In a past renovation I gave this entry a full makeover. Here is the before picture from another angle (coming in the front door).
This was one I did myself, so I spent a couple weeks one summer lifting the old floor, removing the wallpaper (the walls and border are paper), taking down the blinds and getting a new light fixture. The floors in here were a pain to remove, there was carpet over old vinyl that had been cemented down. For such a small space most of my time was spent removing the old vinyl floor. Finally I removed the vinyl and discovered the original wood floors underneath. They were in rough shape but nothing a coat of paint couldn't fix.
Here is another look at the corner of the room from the living room, which shows a similar angle to the after picture.
I gave the floors a coat of black paint and the walls, trim and ceiling in white. Some simple decor (and big hooks on the wall you can't see from here). A sisal rug, big mirror framed in black and small table (that I painted flat black) made all the difference. And here are the results:
