Home redecorating- do- it-yourself

Parent Cafe
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<p>Still living in our starter house, that for lack of money/time have never been able to do much to, beyond basic maintanence ( & since our house is circa 1901- lots to keep on top of). For example our cherry bedroom set was my great aunts, my H made the cupboard doors for the kitchen, and a good chunk of the basement hasn’t been painted since we moved in almost thirty years ago.</p>

<p>However, we are finishing up painting the exterior, getting new porch lights, door knockers & mailbox & that is inspiring me to finally redo the whole house- one room at a time.
I think I can get away without hiring a consultant, but when I pick up home decorating magazines for ideas, the rooms are either cluttered or way too minimalist for a cottage/bungalow/real life.</p>

<p>I want to keep the majority of my furniture and get a couple new pieces,as well as getting our loveseat reupholstered as it is very well made and perfect for its space.
But I need to learn basics, like when should I paint wood, and when to leave it alone?
( H would like to live on a boat full of teak and brass- but we aren’t on a boat and that is too much wood IMO)</p>

<p>Our house isn’t really a bungalow, it has some common features, but not enough to go arts & crafts or mission all the way through. It’s also tiny, so I am leaning toward painting pieces like the “wall 'o bookcase” so it looks more built in. ( it’s just pine from Scan Design with glass doors - I’m going to replace the knobs though)</p>

<p>I’ve been looking through the photos on houzz <B, but my connection is pretty slow and it is taking a long time, so I was hoping someone had bookmarks to share?</p>

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<p>The sites maintained by DIY Network and HGTV are good. If the professional examples are too-whatever, look on the message boards for things readers did on their own. They’re also full of people with lots of experience who can point you in the right direction. They were a huge help when H and I bought our house 4 years ago. It had only 1 owner since the 50’s and had never been upgraded. Some of that is great-amazing hardwood floors-some is less so. I haven’t been able to do much yet, but I know HOW when the time comes.</p>

<p>I owned an 1900’s victorian back east and you really don’t want to paint much of the wood. It’s not supposed to be painted. Wood was cheap back then and was intended to shine through the house.But there’s no law stopped you from painting it all over if that’s what you like.</p>

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<p>While we live in a digital age, I think shelter magazines (the trade name for the genre) are often a great place to pick up decorating ideas and the photography is often better than what you find on the internet. I would head to local large bookstore and grab a pile of the latest ones and look through them and buy one that works for you. Your library might have a nice backlog too - depends on the library. Books are OK, but can be quite dated. </p>

<p>For getting ideas of how to paint something - I would head to a professional paint store and tell them about your project. If they are any good, they can steer you to the right type of paint and tools. A bit more than the big boxes, but you are paying for information. </p>

<p>Another place for ideas can be home tours. Even wandering through open houses can be helpful, since many places these days are staged by professionals.</p>

<p>Regarding painted woodwork…I love the painted woodwork in my 1920s colonial. A few houses in our neighborhood have the woodwork stained and it just makes the house dark and heavy. When we moved in 19 years ago we found a nice neutral color (a creamy white w subtle yellow/beige tone) in Benjamin Moore that we have used on all the trim on the first floor and the landing/hallway/doors on the second floor. We can still head to the paint store and get more when we need touch up (another reason to go w pro paint store and not a big box).</p>

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Some of this will depend on the finish, as getting paint to adhere to, for example, a high gloss, can be a problem and the finish would need to be adequately sanded. Agree that you should ask at Home Depot, etc. </p>

<p>When we have hired consultants in the past, they say to start with the room you use most (typically the kitchen). You don’t have to plan out the entire house project at once, but because you want your entire house to flow with the same scheme/styles/colors, it’s important to get a sense of what colors you want to go with from the beginning. If you are keeping furniture, then the style will probably be “eclectic” which seems to mean “a mismash of stuff”. </p>

<p>Both of our homes have been done largely in red/green/blue/gold schemes. Some people like a lot of pastels, or mostly whites, or a “beach colors” idea. Green is the new natural.</p>

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<p>I took a home decorating class at a local adult school. The tip that has stayed with me for years is the best way to start decorating is to find a single inspiration - could be object, fabric, etc and work around that. </p>

<p>For my living room & dining room it was a fabric I fell in love with that I made into floor to ceiling curtains. It’s a dramatic pattern, so everything else needed to be a solid and color coordinate. </p>

<p>The first floor of my beach house is inspired by sea glass, so all rooms have a jar of it and that’s what the paint & fabircs are based on.</p>

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<p>nj2011mom–sounds like we have the same or similar trim color in our house and I LOVE it! It works with so many other colors and does add brightness to every room. It was our builder who suggested we pick one trim color to use throughout the house and I think it’s really unifying. When we moved into our house 27 years ago, it was unfinished and a mess. We had hardly any money to do anything, but we had the whole interior painted off-white and covered the horrible floors (some were just plywood) with decent quality vinyl and carpeting. Gradually we have been able to put in tile and wood floors and I’m adding lots of color to the walls, but the creamy trim works everywhere. The kitchen was our first reno, about 12 years ago.</p>

<p>We didn’t do the work ourselves though, because we have no skills, but had it done by others as we could afford it. In our case, most of the plumbing and wiring had not been done to code and had to be redone as we renovated.</p>

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<p>nj2011mom–When we did our addition, I did use the colors of a comforter I’d bought years before as inspiration. It worked really well and I was able to bring some elements from the addition into the existing house to unify things.</p>

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<p>Finding an object, painting, rug or fabric that you just love is a wonderful starting point, many professionals do just that. Find the Hooked on Houses blog, she has a section on cottages, lots of great ideas.</p>

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<p>I guess I should have been more clear. The wood trim, the china shelf, and all the moldings were already painted. I don’t think they are oak, the floors are fir and are finished in the bedrooms, but I suspect the trim is probably fir or some other soft wood. I wasn’t planning on stripping it down,( not in this lifetime anyway) but was thinking of painting some of the pine furniture so that it would look more built in & not stand out as much. I already have a tiger oak antique piano in the living room and a vintage looking oak roll top desk with a oak swivel chair as well as a maple kitchen set ( that you can see from the front door)</p>

<p>My great aunt had a wonderful house with lots of wood. ( i think it was built in the 40’s)Her first husband ran a small boat building company, and her house not only had built in china cabinets and sideboard in the dining room, but her kitchen had teak cabinets that went up to the 10 ft ceiling, teak counters, and brass fittings. ( we still have some boxes of latches and things).
But it was very dark, especially since she kept the drapes pulled all the time so it didn’t bleach the wood.</p>

<p>I like the windows open. I have shutters in the kitchen which are wood, but since the trim is painted I think I will paint, and lace curtains in our bedroom, the hall and the bathroom. I like those, but since we just painted our house a butterscotchy color, the rosy mauve blinds in the living room & the dining room that are in the front of the house look awful, so I am going to have to take care of that. </p>

<p>You can tell it has been a really long time since I decorated by the colors I have- mauve was about 30 years ago!:o</p>

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<p>Just some ideas … I too, am not good at this, but stumbled into some good ideas with help.</p>

<p>Faux wood blinds, hold up to weather, heat, sun better than wood and are cheaper. </p>

<p>barley - I love this color for paint. I can’t remember the brand, bought it at Lowe’s, might be Eddie Bauer. It has some color, but it’s neutral to go with anything. Did this throughout my entire house.</p>

<p>If you have a brass fireplace - you can paint it. We painted ours black. Easy, do it yourself project. Totally changed the look for not much money.</p>

<p>There are some “rules” about wood. For example, I learned if you have a lot of oak not to use yellow or red - does not compliment the oak very well. </p>

<p>It’s OK to mix styles, pieces, color when it comes to furniture.</p>

<p>I had an oak built in bookcase …it was a lot of oak - so I just painted the “back” of the shelves black - made a huge difference.</p>

<p>If you have brick, like a fireplace, you can also paint the brick for a different look.</p>

<p>changing little things, like buying new floor vent covers, door knobs, drawer pulls - can also make a difference.</p>

<p>If you have an island in the kitchen - paint it a different color that your cabinets, and or put a different color top on it.</p>

<p>I suggest putting the darkest grout you can stand with any tile - it just looks better over time - grout gets so dirty, even if sealed, cleaned, etc. </p>

<p>We found some pieces on overstock.com, ebay, etc … such as a new faucet, or nice piece for a bathroom, or even some wall art. Can also check discount days at places like hobby lobby or michaels and just pick up items as you go. Such as a mirror, etc. </p>

<p>Half bath - try a bowl sink with a unique faucet. Again ebay can be good here. This is a cool paint treatment, called Venetian plaster. You put on with a trowel - looks amazing. Great to dress up a 1/2 bath.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

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<p>My house is same era, fir floors, lots of wood. Trim and built-in cabinetry can be fir or poplar- both soft. But I’d bet yours are fir in the Northwest. Unless they’ve been badly overpainted over time, you can repaint with plenty of sanding (the paint layers, not to the wood.) If you need that advice, honey, I can give it. We wound up learning as we went and redoing nearly everything. (I mean re-doing our own work, ugh.) Did I say, plenty of sanding? It’s also worth it to prime and there’s a time factor between that and the top coat. This reduces the possibility of flaking or chipping.</p>

<p>Nearly all paint stores now have sample sizes, sometimes maybe 2 oz (buy,) sometimes a pint you can “rent.” And, some have large paint swatches you can buy (probably 14x20 or so- good for moving around the room, dark corner, sunny spot.)</p>

<p>Watch out for just any painting advice- we found that putting the money into the paint and brushes is well worth the cost. Also, oil and latex age differently.</p>

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<p>Regarding painting, Behr Paint Company just reimbursed me several hundred dollars for the cost of their “all-in-one” primer/sealer, purchased and RECOMMENDED by Home Depot, that ruined one of my rooms and I had to have it re-dry-walled. Getting a good primer on any walls you paint is more important than the finish coat paint you use. I like Zinsser Bullseye 123 for many surfaces. I am not a huge fan of Home Depot. The advice given can be as spotty as some of their paints.</p>

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<p>Our house has the same color trim in all the rooms–Dunn Edwards Pearl White. It’s creamy, without being too yellow. Lots of oak in the den/kitchen. I’d paint it, but DH would have a heart attack. </p>

<p>I painted the kitchen rasberry a couple of years ago. There is not a lot of wall space in the kitchen, and I love the color. Most of the house is tones of blue with the cream trim…love that rasberry pop.</p>

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<p>Do not buy paint at HD. Benjamin Moore is the industry standard & you won’t be sorry.</p>

<p>Mauve is clearly dating you to the 80s. Look at shows on HGTV and you will see shades of olive green seem to be the ‘it’ color this decade. Some timeless colors are sea glass colors in the pale blues & green or the gemstone colors of ruby, emerald or sapphire for dramatic walls.</p>

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<p>^ agree. But Sherman Williams is also good.<br>
And, we made a complete conversion to oil-based on trim and the like.
Your color choices, they say, really depend on amount of sunlight, how many cold months, etc. What works in FL, eg, won’t necessarily work in PNE. Or reverse. But, make yourself happy.</p>

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<p>Another vote for checking out the HOOKED ON HOUSES blog…many cottage/craftsman/bungalow type house that Are FULL of inspiration!</p>

<p>Another thing I like to do is find your “best fit” store. Pottery Barn?? Ikea? PierOne? What home furnishings store are you most comfortable in, feel like you could pick one of everything and be happy, etc. once you discover this, pick up one of their catalogs or spent time living in their store- see what really draws you in overall - the overall feel.</p>

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<p>I’m not a big fan of worrying about fashions in paint colors. Paint your house the colors that make you feel good. If you still like mauve there’s nothing wrong with it. I’d start with whatever is definitely staying and makes you happy and use that as a springboard for deciding what colors to use. One trick that interior designers do is to take snippets of the fabrics, paint chips and wood samples and put them on a board together so you can see how everything looks.</p>

<p>I agree house tours are a great way to see houses. They usually cost money, but since they are generally raising it for a good cause, you don’t have to feel like it’s money you shouldn’t have spent. I think house blogs, the home decoration magazines etc are all good ways to go. Make a file of images you like, either a binder from magazine or use something like pinterest, it will be pretty clear after a while what appeals to you.</p>

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<p>Oops, turns out we do use Benj Moore.</p>

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<p>Go over to Apartment Therapy website and scour the House Tours and Good Questions. You can do that for hours and hours. Lots of ideas. </p>

<p>I have been redecorating myself and converted from Benjamin Moore paint (faithful customer) to Farrow and Ball, also sold by my local BM dealer. It costs more but the biggest investment is my labor and I don’t repaint often. It is exquisite paint and there aren’t 80 shades of white, most all of the shades work well together.</p>

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<p>Apt Therapy does have lots of ideas that are useful to me because our house is small & always needs more storage. We also have lots of windows, which is great for the light, ( even though we have now had 40 days without rain, usually the reputation for grey/rainy is well deserved) & I don’t want to block them so it limits where I can move furniture.</p>

<p>Both H & I grew up in " mid century" homes, but we have different ideas about what looks good in ours. He leans toward more contemporary fixtures because that’s what he sees at Lowes, but while I am not trying to live in a reproduction, I also want it to look “classic” rather than " dated" in ten years.</p>

<p>I also have a problem because while he insists on doing much of the work - he has some odd ideas about how to do it, imo. For instance when he started tiling the bathroom, he put some tiles around the toilet & stopped, and some tiles around the perimeter of the shower/tub & stopped. When I said I wanted the tile to continue around the bathroom ( at about 3.5’) he said that they wouldnt match up- so I get to take them out and do it over.
Frustrating because he thinks that the way he learned is the “right way”.
He reminds me of the guy who painted his cabinet hinges because he had seen them like that somewhere & thought that is what you were “supposed to do”. :
However, I could hire someone & have the same problem, & H is cheap!</p>

<p>Our house is fairly small, and you walk into what seems to be originally the dining room, because it has a china shelf around the perimeter. ( I have mostly framed family photos on the shelf with mostly matching frames along with small ceramic pieces the girls made in school).
You can see most of the house from the front door so I am trying to keep the same mood in all the rooms.</p>

<p>However about 17 years ago when my mom moved from her house to her condo, I refinished her antique upright piano that she took piano lessons on as a child ( as did I), & it’s now in my living room. I don’t play it much, but I love it. At the same time I took an old wooden typewriter table ( with a pullout board) and decoupaged it with [wrapping</a> paper](<a href=“http://www.aquarellepublishing.co.uk/artistpage.aspx?id=26]wrapping”>http://www.aquarellepublishing.co.uk/artistpage.aspx?id=26) from Jane Ray that I had collected and acrylic paints in jewel colors with metallic trim to match & it turned out really well. This inspired me to decorate a few other pieces using those colors & Jane Ray illustrations like mirror frames & wooden boxes ( although younger D grabbed those for her college house) I still have some of the wrapping paper and have been trying to decide if I want to go with those colors for the house, although I may just use it in our bedroom, since my marrimekko sheets go great with it.</p>

<p>So many ideas!
[Design</a> Ideas - Decorating - MyHomeIdeas.com](<a href=“Real Simple: Home Decor Ideas, Recipes, DIY & Beauty Tips”>Real Simple: Home Decor Ideas, Recipes, DIY & Beauty Tips)
[Old</a> House Tours - Old-House Online](<a href=“http://www.oldhouseonline.com/category/articles/house-tours/]Old”>House Tours Archives - Old House Journal Magazine)
[Rejuvenation</a> | Shelton Streamline Mailbox: Solid Brass, 6 Finishes](<a href=“Heirloom-Quality Lighting, Hardware & More | Rejuvenation”>Heirloom-Quality Lighting, Hardware & More | Rejuvenation)
I found some light fixtures at Rejuvenation, but I don’t know if I want to spend $315!! for a mailbox.
:(</p>