get ready for the link party / Outdoor Extravaganza we have planned for next week (see more info here).  However, if I get my projects done sooner than later, maybe I'll be back later with some more "what would you do" to this homes room's.....