We are in a community of 300 homes built by two builders in the 1990s. We are the first owners; the house was already finished when we bought it. This was going to be our starter home so we were not looking for a perfect layout, just chose the best of what was available at the time. Namely based on location in the neighborhood.

They've made a comeback Felicia ;) Yes, please post photo if you can. An easy change is to white wash it. Otherwise, plasterboard over the top of want to get rid of look altogether. You might find [this discussion[(https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/want-to-achieve-a-soft-rendered-look-for-internal-brick-walls-dsvw-vd~1200219) of interest. It came up in the side bar of Related Topics.

I never like walking in a front door and looking at everyone at the dining table. You could consider having the support post for the beam, up at the dining end of the room and enclose it with some pretty glass. That would, in effect, give you an un-obtrusive sort of foyer, that still allowed light to penetrate, while closing off the dining room from view and leading you into the open lounge/kitchen. Google Sarah Richardson split house photos. You will have to use your imagination, but I think you'll get the idea. Pretend that the double doors in the photo are your front main entrance. Good luck.

Very glam- but I hope you don't own a cat or dog that sheds, as you will see every hair on the dark carpet.