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Ok, are you hooked on HGTV remodel shows like I am? I just wish I could have someone walk in and tell me how for $2,000 they're going to make my kitchen (ok, my whole house) look awesome!! Well, since that's not happening and I'm no designer, please take a moment to look at these pics and tell me what you might do. I'm open to anything, but affordable is key. Also, we are not diy'ers, (unfortunately), but I'm willing to try.
I am bothered by the cabinets. They are busted up in a lot of places and even the "nice" sections look overglazed from years of trying to spiff them up. Also, there are no windows in this kitchen, so it seems dark to me. I am contemplating painting the cabinets to lighten up the look. Our open floor plan means you see the cabinets when you first walk in the door.
We are definitely replacing the floor. I would love laminate, but we found some affordable self-stick vinyl tile and are putting it in our entryway tonight. Dh thinks it should match that and it actually does look good, so I think we'll go with that. It is a fake stone look. If we were to replace the countertops (which I would LOVE to do) would it need to be a really subtle design, since there is one on the flooring?
Also, we added cabinets and shelving to the dining room to create a computer space. I will attach pics. It has a green/taupe/black speckled laminate countertop. The walls are painted a yellow beige. (the computer area came AFTER I had painted the yellowy color on the wall.)
I think we could swing a new stainless and black microwave. That seems like an affordable upgrade that would be very visible. Other appliances will likely have to stay. (Maybe something could "accidentally" break down soon?? hmm...) I also want to get rid of the 1980's shiny brass light fixture, but not sure what I would want in its place.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANY INPUT!! Be honest, you won't hurt my feelings. I thought this would be a lot of fun to get some input from others.
That pic above looks darker than it actually is - but see how bunged up the woodwork is? Whenever I've used something to try and blend out scratches it soaks into those really really worn spots and they show up even more.
Here is the dining area that the kitchen overlooks. We added a computer counter and some shelving above (which is REALLY junky looking right now - time to sort some paper piles! Please excuse!!)
This pic is taken from the hall so I could show the color of the cabinets.
You could paint your cabinets and then glaze them http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hi_kitchens/article/0,2037,DIY...
I would use black. I'd also add some nickle knobs or pulls onto the cabinets. You don't have any turns or corners in the counter tops that I can see, so HD or Lowe's has counter tops in stock, for not much money. If that's where you got the one in the DR, I'd use them again in the kitchen. They appear to have black in them? For the light fixture which I can't see, if you like the stainless steel look, go for something in nickel or black or a combo of the 2. Either spray paint the one you have, or go to HD or Lowe's and find a cheap one. I'm not big into yellow and the paint color will depend on what you want to paint the cabinets. If the counters do have black in them, I'd go white with a black glaze. I'd probably lean towards a more mustard color on the walls.
All in all, I think it's a cute kitchen with many many possibilities. You just need to figure out what you want.
Oh, I wanted to say that I have a black and stainless microwave. I know wish I just had just gone with black. In your kitchen, I think I'd go for the white ones. White cabinets with a black glaze, nickel knobs or pulls and white appliances...since your sink is white and looks like it's in good condition.
Hmmm...that's an interesting idea about using the same counter as in the DR. I hadn't even thought of that and it would certainly be about the most affordable way to go as well as add cohesion to the two rooms.
Here's a close-up of the counter next to the flooring we'll likely use. Do they go together??
In my opinion Robin, yes, they go together. It would add cohesion, otherwise it'll just look all jumbled. Rooms don't have to be the same color to me, but they should flow together. Plus, I like that counter top!
My head is just swimming with ideas now. I am a "silver" person and would love to add some silver hardware, but there is so MUCH brass in this house and some of the replacements we've done over the last few years has been the brushed bronze type hardware, I may stay with that. (Especially if we end up not replacing any appliances and there is no stainless to capitalize upon.)
I'm glad the sink LOOKS nice, we did replace the faucet and sprayer. I think the sink is porcelain and is pretty scratched up. I can use Clorox CleanUp on it and it looks nice, but gets dingy again in no time. Also, the rubber thing in the drain by the disposal is ratty and torn up and the "catch" on the right side of the sink is completely gone, so I keep a strainer in there all the time for fear of losing silverware or something worse down it. I actually looked at some sinks online last night. I was sort of entertaining the idea of a stainless sink, but now that I think about the green and black countertop, maybe a recessed (underfitted??) black sink with silver hardware would look cool?! Sounds expensive, but might really make the kitchen a "wow" factor. I originally did not want to buy this house because the kitchen was so small. I said no immediately and didn't even consider the house until we continued to look and couldn't find anything in our price range.
One thing I neglected to mention is this. I am motivated to make this house nice WHILE we are living in it and at the same time know that we may not be here much longer. (1-4 years at most) So WHEN we move, I really hope to have the luxury of selling quickly and for a nice price. (I think we got a good deal when we bought it and the area is really expanding with a new high school nearby and lots of new shopping, etc.) I mentioned those HGTV shows like Designed to Sell and it kills me that people get granite countertops and all these updates right before they move! I wouldn't want to leave!! ;-)
Thanks a bunch for your input, Terry, and I would LOVE to hear from anyone else, no matter what your ideas may be!!
Here's a pic that lets you see the light fixture and more of the "bar" area. A neighbor extended the upper counter top and installed shelves & drawers underneath. If we were to do that, it could match the opposing wall, but would make the dining area MUCH smaller. For me personally, I would rather have a place to sit at the computer and extra storage space than a spacious dining area. If we were to do something like that, we could even do flooring to match what we do in the kitchen to get rid of the carpet, (which I hate underneath the eating area anyway. Maybe we could accentuate it as a bar area? Probably trying to squeeze too much in a small space. Just thinking though...
Your kitchen is small and dark, so I would NOT paint the cabs black. I think you'd find that with an open plan, the eye is going to be drawn to a "Black Hole" when walking in the door.
I agree your floor tiles and countertop look good together. Take a clue from the photo you posted under "here's the new tile we are most likely using" - your white appliance looks great with the tile, and would be fine with the countertop as well. Be aware that there are a zillion shades of white, so take your time and pick a shade to paint your cabs that will work with all three elements: appliances (usually a cool white), tiles and counters (which might respond better to a warmer tone).
Find a new light fixture on sale. Try craigslist, eBay, or even amazon.com's 70% lighting sale. You need something stronger; I'd be using at least three 75 watt bulbs and would prefer three 100-watt bulbs. If you prefer silver, use silver. It'll match your faucet, and nobody will care that you have a different metal in the kitchen fixture than in other places. I've found very handsome fixtures that use both chrome and brass trim, so you could use something like that to 'bridge' the two.
Do you plan to use the new countertop pattern to replace the counter between the kitchen and DR as well? If not, I noticed you have nice sharp edges on that laminate. You could tile it VERY easily, and that would add a beautiful design element to your kitchen. Take a class in tiling at HDepot or Lowe's, and you'll find that with a little care and very minimal expense, you can do it just as well as any pro. Rent a tile saw, or even borrow one from a handy friend.
I would also not buy a black sink, unless it's the charcoal granite-patterned type like Silgranit or Swanstone. Black glossy sinks are like stainless steel - unless you wipe them down after every use, they will water spot and look horrible. If you don't like that kind of constant maintenance, get something more sensible that needs less upkeep. There are some stainless sinks with the new brushed surface that spot much less (or actually, you could just "brush" an inexpensive stainless sink yourself with a scrubbie and Comet cleanser, to produce instant "patina").
Painting cabs takes a lot of time. Prep work is everything, and will take you far longer than you think. If you don't do the job properly, however, it won't last. You can't take the "I'm not going to be here very long" mentality, because actually if you ARE going to sell, you really do not want to have to go through the whole painting thing twice (e.g., doing it again before you sell because it looks like crap again).
Go to a good paint store and talk to the salesmen - preferably during the weekdays when they have more time. Tell them what you are doing and that you intend to prime, paint, and seal your cabs properly. Latex will work fine, but you want good brushes, not el cheapo ones. Pick your paint color. Get several sample jars, if you need to, and paint a few 8x10" foamcore boards, or anything with a base white coat, to hold up under various lights to make sure the shade will blend next to your appliances yet work with the tiles/counters.
You want satin or semi-gloss paint. I'd prefer satin because it's more forgiving. Semi-gloss will show up every imperfection when the light casts shadows downwards.
Take the doors off. Remove all the drawers. Wash everything down with TSP, twice if you have to. Sand everything properly - doors, drawers, and framework. This is why your "touchups" don't work. You need to take ALL the finish off and then refinish them properly.
Prime them; let dry, then paint. Two thin coats are better than one thick one. Finish with a polyurethane; make sure the poly is the same finish (satin or semi) as the paint. Allow ADEQUATE drying time between all coats. Do not take the suggested times on the paintcan as gospel truth. Drying time varies enormously, depending upon temp and humidity. Longer is always better.
Remember that all paint, bar none, does not fully cure for 30 days! Treat everything very gently for the first month and after that, fairly minimal care should suffice for at least 5-10 years, depending upon wear & tear. Keep your kids out of the kitchen with their toy bikes and stuff (which wouldn't be safe anyway in such a small kitchen) to avoid the dents and dings that will mar your paint surface since painted surfaces cannot be repaired easily.
Done properly, you'll find it easy to clean the painted surfaces. Never use ammonia; it will strip the paint away. A light hand with the sponge and soapy water should suffice.
BTW, make sure you check out this thread in the home decorating forum: the OP is painting their cabs (three coats with sealer!) and you can see how it looks. The white cabs and tile floor are very similar in colors to what I envision your kitchen to be. http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=1081133
In my head, the amount of brass in the rest of the house doesn't matter. I redid this kitchen when we bought this old house. We bought in Dec of 05, kitchen was done in something like May of 05. We didn't live here, too much to do! Anyway, my light fixture is the burnished bronze, but my hardware on the cabinets is nickel. I went with a porcelain sink, because it just seems to go with an 111 yr old house. You can change out those strainers in there and keep the sink. Being that you're not going to really be there long, I wouldn't put in a whole lot of money, but rather do things to make it more up to date.
I guess I haven't seen Design To Sell, because I've never seen any of the fix up before we move shows, do any granite. Granite works if you're in a area where granite is expected. I don't live in such an area, and I like laminate anyway...lol. I'm not really understanding what you mean when you say that there's a lot of brass. Light fixtures and door knobs? Fixtures are pretty cheap at HD, I'd change them out when I had a few extra dollars. I wouldn't worry about the door knobs.
I'm going to toss in a couple pictures of my kitchen so you can see the light fixture and then the nickel knobs and pulls that I picked. This room is really hard to take a photo of because it always seems I'm trying in the afternoon and the room faces west.
I see some one else has posted since I first started this, this AM...lol. I'm not talking about painting your cabinets black, I'm saying to use a black glaze over the white paint. It can be as dark or as light as you like. Personally, with kids and my own preference, white cabinets would never work for me. I looked at homes that had white cabinets when we were moving to TN and I passed them over because I didn't want to deal with grubby hand prints all over the white.
Here's the other side. This is an old house and the kitchen is laid out weird. I have 2 windows, a door that goes outside, the opening to the DR, the basement door, the opening to the servant stairs, and the door to the 1/2 bath. All in one room!
I am simply wowed by all the helpful comments and suggestions! Thank you SO MUCH! Keep 'em coming! ;-D Terry, your kitchen is REALLY beautiful! Love the light fixture! ;-)
I've noticed when I look through magazines and I see a kitchen I love, it often has beautiful wood cabinetry, sometimes with dark hardware and sometimes silver. (Terry, if my cabinets were as beautiful as yours, I would be thrilled!) So a part of me thinks it might be a mistake to paint, but the purpose is to lighten the room. So tonight I thought, why not start with the extra bathroom? I *know* I would like that to be painted white and it 's a very small job. I could see how I like it and how difficult it is. It just seems somehow like the wood in the kitchen "spreads" so far. There's the pantry in the hall and all this trim, I feel like I would be unsure where to stop exactly.
You guys are probably right, I shouldn't worry about all the gold stuff throughout the house and what I think really sticks out, I should just replace. The dining room has the silver accents and the sink faucet, but I really like the brushed copper look!
I'm pretty unsure on what type of light fixture would work well, but here's something I was considering (have no idea what size would work best - I would not be buying these online, just window shopping): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GFT7QW/ref=wl_itt_dp/10...
Oh and here's a black sink. I would for sure want a "matte" finish: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productI...
(Not thinking too seriously about replacing the sink - I think dh would think I'm nuts, but it would look GREAT if I did the green/black counter top in there!!!)
and the other single cabinet. This shouldn't be *too* difficult and as you can see, it NEEDS it! A nice creamy white, maybe some light sage green walls and I'd either be a painting pro or sick of painting! It would give my husband a chance to see the cabinets painted. When I subtlely mentioned the kitchen project to him tonight, I think he said, "no way." lol I'm going to have to do this slowly and sneakily. ;-D
Oh, and by the way, I'm not discounting the tile idea either. I think it might be more work (depending on if my husband will help me install laminate counters,) but potentially a really cool look! I feel it might better address the issue of the laminate that creeps up the wall so high. I might have to use some tile anyhow. ??
Well, if you want to keep the woodgrain you could always whitewash it, but the problem with that is two-fold: your oak cabs have a very strong grain and whitewashing frankly comes out better when the oak is less strongly grained (I have a whitewashed oak bath cab). More importantly, whitewashing is really "out" as a look and I don't think it would be a great selling point. In your situation you will need to consider resale if you are serious about selling soon (anything within 5 yrs in RE is considered 'soon').
I would also strongly suggest you urge your DH to consider changing out the sink when the cabs are done. It is much easier and less work to change both at once, and a good-looking sink is a real pleaser when buyers are looking at your house.
If you paint the cabs white, rethink your microwave. I'd get one to match the cabs instead. I started in 1990 with a black stove in a bisque cabinet kitchen. When I replaced the stove with a bisque colored range in 2001, I was pleased by how much better it looked. When I look at the photos now of my black range amidst light-colored cabs, it really does look like a 'black hole', LOL!
BTW, I can't tell - is your backsplash area painted white or is that laminate? Anyway, if you go with white cabs, I'd pick a nice medium-tone paint to spark up the kitchen. It's such a small area, you could give it that "wow" factor without spending too much $$$.
Also, the wood that faces the DR, underneath your dividing counter? I'd leave that section alone and not paint or stain it, just refinish it. A little wood is nice, it's just that too much is overwhelming in your small space.
All the knobs you picked are nice, although very expensive. The lighting fixture is beautiful, but way underpowered for what you need. Uplights need to be much stronger than downlights to have the same effective illumination. I'd like to suggest undercounter lights, either fluorescent or xenon, but you've said you're on a budget so I know that's rough. It's hard to tell if you have a molding around the bottom of your upper cabs - if you don't, you'll need to install one to hide the undercounter fixtures. Not only is this more work (you want it to look good, not "pasted on") but it reduces the space available between your uppers and base cabs. This can make it difficult to have your small appliances out so you need to be careful about this.
Well, since you asked for any input, here it comes...without knowing the floor plan, etc., kind of a shot in the dark, but I'd be thinking about losing the counter between the kitchen and dining/living room. Put the sink where the fridge is now, counter around the corner to where the bulletin board is, and put the fridge where the tall cabinet is.
All hypothetical, of course, not knowing anything about the rest of the building.
Wow, thanks so much for all the diverse suggestions. Claypa, that's a bit involved and actually one of the main benefits to this plan is that I am facing the action of the house (the computer, the dining table, the tv), when I am standing at the sink. It contributes to the open feel and I like that part of it. I WISH I had money to make this kitchen exactly the way I like, but we WILL be moving in a few years, and I just want to enjoy it while we're here and make it attractive to potential buyers.
I took some detail pics in case it helps. I know it must be hard to not be able to walk through a space and look at things up close. What is behind the oven is the beige laminate. It creeps up pretty high on the wall, in several places, like by the coffee maker. Kinda weird, but it does keep it easy to clean.
I went to Lowe's today and looked at counter tops and tile. Can someone just tell me very GENERALLY which is cheaper? I get the feel that a laminate countertop would be cheaper than even a basic tile, but I guess it's hard to say. I found the chip of the counter we used in the computer area, and while I think it is a TERRIFIC idea to join the two with the same counter, I think I would be defeating the purpose of trying to lighten the kitchen. It is a DARK pattern.
So I got the idea that maybe a sage green tile or peachy sandy (or combo) of tiles would work and tie the two rooms together, without them "matching." What do you think? I took a pic of the backsplash area behind the sink with some green colors there. Also, my spoon rest is a pretty (but darker) green, so I laid that there too.
I think that would be a reasonalby affordable project spread over time:
* flooring (the vinyl tiles are really affordable, $30 a box, and dh is already sold on this idea.)
* perhaps tile to dress up the counter and backsplash areas?
* paint or refinishing supplies for cabinets, plus new hardware
* new light fixture
These are all things that I can buy a few of at a time if I have to, the spread the cost out.
Let me know what you think!!!!!!! Thanks SO MUCH for the suggestions - I love everyone's advice!!
Here's a close-up of the sink area and some "greens" I was thinking about. See how dark the green counters would be if the computer counter were used? If I did that with a light cabinet, I feel I would not be upping the lightness of the room at all, just switching it from counter to cabinet, know what I mean? What do you think?
Hi! Thanks so much for all the advice! I bought paint today for the bathroom and I'm ready to get started!!! This will be like a "test run" for the kitchen project. ;-D
I'm rereading your tips on doing the cabinets. What is TSP? Forgive me! lol! ;-)
Also, what do I prime them with?
As for the sanding, do I start coarse, then go fine? Use fine only? There are a few small gouged parts. Do I use some type of wood putty in those areas? Also, any suggestions on how to best sand the grooved parts? They are the most damaged, (from years of water droplets) and yet they seem the most difficult to sand properly.
I bought Martha Stewart satin paint in Milkweed Pod (light green) and Putty Pink (creamy white). My hydrangea print inspired me. :-D
You say your sink is scratched up. How badly is it scratched? Mine is porcelain and I clean it at least once a week. At my parents second home, the sink is porcelain also and has a few scratches, but Ajax or Comet cleans it up in no time. If the sink isn't that bad, I would spend my money in other areas instead of getting a new sink. I'm not in the camp that anything dark in color makes a room appear smaller. It depends on the accessories that are used also. All the rooms in this house were white or had light colored wallpaper on them. I've repainted them all in dark rich colors. They look the same size to me. If your cabinets are light, but your counter top is dark, I don't think that makes for a dark room, but that's my opinion. Especially if you re-use the white sink and use white appliances. Now if you painted the cabinets black and used all black appliances, then yes, the room would probably appear very dark. My girlfriend has used a new spray paint that's for wood furniture, but I think it could easily be used on cabinets. Somebody here has a post where they used just ordinary spray paint and painted the small upper cabinet (like above the stove and fridge) black. I thought it turned out well. I like the last silver knob you linked, but I would add something like the below link to any drawers.
Thank you for the compliment. The cabinets and counter plus install was less than $4000. I was pleased since everyone else was giving me quotes of $7000-8000 for cabinets alone. These are by far much more superior in quality than anything I looked at. They're maple, just like the floor. Which reminds me...how does a house or a room have too much wood in it? I don't understand that comment at all. I don't care how small the house is...my grandmothers house was barely 900 sq ft. all wood floors, wood cabinets in her galley style kitchen, wood table and buffet in the dining room and it wasn't too much wood in a small space? I also don't have any undercounter lighting in my kitchen. I simply don't care for them at all.
Remember that HD and Lowe's always have sales. I bought my pulls and knobs on sale. My faucet was another sale item. Just keep a watch for when they have them and ask an associate when they're having a sale.
You posted while I was previewing. TSP is Trisodium Phosphate, I buy mine at Ace. And yes, start with course to fine. Hand sanding in the grooves should work fine. I'd use a palm sander for the rest of the sanding. Wood filler is what you want, not the putty.
You are awesome -- thanks -- I'm on my way to buy TSP. Hope it's cheap, my husband is not totally on board. He thinks if it's fine, you should just leave it alone. ;-)
Can't I just do an extra coat of paint as primer?
That light fixture is beautiful! Would coordinate well with the silver we have happening in the dining area on our shelving. $100 is a little steep, but I am sure I can find something similar or on sale for an affordable price.
Oh and I hated to post SO MANY pics and links, but the drawer pull you posted is exactly what I would choose, whether I go silver or bronze. ;-)
Despite my husband, I am going to paint the bathroom tonight! Hope it turns out well and I can convince him to let me do something to the cabinets. Do you think the colors are neutral enough? (for resale purposes).
Thanks again, everyone! Keep the help coming!
PS The wood in this house is just overpowering and beat up. If it were prettier, I would love it.
Oh! I totally forgot about primer. No, you need a good blocking primer. It will block the grain from showing, and just block out anything from bleeding. I prefer oil based primer, but again, that's my like. If those cute little kids up there are yours, I'd just do a water based primer, something like Zinsser or Kilz. They can tint your primer to the color of your paint and in my opinion (again!), it justs makes it easier to the next coats to go on. They have TSP either in liquid or powder. I'm not familiar with the liquid, so I'd ask for the salespersons opinion. Buy some good latex gloves too. I don't use them, but I know some people have sensitive skin, plus I think the box tells you to, I just don't ever bother. Your colors are neutral enough in my opinion.
Remember that inventory is always changing and they always put the "old" on sale.
Take a look at the sheet vinyl flooring too, it's not expensive. It's even easier to lay than the adhesive tiles, and it's a lot better floor. Stores often have scraps big enough for your kitchen.
I'm listening to all suggestions. Thank you and keep them coming. I've been really absorbed in this the last few days. THINKING about the kitchen while WORKING in the bathroom. It's been slow going (we have 2 kids), so no cabinet work yet. :-(
Plus we are leaving town this weekend, so that will slow the project down for a few days, but here is what I am tentatively thinking about for the kitchen:
I REALLY want to find a way to get a fancy, beautiful new countertop in. I think I will go with silver hardware and light fixture. I am even thinking about getting a solar tube (skinny skylight thing) over the sink or bar area, ideally 2 of them, but $ may nix that idea.)
I am also thinking about vinyl tiles or sheet flooring in a pretty light wood pattern.
What do you know about the "soft touch" vinyls? I saw something about them on the Armstrong website, and while it was a different product, saw one up close at Lowe's today. IT WAS ON CLEARANCE for 6 CENTS A TILE! Isn't that incredibly cheap? I am tempted to go ahead and get them!! Would they be durable? Could that be why they are on clearance? This particular display had the products labeled as "Good" and "Better" and it said "Better." (There were no "Best" displayed.) I forget the name, but they seemed brand name. Would they gouge easily? I will have to do some research on those. I think light painted cabinets, a honey/peachy/sandy beige flecked counter of some sort, and wood like flooring would be pretty.
Can I get some specific advice on the cabinets? I am really perplexed about what to do here. I'm attaching pics. My husband says these are particleboard. (I thought they were oak.) He says there is such a fine layer, I cannot sand the grooves or the edges at ALL. They look horrible! Boy, these pics really show it too. In other, low traffic areas, like up high, they are very heavy grained and super glossy.
I bought "TSP substitute". I was unsure at the time, but with 2 hungry kids, I was in a hurry. ;-) I may return it and go to Ace Hardware looking for TSP powder and fine steel wool? Will fine sand paper work? My husband thinks I'm going to ruin the cabinets. (He is thinking of the bathroom cabinets, but they are the same.)
Thanks for any advice. I'm driving myself crazy. I wouldn't want to pain "beautiful" oak cabinets, but I don't think that's what I've got here. I want to lighten the space and we are definitely selling in a few years. I'm not one for giving myself knicks to constantly worry about, but it almost seems like an easier thing to touch up than this grubby gouged wood I have to deal with as it is now.
Thanks, everyone!!!!!
Robin ;-D
What follows is embarrassing pics of my nasty "oak" cabinets to give you an idea of what I'm dealing with.
Robin, you don't need to sand the finish all off, you just need to scuff it up (make the gloss not glossy) and clean them. I use steel wool when I'm stripping wood, but after the wood is dry, I use sandpaper. It's all what you're most comfortable with. I think the only way to make them look good is to paint them. Some people are just hard on cabinets, so it's hard to say if they had knobs on them, what they would look like. I would take back the TSP substitute and get the real stuff. Sand them down first, then clean them really well. Take the doors off and sand and clean those outside, in the garage or anywhere where the dust won't bother you. I've had wood or ceramic tiles in any of my kitchens, so I'm not familiar with any linoleum out there.
Thank you, Terry. I am excited to see how the bathroom turns out and I hope it inspires me to do the kitchen in the same way.
I have had a lot of help from the design studio at cambiausa.com.
While this is miles away from what my kitchen would really look like, I'm going to try and post a pic of a kitchen that uses similar colors to what I'm imagining if I repeat the green/black speckled formica in the kitchen. It would certainly be an affordable way to go. With cream cabinets and "hardwood floors" (vinyl) I think it would be a nice look. Maybe we could even spring for one of the solar lights and a new sink.
Do you think that green counter would be good in terms of RESALE? Sage walls?
I REALLY appreciate all the suggestions. Thank you so much for your help, especially, Terry! Where can I send you payment? lol! ;-D
I do think you shouldn't be afraid of using that green laminate, even if it's darker. It'll add a little "punch" to the space without taking it over. In 2003 we did new countertops and I picked a beige granite-look Swanstone over our bisque laminate/beech trimmed cabs. I'm really sorry now I didn't get a nice rich brown countertop color instead. Now it just looks too bland to me.
I think the sage green wall paint is lovely, and would accent the space without making it look closed in. Very nice choices!
Yes, you have an oak veneer over particleboard. Nothing wrong with that - particleboard is very stable and an excellent substrate for cabs. You won't be sanding through the veneer, anyway, even though it's thin. As Terryr points out, you are scuffing it up for paint adhesion.
Because particleboard swells when wet, keep the water/TSP solution OFF any unveneered edges. Keep a dry towel handy so that if they get wet, you can wipe off any water quickly.
Actually, I would clean with TSP first and THEN sand. Water will raise the grain, so you'll have to sand again with extra-fine sandpaper. Wipe it down properly afterwards with a damp lint-free cloth (NOT a microfiber cloth unless you want to be picking little grains of wooddust out of it forever!) to remove all dust before you paint. Those little specks become hugely magnified when added to a layer of paint!
I was planning on using microfiber, but now that makes total sense. lol
Thank you for all the helpful comments!
Now to find a sandy/peachy/beigey off white that would look nice on the cabinets!
Maybe some affordable, but distinctive tile for some punch at the sink backsplash? Or would that ALL need to be the formica? Ugh! Decisions! Decisions! It's a good thing finances are going to make this a slow process so I can torture myself over every detail. If I had the $ in the bank, I'd already have people in there doing it for me and would probably keep changing my mind on them, driving them nuts! lol!! ;-D
I returned the "TSP substitute" and Home Depot was out of the real stuff. What a pain.
I will go to Ace Hardware this evening for TSP powder. So should I use coarse grain sandpaper at all? Extra fine only? Sorry to be such a novice!! I so appreciate all the hand holding. :-D
You can start with medium; then go fine, then end with extra-fine. Wipe off between each sanding. Run your fingers over the surface to feel for spots you may have missed. You'll use more sandpaper than you think, LOL.
Again, remember you are dealing with thin veneer. Sand lightly and evenly. Do not grind the sandpaper in furiously; it isn't necessary.
You're awesome, jkom! Thanks!! ;-D
Just what I needed to know. Unfortunately, we are heading out of town for the weekend in the morning. :-( Will try and pick up the project as soon as possible next week!
And I must say I'm sorry! I was thinking of all the stripping that I've done is in this house, then wriping down with TSP. jkom is correct in that you should wipe down first, then sand. Buy some tack cloths to clean away the dust. I think the colors you've picked are very nice! When I was getting the new cabinets and then picking out the counter, the kitchen guy didn't like my choice, he felt it would be too dark. So I kept flipping thru the samples and just kept coming back to the one I got and the one I picked right off the bat. When I was flipping, he told me he thought that he was wrong and I was right, that the one I originally picked was the best choice. When the cabinets went in and then the counters and he stopped by, he was really glad I went with the choice I wanted. I think it looks awesome.
With the veneer, yes to what jkom suggested. Medium and work your way to extra fine. If you have a palm sander, I'd still suggest using it. If you haven't ever used one, I'd invest in one as I use mine all the time. Actually I have 2...lol. I like the palm sander because it doesn't care if you don't go with the grain of the wood, therefore you can't mess it up. You might try it on something else first (even just an extra piece of lumber) to get the hang of it. Don't push it, just control it.
Small rooms don't mean only light colors. It's only paint, so experiment in a room to see how a darker rich color can add warmth and does not close you in.
I have some questions about the application of polyurethane. I bought Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane. How long should I let it dry before I can safely attach my hardware? One coat or two? I found a very informative page:
Well, if your painted surface is quite dry, the poly will dry pretty fast since it sounds like you're using the water-based type. I'd still give it at least 24-48 hrs between coats, and again, 2 thin is better than one thick.
Hope everything is coming along well so far for you!
I would never do 1 or even 2 coats of poly. Even over paint. I would do 3. The second one gets what you missed the first time, the third coat gives it the best look. Remember to always work from your wet, going up to dry. Overlapping. The final stroke of each completed brush width application, should go lightly from top to bottom. The can should tell you how soon you can apply another coat. Sand lightly in between coats, using a tack cloth to wipe it all down when finished sanding. I'd leave the hardware off for at least 48 hours. That would depend on the drying time though also. I always use Minwax Polycrylic. The finish is made for water being splashed on it, can take being cleaned with water, etc. http://www.minwax.com/products/protective/polycrylic-faq.cfm
If you do your kitchen, I would strongly suggest using the Polycrylic.
Oh dear. Well, it might have been the conditions, (windy garage), but it looked BAD in my opinion. I painted over it and I GUESS I will just leave them? The paint is so light (pretty much looks white) that the "clear" poly looked like yellow ... ahem ... snot smeared on my cabinets. And yes, it sure was fast drying!
Maybe I should try the Polycrylic. We are flat out of $ until payday in a few days. We have company coming tomorrow and I'm trying to decide whether to put the hardware on or not yet. hmmmm...
Thank you very much everyone for your helpful advice! It is so appreciated!
My "rechargable" batteries are acting up, so I will take pics asap.
Well, that sure sounds better than the stuff I bought! YuK!
Maybe I should go and get some of that asap. Thank you (again!) Terry! ;-D
Here's a pic of the cabinet, but no door yet. My husband is back, so maybe tomorrow he can help me get some poly on it. (but he'll be packing for another biz trip.)
BTW, I saw an episode of Property Ladder I had TiVo'd a week ago. The flippers (from TX) painted the kitchen cabinets instead of putting in new and they looked awesome! They didn't get their asking price, but close to it. Who gets asking price anyway? Nobody around here does...lol!
Sorry, I just have a minute as hubby is out of town and I am preparing for a baby shower I am hosting today (not at my house - thank goodness)!
Well, here's the latest. I went ahead and began painting the walls in the kitchen/dr a sage green color (Valspar's "marine reef") because I figured if I decide to do a faux finish, that would be very hard to do a "spot touch up" on. Also, I really thought I needed the wall color to provide color and match the green counter in the dining room, so that was an important place to start.
I am undecided about what to do with the cabinets still. I have held up the painted bathroom cabinets to try and envision what cream or cream with a glaze might look like. I just keep hedging on whether painting is the way to go. Maybe I could just work on the finish and top with a creamy glaze? I also considered painting cream colored and using a green glaze.
I made the mistake of going to a cabinet showroom and now I really WANT new cabinets alltogether! I was wondering if I could convince my husband to put the old cabinets in the garage for him (we already have lots of shelving however) and THAT way, I could buy cabinets that go clear to the ceiling. I think that would be a big improvement and take advantage of some wasted space. I could get cabinets that match the ones in the dr, which is really the bargain basement variety. It would still be a large price tag, though.
Well, let me know what your thoughts are!! I really appreciate all the opinions and suggestions! Thanks!!!
Since my experience has always been that I can't match up the stain and therefore what ever I'm doing looks like crap and I end up with it blotchy looking and then have to redo the entire thing, it would my inclination not to try and match up the stain, but to just paint them. I've been doing a lot of searching on white painted cabinets, or just painted cabinets in general. I hit on a ton of websites and forums where the people are painting their cabinets. I saw one lady did her cabinets in red. Another was a rich buttery yellow on top with red for the lower cabinets. So if painted cabinets aren't the thing to do, a lot of people are misinformed.
My whole first floor has solid maple floors. My kitchen included. It was built that way back in 1896. Upstairs is wide plank pine floors. Country is not a look I like either. Way too cutesy.
Stain a decent-sized scrap piece of plywood with some MinWax golden oak stain. Let it dry overnight and seal it with some clear shellac (very stinky so do it outdoors and wear a mask). Dilute some paint with four parts Floetrol or faux paint extender with one part paint and glaze the scrap wood. That will be very close to the color of what your cabinets will look like glazed.
The underlying color of your cabinets already has a lot of yellow in it so it is likely that a white glaze will give cream-colored final result with the thicker parts of the white glaze tying in with your white appliances. You could try doing one side of your scrap plywood with white glaze and the other side cream glaze to see which you prefer.
To get an idea of what painted cabinets would look like just paint a very big piece of cardboard.
It is much, much cheaper to reface cabinets and install new doors than to install all new cabinets unless you want to completely redesign your kitchen layout. Also, refacing/new doors does not require the considerable inconvenience of tearing up your kitchen.
If you want taller upper cabinets you can simply add on to what you have. You can get a nice catalog at Home Depot that shows some complete kitchens with refaced cabinets or download the cabinet company's print catalog here: http://www.qualitydoors.com/catalog/index.html Page 13 of the catalog shows what it would look like to add cabinets on top of your current upper cabinets.
The dark flooring you picked is pretty, it looks rich and it won't show dirt. However, dark colors do absorb a lot of light and the high contrast between light cabinets/appliances and a dark floor will very likely make the room look a bit smaller. I have one of those blue plastic tarps that has a brown backside. They are pretty cheap and tarps are always handy to have on hand. You could put one of those down on the kitchen floor, brown side up, to get a rough idea of how a large area of dark floor might look.
The sage green is very pretty and gives the look of tranquility that you seem to prefer. I'm very partial to tranquil backgrounds myself but I do often punch them up with bold accents.
I like the stone-look tile, but I'm one who prefers a contrast in textures to the endless wood/wood/wood combinations. Wood's great and I love it, but the combo of wood and stone or stone-look is always so rich-looking to me.
Besides, I confess I'm biased - we almost picked that exact tile when we were remodeling in 2003. We picked the green/tan instead, in an upscale tile (Metroflor), but either color would have worked. We have gotten tons of compliments on it and boy, does it hide dirt!
Well, I've been working between the bathroom and the kitchen! Bathroom is almost done, minus flooring. $ is SO tight, my husband almost had a fit when he learned I bought a gallon of paint. Ugh...someday we'll have more to work with. I think I am slowly convincing him that this is all about us enjoying the house to its full extent while we're here (you never know--it may be much longer than we think!) And at the same time, having a desirable property that will reach a good price when we decide to move. He has nixed the whole glazing thing. (I showed him the two examples of bathroom cabinets.) The skylight in the bathroom makes it so bright with natural light that I thought the glazing would not look as nice in there. (Maybe down the road in the master bath...) Anyhow, I should be able to attach those doors tonight and get the hardware on. :-D You were right, Terry! 3 coats of polyacrylic were a must. I about lost my patience with the teeny knicks and specks of dust appearing out of nowhere. The finish is not as perfect as I'd like in spots (drips, bumpy texture, etc.) but the OVERALL look is a HUGE improvement, in my opinion. Unless someone just really does NOT like painted cabinets, I think they look fresh and light and bright.
I have gotten several bright ideas for the kitchen. The overall plan keeps getting bigger and bigger. It may never all come to fruition, but I plan on doing my best to keep at it. I figure spending a little bit at a time will make it more possible.
Here are some of my big ideas. First off, I want DuraCeramic tile. I am still trying to decide if it's worth it. My thought is, it's a small space, so maybe a good way to splurge and upgrade. It supposedly can be cut with a knife, so no tile cutter involved. (I'm not willing to go there!) Also, it can be laid w/o grout, which I think makes it more livable and look nice too. Finally, it supposedly is not as cold as tile and comes with a lifetime warranty and is very durable, but is less likely to shatter glassware, etc. A salesman tried to sell it to me (obv. did a pretty good job!) and it was $4.61/sf. I would like to pay less, maybe even purchase online if I can see the same tile in person in a store somewhere. I asked a good friend, who works in flooring and here's what he had to say:
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You have made an excellent choice in "Duraceramic". I have been in the flooring business 17 years and am familiar with all types of flooring for residential and commercial use. Duraceramic is relatively new, about 2-4 years on the market. In my opinion, it's one of the best kept secrets out there. To answer your questions:
1. Yes, you can butt the tile together and not use grout. Duraceramic makes a special grout just for their product which works well and is a lot better than your regular grout types. If you choose not to use grout, either make sure you have a very good installer or choose a pattern that is forgiving enough to keep the layout square. Going grout less will force the layout to be square from start to finish. When using grout, the grout joints will absorb a little error if you start to get out of square thus preventing a "crooked" looking floor.
2. Duraceramic is more forgiving than ceramic when it comes to both walking and dropping items. it is very close to hardwood in it's hardness rating.
3. With a good utility knife you can score the surface and snap the tile. So yes, you can cut it with a utility knife-just not all the way through.
When I was in retail sales up until a year ago, when people said they wanted ceramic, I would always try to show the Duraceramic as an option after a ceramic presentation. It's frankly a much superior product than regular ceramic. The problem usually was the price. people like $1.50 a foot much more than $5.00 a foot. But trust me, It's well worth the investment. A few months before I resigned from Budget Floor Store I sold A dinning room and large kitchen of Duraceramic. The customer spent an extra $1300.00 to get the Duraceramic but they just absolutely fell in love with it and could not say enough about how happy they were with their new floor.
I am not a big fan of the people that run Budget Floor Store, however, they do have the best pricing in town and offer a 30 day price match guarantee. If you can order on-line for $2.50 that would be great. The only issue may be your shipping cost and ordering more of the same dye lot should you end up short or wanting more.
Anyway, when we buy our house next year, there will be Duraceramic installed wherever possible. So go for it, you'll be stoked. Please feel free to call me should you have any other questions.
Also, you should add about 10% to your net measurements as you will loose footage and tiles at the end of each row-there will be waste you cannot use. In addition, dye lots can vary, so if you ever need to replace or want to add to your existing floor, you want to be sure the color matches with the original tile.
Take care and good luck!
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So feel free to tell me your thoughts on that! I would probably put it in our two teeny bathrooms eventually as well. I am too scared to put vinyl squares in wet areas.
Ok, my next bright idea: I want granite! There are two differing thoughts I have on this. First, I've heard, you can never go wrong with adding granite. You will get your $ back when you sell because it is such a draw. On the other hand, maybe it's just too over the top and unnecessary. The "double" counter is 8 feet long, with the lower counter having a cut out for the sink. The other side of the kitchen with the stove and fridge is just two little rectangles, not even a foot long each. Changing the counter would mean adding tile though (I think) or something else as backsplash...wouldn't it? Hubby wanted to know if we did granite, how would the edge of the upper bar look? What would go down over the edge if you lay granite on top?
I think I already mentioned this, but I want my cabinets to go to the ceiling and possibly be lit and have frosted glass doors.
I would also like the cabinet by the doorway with the paper towel holder on it to be an open plate rack on the bottom. Since it's all by itself, I think it would be a very easy one to extend upwards.
The large cabinet opposite it might also be nice to bump up and put an "open" cabinet underneath it. For mugs, glasses, etc. These are just thoughts so far, but something to think about before I get into painting and sanding.
My last high falootin' idea is I want an L-shaped banquette in our dining room. I am SICK of moving chairs around and I do worry about the computer counter we have installed shrinking the eating space. It won't be a formal dining room per se anymore, but I think if it's done with quality materials and well thought out, it will look GREAT, be a very functional space, create additional storage AND make maximum use of the space. I KNOW it would work well for us and I think for resale, it would be very family friendly and also appeal to young couples.
I am still trying to decide if I would want more cabinets on one of the dining room walls.
So there you have it, a flurry of ideas, all problematic in that we have very little money, but I have plenty of time to decide what I like at least!
Gimme your thoughts! Thanks!!!
Robin ;-D
PS I'm attaching a pic of the "palette" I've created, including a granite sample (we like Desert Gold!), a sample of the green computer counter laminate, the green wall color, the taupey color in the entryway that I will also put in the hallway by the pantry, the deeper beige I am considering for the living room walls and finally, the ivory color I THINK I have selected for the kitchen cabinets. :-)
Robin, what about the houses around you? Are they all starter type homes? Or a mix? Does granite have a resale in your neighborhood? It doesn't here. You can't put all this into your home, if you'd be the best house on the street. The comps tell it all. You never want to over improve for your neighborhood. You've got wasted space to the left of your sink in the pictures. Wouldn't it make sense to add corner cabinets in there and possibly a pantry cabinet too? Instead of adding cabinets into the dining area? Also, the inner part of the cab doors can be removed and frosted glass added.
I forgot...paint can and should be sanded if there's runs, drips or sags. Polycrylic should be sanded between coats and any runs in it should be sanded out then.
I did sand for the most part in between coats, but when I did that, it often created brown spots that I felt like I had to put touch up paint on. At some point, I would sand (manually) a bit, then say to hell with it. I felt like I was stretching the process out too much.
I totally hear you on the granite, but I think it boils down to "I just WANT it." I also think it will help people want to buy the house. I think this area is primarily attracting couples and families. I did a search last night and found the County Assessor's site for our neighborhood. I will post that in a sec.
Thanks so much for your input, Terry. I'm not fully understanding your suggestion about the corner cabinet. There is "dead space" to the left of my sink, but there is so LITTLE counter space overall, I considered bringing cabinetry down to the counter, but figured it might not be good to eat up valuable counter space. (So I definitely want to try to go up -- just not sure how exactly to do that.)
So I spent some time doing some research last night, precisely to determine what you mentioned, Terry. This is a bit of a new concept for me, because as a naive layperson, I think "create a nice home and get a nice price" for the right buyers and right market, of course. But I do understand the concept of not wanting to be the fanciest house on the block.
Our suburb town is building a brand new high school and our house will be within walking distance, but nestled in a nice little U-shaped street that is quiet and pretty well maintained. There are a few duplexes two blocks over and that street (mostly renters) is not that great, but our street has mostly young families and retired age people. Our house is not the newest on the block and it does not have the most square footage, but it is exactly like several other houses. (I mean EXACTLY.) And according to the info I found, all the houses that are the same are worth the same exact amount. Not sure how that would work in actual buying situation. Hopefully, a "cuter" home that has had some updating would bring more. ??
Here's what I found:
Home Prices in our neighborhood:
2137 S. Ourstreet $84k
2138 S. Ourstreet $102k (built in 92 1473 sf)
2139 S. Ourstreet $79k
2141 S. Ourstreet $75k
2131 S. Ourstreet $84k
2130 S. Ourstreet $111k (built in 91 1501 sf)
2129 S. Ourstreet $90k (built in 89 1126 sf)
2128 S. Ourstreet $93k (built in 92 1149 sf)
2127 S. Ourstreet $101k (built in 91 1285 sf)
2126 S. Ourstreet $85k (built in 87 1126 sf)
2125 S. Ourstreet $102k (built in 91 1476 sf)
2124 S. Ourstreet $86k (built in 87 1129 sf)
2122 S. Ourstreet $85k (built in 87 1129 sf)
2121 S. Ourstreet $91k (built in 91 1123 sf) $81/sf
2120 S. Ourstreet $85k (built in 87 1129 sf)
2119 S. Ourstreet $94k (built in 91 1200 sf)
OUR HOUSE: 2118 S. Ourstreet $85k (built in 87 1129 sf) $75/sf
Are those actual selling prices, or what a site like Zillow or something similar is telling you? In some areas, those estimates are right on but in others they can be off quite considerably, and all it knows about are the things that are a matter of public record like square footage, lot size, etc, it doesn't know anything about the condition of the house or how updated it is. You'd be better off getting some data on recent actual sales--if you're using Zillow there is a link where it'll show you recent sales in your neighborhood, or else in some areas it's published in the paper, or a real estate agent would probably be happy to give you the info in the hopes that you might remember them when you go to sell your house someday.
It was from the County Assessor's Office online and yes, it's all based on square footage and taxes, etc.
I'm trying to view my neighborhood on Zillow the way I had once before. I must have messed with the settings somehow, but here is my home on that site. (Depressing! It shows 3 recently sold homes in the 70's!!!!!)
The county assessor's office numbers are just what they use to determine what your property taxes ought to be, so it doesn't necessarily mean the house would sell for that price (although if the house would sell for considerably less, people ought to request a reassessment!) Looking at sales prices on recently sold homes that are comparable to yours is the most accurate way to judge what you might be able to get for your house.
Also, this forum is open to everyone, so I'm not sure if you want to keep the link to your house on Zillow or not--I know some people worry about stuff like that on the forums that are open to everyone so I figured I'd mention it!
I'm disclosing my privacy for the advantage of hearing info from folks like you! :)
(I won't leave the link up forever. Thanks for mentioning it!)
So, it looks like many homes around 80k by the County Assessor are selling for 100k. (APPROX.) That is encouraging. We paid $75k in 2003.
I may not necessarily go granite, but I would really like to do some upgrades that will help US enjoy this house for the next several years and might provide a bit of wow factor in comparison to comparable homes when we do decide to sell. Isn't that the point? I mean, I'm not installing granite to sell next month. You know what I mean?
If anyone has any further advice, I'm all ears!
I'm thinking about doing DuraCeramic in the bathroom as my next step. It's such a small area and it could give me an idea of how installation goes as well as how we like living with it.
Thanks for any comments - I really appreciate them everyone.
Robin ;-D
I think if you're doing things to make yourself happy, then go for it. If you're doing things where you're expecting to get a certain return on your money when you sell, then you need to look more carefully at what other houses in the neighborhood have. Given your price range, probably not a lot of people have/expect granite, so it's unlikely that you'd get back your money on it, but if you enjoy it and are OK with not getting the money back then there's no reason not to do it. And things like that certainly could help your house sell faster than a less upgraded house, just don't expect to get a lot more money.
ditto ditto ditto what ecrane said! If granite is what you want, and you want to put something like 20k into renovating your kitchen (cabinets, appliances, flooring, sink, lighting, granite etc), understanding that you won't get that in return, then go for it. By dead space at the left of your sink, I mean the counter stops at the wall and doesn't turn. Turning either by a lower and upper cabinet that you see up above in my 1st picture showing my kitchen. It would add more counter space and give you more cupboard room if it followed the wall and stopped at the fridge. I think it's the fridge that's right there. I'll tell you a little story. My husband and I built our first house in '82. I'm not a mover. We built that house and I was never moving. Never never never. They were going to carry out me cold and lifeless ;0) I was always updating something. In late '98, I decided I wanted a new kitchen. I hated the wood work, I wanted all new wood work. Wood work was trim, baseboards, doors. I wanted hardwood in the kitchen, new tile in the bath, and a new vanity, vanity top and faucet. While we're at it, we might as well put on a new roof. I'm not going anywhere, right? Basically the only things that were the same were the walls and ceilings (been painted a lot though), the plywood underneath the new carpet, hardwood and tile. The siding was cedar siding, which I loved, so we had stained that in '02. Also in '02, we got all new windows and a new sliding glass door. The very next year, in '03, the company my husband worked for decided they were moving to TN and closing here. He'd been with this company for 25 yrs. Sell our house and leave the town we'd lived in for 21 yrs and the county I was born and raised in? And never lived anywhere else? Or stay with no job? We decided to go ahead and sell and move to TN. Now what would a house like that sell for? We put in 35k worth of improvements. It sold for what all the other houses that had the same sq footage (the comps) were. I might of well as opened the back door and just thrown the money out in the back yard. It sold fast because the people could tell that it was an extremely well cared for home. But in the end, it didn't matter a hill of beans what the improvements were, it only mattered what other houses in the area, similar to the sq footage were selling for. It only sold for 33k more than we had payed for it 21 yrs previous. Not including the finance charges per month of course. And all the carpet, the new doorknobs, the new front door, the new storm door, the new doorbell, the new the new...you get the point. So we had more in the house than it was worth and more than it could sell for. The real kick in the teeth comes when we buy another house in TN and the company my husband had worked for went bankrupt. It sold to another company who moved the machinery all down to Mexico. NO JOB. So, here we are, back in my home town. But I won't make the mistake of over improving this house. It's being improved, yes it is, and with quality materials. But I know what sells and what doesn't in this area. If this house had granite counters, it wouldn't make it worth any more than the guy selling his house just up the road 1/2 a block with laminate.
When you sanded, what was the brown? You don't sand hard or with course sandpaper, you just use a piece of sandpaper in your hand, and sand lightly only on the run to remove it. You do sand the whole thing lightly in between coats of poly. But again, if you have a run, just sand lightly on the run till it disappears.
I am so sorry to hear that story. Ugh! Yes, I admit that is what I worry about, BUT it is not even an option to spend $20k, so everything will be small projects here and there. I know, it does add up, but I will NOT be spending thousands of dollars. I will definitely keep you guys updated on the costs as I go along. Right now, we are completely broke, so I can't do anything more at the moment and that is incredibly frustrating, but c'est la vie! It will happen. I don't know about granite for sure, but I would like some sort of sparkly slab of something! ;-) I really did not understand about the "comps". You hear so much about improving the value of your house, that just doesn't seem right, but I believe it to be true, I guess. If we could sell for 90-100k, that would be awesome. As I said, we only paid 75k 4 years ago. I will keep watching Zillow for comps. Thanks a bunch for the sound advice - not exactly what I want to hear, but I still plan on redoing and making it pretty. Might just have to reel myself in at times.
Terry, HOW do you know what sells and what doesn't? I have considered calling up an agent and talking a little bit about our situation. I got a neat newsletter in my mailbox from an agent the other day. Thought about starting there.
I don't know what the brown was when I sanded. I guess it was just a scuff mark of some kind. I used a fine or extra fine sandpaper in my hand and rubbed with medium pressure with the grain. The marks usually came at the edge, where there was a bit of buildup of the poly. They were faint, but bothered me. Once I was so tired, I just dabbed a pinky's worth of paint on it and called it good. ;-D I am about to get all the hardware completely on. I wish I could take pics that include a new floor, but finances and indecision are stalling that for now and we are going out of town for the weekend, so it'll have to wait a bit.
Thanks again for following along. I love hearing everyone's input!!
Realtors can be very helpful telling you what improvements will make you the most money back and which ones just won't pay for themselves, that's probably the best thing to do if you want to find out what'll pay back and what won't. Also, if you're friendly with the neighbors, check out what sorts of improvements they've made, or go to open houses if there are houses for sale in the area, that'll give you an idea of what sort of countertops, floors, etc are typical for your area.
Robin, I'm just trying to be that voice of reason inside of you. My dad tried to tell me...but again, even he didn't know that the company would move away from here when it'd been here for 53 yrs! If you go in and get a quote from a kitchen place for new counters and new cabinets, I think you're going to be surprised at just how much it does cost. My cabinets didn't come with the pulls or knobs, so that was $3-5 per right there. Then you add in a new sink. Stainless sinks, good stainless steel sinks are going to cost over $250 if not more. I priced them before I decided on doing the cast iron porcelain sink here. New flooring at $2.50 minimum, is going to add up to. Then the light fixture. Then you probably won't like the faucet you have. Then the carpet looks ratty now, since the kitchen is so good looking and it just keeps going and going. You're not going to be in this house for long. So why not just paint those cabinets, put in new counter tops, redo the floor, replace the light fixture and add some knobs and pulls? You want to give the most bang for your buck...and when you don't have a buck, you do the barest minimum. Just like Design On A Dime and the countless other shows they do.
For how I know what's going to sell...well, this is a small rural town, population 7600 (other towns in this county have less). The kind where everybody knows your name. I've had friends move from one house to the next and I see what's in there and what's not. I've talked to the 4 places around here that do kitchens. They all know what's in the houses around here. You don't walk into a showroom around here and find a display with granite counters. It just doesn't happen here. Before we bought this house, I looked at over 30, no lie. In this little town! Even when we moved to TN, I bet we looked at well over 100 houses down there. You get a feeling of what a house in "this" price range is going to have in it. We looked at houses that were over our budget (way over our budget!), both here and in TN, just to really get a good idea. I've gone to a few open houses around here...just to see the inside of that house...lol.
I hope the link below works. This is a house that I know. It was totally redone inside 7 yrs ago. The siding and roof were just put up last year. You won't find granite in this house, but it's listed for $249,900.00. The house these people are moving to, has 10 acres, 2 garages and 2 outbuildings. About the same amount of sq. footage for the house, but newer. And it was $439,900.00. It doesn't have granite either.
The below is a picture of part of the kitchen of the house linked above. Now I have to tell you, I consider the price they're wanting high for that area of town.
You should use a brush for the poly that doesn't get used on anything else. Thin coats, and at least of them. I've had to do 5 before. But it dries fast, unless there's too much humidity, then you have to give it more drying time. It sounds like the sandpaper was burnishing the finish. To me, that's when my paint or my poly isn't dry enough.
You're awesome, thanks so much for the advice. :-) I know what you're saying is true. I am confident that no other house in my specific neighborhood has granite, but isn't that kind of the point when you're trying to make your house stand out from the crowd? I know for a fact that I would have to find a really good deal. Also, it's a small area, so I was hoping that would allow for an upgraded material. I also was liking the idea of granite because it's different than the computer counter. I like a lot of formica out there, but it seems a little weird to have the green formica there, and the beige formica there. You know? I am attaching another pic of the current palette I'm playing with. I still plan on painting the cabinets, but would like to add some 30x12 cabinets and replace the doors with glass, I think.
Yes, that's how I did the poly. Overall, it went well. It was just a tedious step-by-step process.
Ok, got a crying baby on my hands - gotta go!
PS The 3 creams I'm trying to choose for the cabinets are on the right in this pic.
Look, I love Zillow, it's great fun and I have friends making a lot of money working there. BUT IT ISN'T WHAT YOU SHOULD RELY UPON! It has the same basis in reality as "reality TV" does to your own life.
You don't live in a "hot" market. That's good because you shouldn't get the big ups and down we get on the coasts. That's bad because you are in the starry-eyed lusting stage where "just this would make me happy".
Except then it becomes "and this too" and "oh, this is just a small thing, so this would make me even happier".
Because of the fast-changing local market, the only appraisal you can depend upon is one from the top-selling experienced RE agent in your best local realty. I'd be awfully surprised if the prices haven't dropped in your area. With the recent froth in the subprime markets which is affecting starter and mid-range homes, any honest agent will tell you the buyers are psychologically shaken. They will not pay for your upgrades. Your best bet is a strictly cosmetic redo with paint and the barest minimum of upgrades, such as cheap laminate counters and a peel and stick floor tile.
You keep saying you don't have any money, but like terryr points out, the costs of what you are wanting are adding up to a lot more than you think. Be realistic - even if you can't do 90% of what you want to do, you CAN do some things to make your kitchen look and work a little better. And later, when the finances do improve, THEN you can see if it's worth making some bigger changes.
We remodeled our home in 1989/90 and then updated the kitchen and baths slightly in 2003. We have enough money to do it again, but I look around this place and know we've already overimproved it. Adding more to the kitchen will make me happy, but it won't add a single dime to the (now 10% lower in the local market from last year) asking price if we suddenly have to sell. I'm a rampant consumer, but I know it just doesn't make any sense for me to do this...so I'm not gonna! But my sympathies are with you, because it's a fight - I really, really would like to improve my kitchen some more, and unlike you I do have the extra cash to do it with. But I tell myself to not be stupid, and pretty soon the urge goes away. It keeps coming back, but I make sure to beat it to death with logic again, and my checkbook is saved once more.
I hope I've made you laugh, and feel that yes, we all really do understand how much you'd like granite and new Duraceramic floors and new cabs. But don't worry, they'll still be there in three years, or five years, or even ten years, waiting for you. They won't go away.
Your DIYer skills seem to be minimal. Go very slowly and don't bite off more than you can chew! It is a lot harder to complete some of these projects than those glitzy HGTV shows make it look. That's why the "before" pix should be your guide - most people's home all really do look like that, messy and unbalanced and full of minor projects to finish up that never get completed. Try to remember that paint, a new light, and minimal improvements to the counters and floors will be a striking change overall, for the very few $$ you will be spending.
Thanks, Jkom! All very good advice. I AM listening, everyone, but you're right, I've got a case of the "wanties!"
I just emailed a re agent who sent a mailer to my house a few days ago. We'll see what I get back.
Ok, I'll do peel and stick tiles. :-( lol It won't be so bad, I guess. :-) Is it really ok if water droplets get on it on a regular basis?
I am lusting over new cabinets, but it's not in the cards. HOWEVER, I do want to add UP. Then maybe some cute glass insert doors. We'll see. I might be able to pull that off.
I've been looking at light fixtures. Amazon has some good deals going on right now, but I'd like to see the fixtures in person. I'm trying to decide if I would regret taking out the ceiling fan. (I already mentioned to hubby that we could install it in the garage and he liked that idea, so we wouldn't be just junking it.)
It's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of there being a ceiling on the price of a home. It seems the more you do, the more you should get back. (within reason). Since I started this post, there is a NEW show on HGTV called "My House is Worth What?" that specifically details improvements people have made and how it did or did not affect the value of their home in dollars. I know you can't put in really specific stuff that noone else would appreciate except for you. But it has seemed to me that I could do some of the improvements that supposedly bring high returns (kitchens & bathrooms) and put in some wow factor items that might entice people to fall in love with the property. You know, help my house beat out the competition. That's where I was going with the granite and tile. :)
I really appreciate all the input! My husband would thank you, I'm sure. lol! ;-D
By the way, does anyone have any views on the banquette idea?! I laid down some couch pillows and butted our table over to give an idea of what it would look like. (Yes, I got some clearance roses last night!)
Here's another pic which gives the idea of the relation to the computer counter (which I'm not willing to photograph due to all the piles of mail and kid stuff strewn all over it!) ;-D
and finally, a close-up of the space. They sell unfinished cabinets at Home Depot that they are selling as like an entryway bench. They open with two cabinets. I was thinking if we could put two of those together, then maybe empty space in the corner, then one on the end, I could cover with an L-shaped piece of plywood.
I realize that the kitchen "bar" jutting out is a problem. I was thinking we could somehow put a skinny cabinet with sliding doors there? Something simply made, with beadboard? Add pillows?
We would have to get a pedestal table or reconfigure this one.
Already got a reply from a RE agent! (Went through MLS.com, I think.)
The estimated price range Ive provided is determined by several factors including age of the home, square footage, location, beds/baths, and the selling price of other similar homes in your area.
Remember this is just a preliminary estimate based on limited information. I can prepare a more precise valuation by viewing the overall condition of your home and comparing it to the properties currently listed in your neighborhood.
Once you have reviewed this information, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
I'm sure you are aware of the "national" real estate outlook. Oklahoma has been affected by the increase in interest rates. Home sales are slow and so is appreciation. When there are fewer buyers home prices tend to tick down a little to attract buyers. Generally, you can expect about 50 cents on the dollar on improvements, depending on the area of improvement.
Estimate of Your Homes Value: $103,714 - $121,751
I think the thing that put things in perspective for me, kitchens anyway, was an HGTV they had on about expensive kitchens. this couple spent like $60,000 on their kitchen. they had it all his/her sinks and refrigerators etc. then the camera shows them chopping green peppers and onions! I realized that you can do that in the most primitive of kitchens, then my mind started wandering and i wondered if these folks could even cook that good of food! Then i started thinking that these people probably eat out most of the time. if i had spent that kind of money on kitchen, i would have to get a degree in cooking and then never eat out again without feeling so guilty, nonetheless cooking a tv dinner or microwave dinner! granite counters are nice if you never use them. they're a pain when the kids spill red koolaid on them though. nothing at all wrong with stick tiles.
painting cabinets, or new hardware. new light fixture is major improvement. the most important thing in selling imho is CLEAN!!
i think i would knock out that little wall, get rid of the table and chairs, and move the bar
making it wider and bring it into the dining area. keep it counter height not bar height.
then against the back wall you would have more cabinet space. that would give you more counter space to work plus you would use it for the kitchen/dining table. also stools around the bar.
Thanks for your ideas! That's a thought. :) Hmm...I was thinking it would be valuable to save the concept of a "formal" dining space. I thought if the materials used were just right, it would serve holiday dinners and dinner parties as well as afternoon snacks and casual family meals.
I have attached a pic of a kitchen with a banquette styled similar to what I was imagining (as far as construction at least).
yes that's very nice and probably work better! i think i would still get rid of that little wall or at least the top part of it. i see there is a light switch on it.
If you've really got your heart set on granite, you might consider doing granite tiles instead of a granite slab. You can do those yourself if you know how to lay tile, or any handyman sort of person could do it, so you save money compared to having to pay for fabrication & installation of a slab. The granite tiles aren't as thick as a slab, and you also end up with grout lines but you can space the tiles pretty close together so the lines aren't that noticeable.
Before I forget, the middle off white. The top has too much peach, the bottom is too yellow. The bottom, Formica? is very similar to what I have. Go back up and look at my kitchen again. It's a faux granite Formica. And I LOVE it! But, I would honestly repeat the Formica you have in the dining area. What are the other colors? Wall colors?
You want your house to be in the best shape for the neighborhood. A house that's been well taken of and doesn't have a lot of things wrong it. That doesn't mean having granite counters because nobody else in the neighborhood has them. You want to have the best looking counters, without breaking the bank, but keeping in line with what's in your neighborhood. People are going to have a set amount that they want to spend on a house. Your house, with a new kitchen, is going to demand a higher price. Now, I'm a buyer and I've got XXX amount of money to spend and your house falls in my range. But nobody else in the neighborhoods house is worth that. So it doesn't make sense for me to buy a high priced house in a low priced neighborhood. I want my house in the neighborhood that all the houses in the neighborhood sell for around the same amount of money. Or I find a house that is moderately priced because it needs updating, in the higher range neighborhood and make upgrades that then will get the higher return demanded for that neighborhood.
I wouldn't start knocking down any walls. If you call this the formal dining room, where else is there to eat? Your kitchen doesn't look like an eat in kitchen, it looks like a kitchen with a dining area in front. But I wouldn't call it a formal dining room. I reserve that term for houses with an eat in kitchen that have a separate room that would be a formal dining room. My house doesn't have an eat in kitchen and it has a dining room. It's the only room to eat in, so it's not a formal dining room. Just like if your house has 1 "living room", I call it a living room. If you've got 2 rooms that could be used for that type of space, then 1 is a family room, the other is a formal (or just a) living room. Depending on how it's decorated. In this old house, I have what I call a parlor in front of my living room. The parlor is a sitting room with my computer in it.
Back to why I wouldn't knock out the wall. Your sink is there. Where's the sink going if the wall is gone? The kitchen you show is a galley style kitchen. Basically just a long narrow area with all the appliances in a line. If you remove that wall, or even knock it down to just above or at the sink, where's the rest of the cabinets going to go? It's a look I'd expect to see in a condo, but not a single family home. At least I wouldn't want it. Again, if I was the buyer, that long seat would have to go so I had room for my table and chairs. That's a specific look that not all home buyers are going to like. And if you take it with you, it's going to look silly without it. The house that I linked you to with the black and white tiles. It's a specific look that somebody's going to love or they're going to hate. So far, everybody hates. ;( It's higher priced home in this area, so for that amount of money, does anybody want to remove all that tile and redo it? Consensus so far is saying no. I tried to tell 'em...lol...I digress. I'd keep that bar like it is, and stick a couple of nice looking bar stools there. Change out the Formica though. I can imagine sitting on one as you're cooking, I'm watching (but of course!) and we're chatting. Great place for kids to sit and do homework, while you're making supper...etc.
I also wouldn't pay attention to what an e-mail said about how much my house is worth. How would they possibly know when they haven't been there? They aren't. I forgot last night to say that ecrane's suggestion of contacting a LOCAL Realtor was a very good one. Tell them why you'd like their help with what would be too much, what would be just about right. You want somebody who knows your area well. Regarding peel and stick tiles...my MIL has the peel and stick tiles in the enclose porch. It was enclosed before '56 my husband just told me (before his time he says..lol), and they look just as good today as I imagine they looked way back when. And they're red with touches of white. I'd say they've held up very well. I think the key, as it is with everything, is the prep work you do before you set about putting them in. You can also lay a thin subfloor down and lay them cleanly on it. That way, no design that's in the floor under is going to show. And that's also a common thing to do.
There's always going to be a price cap in any neighborhood you live in, when you live in a larger area. If you live in a neighborhood that has people with cars up on blocks, trash in the yard and just an unkempt appearance, you certainly can't think that because your house is in good to excellent condition, that people will ignore the other houses in the neighborhood. It just doesn't happen that way. Most people buy in certain areas because of the values of homes and the reputation the neighborhood has. Sometimes, people want to live in a certain area of town because they have a better school. Of course that depends on the town you live in. Here, we only have 1 school district, so all the kids go to the same school...unless you put them in parochial school. And even then, it doesn't matter where in town you live, as long as you've got the tuition ;)
You don't have much money. Think about the people who buy in your neighborhood. They're probably going to be in the same boat. Do the repairs you need to do so your house is a one that shows that the people care and the proper care as been taken of it. Update the bare minimum that you need to. Bank the rest, so when it's time to move on, you've got money in the bank to get a house in a neighborhood that has houses that cost a little more and that's more to your liking, with better cabinets and maybe even granite counters!
Wanna talk tedious? lol...the picture below is the spare bedroom. All the wood on saw horses was sanded, stained and polyed by me. The room had these gawd awful circles, walls and ceilings. We had to sand them all down, then do 6 skim coats. Then we primed. I didn't like the walls or the ceiling. So I skim coated again. Then primed again. Still wasn't satisfied. Skim coated again, primed again, not perfect, but not bad for a 111 yr old house. Then we painted the walls and ceilings. See the wood work in the room? Around windows, doors you can't see and the baseboards? It was all painted. I stripped it, cleaned it, sanded it, stained it and polyed it. My husband helped with sanding the walls, a little bit of the skim coating and priming and painting. I did everything else...whew, I'm tired just remembering it all ;0) and I'm not done...
I just have a minute as we are heading out of town for the weekend. Ironically, I have been "asked/hired" by my in-laws to clean a dingy old house they are putting on the market. :-)
Ok, Terry, you and I must have very similar tastes, b/c we often have the same thoughts. lol! Too bad you're not my neighbor here! I agree with the middle cream color. It is called LATTE and I was trying not to be biased based on its name. lol!
The other colors in that palette are living room/hallway colors. Since it's so open, I thought they all needed to go well next to each other. Over in "Paints/Finishes" forum, I asked about a warm/beigey/peachy color. I want to bring out the rust color in our brick fireplace, but still go with the kitchen. I just did the entryway in that taupe color you see, and just for some variation, I thought I would do the living room in a different color. I saw an Oprah where Nate redid a house (they were selling), and he named the paint he used as Lowe's American Traditions WARM BUFF. It was very similar to the one I had tentatively decided on, but had just a bit more of a rusty cinnamon tone to it. I'm going with it!! It looked awesome with white trim, which may be a project down the road. ;-D
I will be repeating the entryway color, TOASTED CASHEW, in the hallway, which means it will be the "background" so to speak when you look out of the kitchen into the hallway.
Granite tiles are a consideration, for sure. One reason I want granite is for a look that is definitely different from the computer counter. I don't want two similar looking formicas. What to do...
As far as the "dining room". Oh, I know it's not a formal dining room. Yes, this is IT. That's the problem. When we first saw the house, they had a big hutch and large table in there. Not a ton of room, but it worked. I consider that a selling point, but now that we're here, we have a little table that seats four. We use our computer constantly and needed a place for all the papers, etc. So we built the computer counter thinking it would be a good place for anyone with a computer or even just paying bills, etc. It still left room for the table, but less room of course. Well, I'm sick of needing the room on all sides of the table for chairs. It seems like it would be a space saver to have the seating on the one side butted into that corner. It would be great if it were in an "eat in" kitchen and there WERE a formal dining room, but it's not. Like I said, this is it. So, I think it would be great for daily use, but may not be best for Christmas dinner. That's why I was wondering if nice materials might still give it an air of "formality." I had considered doing something to the bar area, like adding some neat tiles and adding bar stools, but that would eliminate space for a table, (I think.) It would at least add to the crowded feel.
Wow, that is an INCREDIBLY tedious job! Phew! I'm tired too, just thinking of it! lol!
Robin, don't think your of dining area as being a problem. I honestly don't think it is. My cousins husband is in the HVAC trade and we recently had a family reunion. He was saying how the trend is now an open floor plan, nobody wants a formal dining room. The house I grew up in had a formal dining room with an eat in kitchen, but the new owners knocked down the wall between the 2 rooms. I think it's goofy, because that house has what my mom used as a formal living room, then we had the family room. It's just weird to me that now the house has both those rooms, but this huge kitchen.
With a Formica computer counter in the dining room, I'm not sure formal is the word that I would use. I'm also not sure about granite in the kitchen and Formica in the dining room. It just seems like the 2 rooms, being next to each other, should flow with the same materials. I think of a formal dining room and of course my parents comes in my head. Cherry long table, 8 matching chairs with white seats, matching buffet and hutch. The chandelier is a Swarovski. Big, huge and beautiful. The floors are a medium stained oak, with a border around the edge stained in cherry. Fireplace, with a cherry surround and mantel, marble for the hearth. Pocket door to close it off from the kitchen, french doors to close it from the foyer. My sister and I have fun with what we'd do. The fireplace and floors would stay the same. All furniture comes out. A huge old antique farm table and probably ladderback chairs. An antique pie safe where the hutch is and that would be it. Oh, a mirror above the mantel. We go back and forth on colors for the walls. Perhaps a chair rail, that doesn't look like the chair rails you buy now, but the kinds you'd find in an old house. They're usually just wood ripped to about 3" and routered. And we'd use 2 different colors. But I digress yet again...lol...
Using 2 different materials, such as Formica in 1 room and then to have granite in the other, just wouldn't look that good to me. Like you used up all the money on the kitchen and then skimped on materials for the computer counter. I don't think I would of put in a counter for my computer in the dining room. I'd of bought a desk or bought 2 wood file cabinets for either end of my plywood stained top. And put it someplace else. Something economical that I would take with me when I moved. Ever watch Sell This House? The sellers don't use the dining room, so they shove a table over into the wall and use it more for an office and potential buyers can't figure out if it's an office or a dining room?
That counter on the pass thru would probably come off fairly easy, especially if you could locate the screws. If you had somebody fashion another top, made of wood and put crown molding at the bottom of it and then put in a bench underneath that. Similar to the below picture. But this one stuck out over the edge, you'd want yours flush. I'd make the base or bench (with storage underneath) removable, then you'd specify that it went with you when you moved.
I'll post another picture so you get the top as a whole.
If you think doing that was work, then you don't want to know what all I've done in this house...lol...
This is that area in the finished basement. We had the funny 4x4's as supports and this was my idea for the guy who finished the basement to cover those up, plus get rid of the 4x4's and use 2 2x6's nailed together instead for better support. Then they framed out the bottom part. I pretty much laid out how I wanted the basement and he did it for me...lol. He liked my idea for the cover up, but he thought I should have a counter top there, but I liked my idea much better ;0)
The best advice I ever got from a local RE agent was that a buyer's eye goes to the CHEAPEST thing in a room, and prices the house accordingly.
In other words, be consistent in both design and materials, and keep your home's basic systems well maintained. That will give you the best "bang for the buck". You're trying to make your home into something it isn't, and I don't think your local market will support it.
I haven't read but the first part of this thread, but dying to get in on this one...will be back later...
kitchen...first thing on lighting you just do is put flat flourescent lighting on the ceiling...those inexpensive 2x4 or even bigger if you can do it...
Next get your husband to run lighting on the top of the cabinets in the kitchen...it is just a n ugly wire with little lights every so often...
Put something decorative that you love on top of the cabinets...go to the junk store, find some old plates in different sizes and other things...you probably already have things you already own that could go up there...colorful vases, etc...
Now the lighting is solved...makes it look contemporary and have lots of light to not make you feel so enclosed...use formica in a really nice forest green on the counter tops...keeps you into the price of getting your money back...
I would not paint at all those cabinets...they will chip badly...just add a darker finish after one quick use of an electric sander ...they will look darker , glossy and very clean...
I couldn't help but notice your Talouse-Lautrec poster in the dining area...he is one of my favorite artists of all times...
I will go back and read the rest of your thread when my company goes home on Tuesday...this sounds very exciting...
i don't know what colors you have used so far...just know that green is always a neutral color and doesn't offend anyone...it looks good with any colors you have in the rest of the house...they even make formica now that doesn't show cuts or anything because there is a fleck in it...
I agree with terryr, don't put fluorescent lights in the kitchen unless you have to (or unless they're already there and you don't want to replace them!). I have fluorescent lights in the kitchen (inherited from the previous owner) and I really don't like them, they do give a lot of light but they are just not as attractive as other kinds of lights. And paint on the cabinets is fine, if you do it right it won't chip.
Ok...I give up...been there and done that twice in my life...painting old cabinets...didn't work for me, but may for you...Fluorescent light is very back in homes...even verrrry expensive homes...lots of choices...
I think I don't belong (LOL) in this decorating on DG...
But I must mention that all the homes I have remodeled have been featured in many magazines, including Southern living...so I just realize we don't all have the same taste in decorating...
That was very inconsiderate of me to brag which i did...and it is true what I have written. And...it is doubly tacky of you to make another post about fluorescent lights belonging in the garage...especially since it merely an opinion based on no knowledge of the new fluorescent lighting that will save money and energy as a nation.
Actually, fluorescent lights have mercury in them. The mercury, although innocuous, can and should be distilled out of discarded fluorescent lamps before disposal. Halogen bulbs however, contain toxic bromine and iodine. Those chemicals are common in seawater and pose little health threat in such small quantities and can be disposed of without the worry that comes with fluorescent lighting. A halogen bulb's hotter filament gives it a whiter, more energy-efficient light, far superior to fluorescent lighting. Halogen is going to save money and energy, not fluorescent.
You may win!!!!!!!!!!! It seems to be verrrrry important to you...even if you have to change the subject to win...you have won...without a hint of what i was saying...
Now why doesn't everyone get back to helping the person who asked for help in the beginning ...
I didn't change the subject. You brought fluorescent lighting into the conversation and then went on to say that it would save money and energy for the nation. I was correcting your statement for anybody else who is reading that would potentially believe that fluorescent lighting is energy and money saving for any nation, when in fact, it's not.
ACK!! What happened here?! lol! Thanks for the info guys! Terry, you've been SO helpful, and I must admit, I think fluorescent lights do have that reputation of being rather institutional. But maybe they're better today than in the past? have heard halogen puts off heat, which I'm trying to avoid. I do think some under cabinet zenon (?) lights will be cool if I ever get that far. The previous owner did put up a rope light on the top of the cabinet, but it does not have a switch. It is plugged in via an outlet inside the spice cabinet (above the stove.)
I actually TRY to be very environmentally conscious, but have all around sucked at it since my first child was born. (2003!) I have been looking at light fixtures that might match the BARGAIN find I got for the dining room! I hope I like it once it's up!! I think silver would have been nice, but I think I'm going for more bronzey tones, maybe even black. I would make myself crazy trying to get ALL the fixtures to match perfectly, so I'm just shooting for close enough. ;-)
I am actually considering painting (with metallic paint) the fixture that's there and changing the globes.
The fixture was marked down to $33!! (It was over $100. I wonder if I should run back and get another to install in the living room?!?!) My husband is not 100% sold on the idea of losing the ceiling fan, but I THINK I convinced him by saying we could hang it in the garage, which is actually desperately needed out there! Hee hee!!
Gail, that is awesome that you have been published in Southern Living! Wahoo!! Yes, I took an old French Art calendar and framed two of my favorites. I
PS I'm still wanting a SOLATUBE and that should help bring lots of nice natural light in and not cost a cent! ;-D
Thanks so much, guys, I'm a bit stalled right now due to money and time issues, but I am definitely thinking all the time about all the choices!!
I wondered where you'd gone! I like that light fixture, way to go! You have nothing to lose by painting the fixture already in your kitchen. They have (Rust-Oleum) Black Night Metallic spray paint or one that I started to use for the old mailbox that was on this house (then decided that my copper post one was much better!) was hammered black. It really looked hammered, pretty darn neat looking. If you're needing a new/old mailbox that hangs on the house, just let me know ;0)
I recently bought the 2 x 4 fluorescent lights, 1 for the basement and 2 for the garage. No, they look exactly the same. Cheap. Thankfully, my families business uses the fluorescent tube lights, so I have a way to get rid of them when their life is over (a hazardous waste company comes and gets them to dispose of them correctly).
Here is the silver spray paint I played with on an aging silver basket I had. I have yet to paint the bottom wicker portion white. :) It came out more "grey primer" than I would like. I wanted more actual silver, but I think you have to really coat it on to get the "hammered" effect, and hey, it was $5 a can. ;-)
I spent a good portion of this evening looking for a light fixture that would go in the kitchen with the new one in the dining room and it's going to be tough! I would definitely save money by just painting this one, then adding similar (alabaster) globes.
PS In this pic, I laid out the sample of the "Sedona Spirit" HD Laminate that I thought might look nice in this bathroom. ;-)
Well hmmm...mine didn't take much to get the hammered effect. I'm wondering if it's because I had more of a solid area than you've got? I'd coat it again to see if you couldn't get that hammered look. Also, have you seen this? http://www.rustoleum.com/Product.asp?ddf=51&frm_product_id=1...
I wonder if this color would be similar to the fixture you just bought? It's hard to tell on the picture, but it looks like an aged pewter on my monitor. What color does it say the light is?
The upper cabinet looks great! So much better with the duct tape off...lol! I like the pull, but I have to ask, is it antique brass? You did the Polycrylic on it too, correct? If not, in such a humid wet area like the bathroom, you're going to need to. Plus it'll stop the paint from possibly chipping.
I think maybe the paint needs to be on a wider area before you'll see the hammered effect. The wires that basket is made of are pretty narrow, so you may not really be able to see the hammered effect, but if you did it on something that had wider areas maybe it would be more noticeable?
There! Finally it posted! Don't know what was going on.
The knobs and pulls are brushed nickel. I did polycrylic on both top and bottom cabinets. They have a thick finish that I don't THINK will chip easily. It has sort of a wet look which I don't think I'll care for quite as much in the kitchen, but I'm still happy that you shared that product with me, Terry! It really helped the durability I think.
Yes, I think you're right, ecrane, that the teeny little wires on the basket just aren't showing off the hammered finish. I'll try a second coat.
I'm really going back and forth between hardwood (saw a pretty "butterscotch" color) and DuraCeramic for the flooring options. I got a sample of laminate and soaked it in water overnight and it did warp SOME but not much. I thought that was pretty good, but people just seem to LOVE hardwood! Got a sample of that and dropped a can of spaghettios on it and it made a good sized dent. :-( Did not dent the laminate, but apparently it's not recommended for kitchens and baths and those are the areas I'm looking at. I wonder if my husband could install either of them ourselves??
The finish on the box of the light fixture says "metallic bronze". But I would almost call it a weathered patina. Maybe weathered pewter. Terry, that product looks like it would give me what I'm looking for more than the stuff I have. Thanks, I'll check it out.
I had a conversation with my husband about the cabinet paint color. I said that if we HONESTLY are NOT going to replace appliances with stainless steel (even in the next few YEARS,) then maybe I should go with a basic white on the cabinetry instead of the "latte" color I had chosen. He didn't specifically tell me we'd get new appliances, but in the end said that he liked the cream color better. It basically matches the color of the countertops, which I don't know if that's a good thing or not. But it will not match the white of the appliances. Decisions, decisions.
This is only and only my opinion...the kitchen light fixture really outdates the home...you could move it in the master bedroom where it would look nice...still need something flat and very contemporary in kitchen proper itself...
Actually there are some very nice fluorescent fixtures on the market as well as the new daylight and warm white fluorescents which are EXCELLENT, and more than comparable to incandescents. Electronic ballasts do away with all the annoying "hum" of the old type.
The downside is this market is still just beginning to get traction and the fixtures are much more expensive. However, one thing about living in CA is that we see everything about 15-20 yrs before everybody else! Title 24 effective last year mandates all remodels and new construction use 80% hard-wired fluorescent fixtures to save energy (we have some of the highest utility costs in the US). Already mfgs are starting to come out with better looking fixtures, or offer fixtures wired in your choice of incandescent or fluorescent.
Since Robin is working on a budget, I wouldn't worry about using fluorescents for now because the better stuff is out of her price range. However, within 5 yrs I'll expect to see serious market penetration start to appear, with the push CA is giving to the mfgs. We had low-flush toilets and tougher state car pollution laws long before other states, and this too, will spread across the US eventually.
Ok, here's my next big idea before I really dig into the cabinet project. Tell me what you think:
Here's a pic. I want to add trim where that cheap routed plywood is. The only problem is, how do I add the trim on top of a hollow groove. Just nail it in place and assume there will be a bit of space in between the trim and the groove? Is this making sense?
Thanks for opinions!!
PS The master bedroom has a big vaulted ceiling and the same ceiling fan as in the dining currently. Really, do you think it would look that bad if it were painted and had matching swirled alabaster globes? I just kind of want it to blend in. Not stick out.
I think your second choice is much better looking than the chande lier for the kitchen...still am going to search for a contemporary flat one that is inexpensive whether it uses fluorescent or regular lighting...it is the "look" you are after anyway...
I may should keep my mouth shut because I may not have the facts right...you need a fixure for the kitchen and you have a chandelier for the dining area not in the kitchen proper????? is that right??????????
so now the "dilemma" is to find something that would work in the galley kitchen, which is open to the dining area. Here's that fixture as it is right now. I thought MAYBE I could paint it and add alabaster swirled globes to coordinate with the dining fixture and just have it kind of blend in, not really stand out.
Sorry if I'm not clear, I usually have chaos at my feet with 2 kids as I'm posting! Thanks for help! I need it!! lol!!
So I thought MAYBE it could go in the kitchen. Or, as I said, I might be able to paint what's there and switch out the globes. :)
Just as a reminder, this whole "remodeling" thing started with our entryway and I put THIS fixture in there. I am thinking of repeating it down the hall and by our back door. So I don't want too many of those inverted globe type fixtures. I even thought of just sticking one of these in the kitchen, but it's only 2 lights. :( You look straight at this entryway when standing in the kitchen.
Robin, I had that exact fixture you have in entryway in the kitchen down in TN. It wasn't a galley kitchen, so I had another light over by the stove. Below is the light fixture in this room, the parlor. It would look good in your kitchen, but maybe in a different color. I don't think you'd want a chandelier in the kitchen, you'd knock your head. I'd also try painting and buying some new globes for it before I bought something else. You never know till you try what it's going to look like.
Where's the ceiling fan you showed above? In the dining room or the living room? I remember you said you had one in the living room...?? If it is in the living room, I'm kind of with your husband in leaving it. I've only got 1 ceiling fan on the first floor and it's in the living room. Or change it out to one that you like better. I don't like lights on mine, so we use table and floor lamps. And yes, I actually walk to the lamp and turn it on...lol. The bedroom has a small lamp on my husbands dresser and another one on mine. Our daughter however, loves the ceiling light/fan combo.
That paint isn't going to chip off with the sealer coat on top. Did you use satin or semi-gloss for the Polycrylic? I only use satin, but I guess you could say it has a certain sheen to it. But then again, any new wood cabinet that you'd buy is going to have a finish on it too.
For that trim you want to add, can you find a piece that's maybe a little wider? That way there would be no gap. That's not going to look right, IMHO. If it was wider, it would cover the whole thing. I also wouldn't nail it, I'd use Liquid Nails or wood glue at the very least.
jkmom, that's funny about CA getting things 15-20 yrs before others do (which I seriously don't doubt!). Our builder in TN said they were the ones who always got the newest and latest gadgets in...lol.
the ceiling fan shown above is in BOTH the dining and the living room. They are only about 10-12 ft. apart, I'd say. That's why I think it might work. In a perfect world, a fan would be nice, but right now, I'm going more for looks. The place is only 1130 sf. I mean, come on, we should just turn up the air if we need to!! lol!! ;-D I am hoping this gives the small kitchen/dining area enough panache to offset its small size.
Terry, did you like that light in the kitchen? I'm thinking about it, I guess. I love your fixture. Esp. in the silver. If I were doing silver hardware, I'd go for it!! I'll keep searching for alabaster globed semi-flush mount light fixtures!! The one day I was able to drag hubby to a kitchen showroom, he liked a black knob with what looked like wheat stalks circling around it. I think something like that would be nice.
Ok, time for dinner! More later!! Thanks for the input!!
forgot to add, that's a good idea on the trim. I actually LOOKED for a skinny piece, b/c in my mind, that's what I needed. I was trying to avoid taking off a cabinet to haul into the store, since I'm not fully sure when I'll get the project going for real.
It was an upside down L-shaped kitchen. In the __ part, was the fridge and the sink, pantry beside the fridge. That's where the light like yours was. There were also those can lights (2 of them) above the sink, which I don't like and never used. In the l part, was the majority of cupboards and the stove. Above the stove was the light pictured below and showing that area. It doesn't show the whole thing, but it's a pendent light. I bought it up here, long before we moved, took it with us down there, and it's currently in a box somewhere in the basement. it's waiting to be put up in the hallway upstairs when we get the skim coats, painting and refinishing of floors done that is. Did I like the one like yours? Not really. I would of preferred something that was semi-flush, but with the pantry door, it could only be flush ;( I would of rather had semi-flush, because they give off more light than those particular flush mount styles.
Just measure the width of the gap and add just a hair. You don't need to drag in a door with you, just measure it at home. You can always return it if it's not right.
I don't think I've ever seen a chandelier in a living room. It's just my opinion of course, but I'm not sure I'd like it. If anybody has pictures of one though, I'd love to see. I just can't picture it in my head. Seems like it would be more formal looking?
You know what? The light above is the one I purchased to replace mine when we decided to sell. Here's picture I just found that my dad took when we first moved in. Counters are a mess. You can see that my light is similar to the one I bought to replace it, mine just flares out more (and more expensive!). I wondered why it didn't look quite right...lol. You can see the original pulls that the builder put on. Yes, they're brass and ceramic and I specifically said no brass. I also hadn't painted yet.
Remember you said you wanted a stainless steel sink? I had one and I disliked it. I found the exact one at Lowe's...it was $39 and only 5" deep. Ever tried to put a bucket under a faucet in a sink that shallow? Anyway, this is what I put in instead. I also changed out the faucet. I'm sorry, the only pictures of I have of when we moved in are the ones my dad took, so I don't have one that shows the original sink and faucet. All mine were lost when my computer crashed. Back up your pictures!!
Ok, I feel bad that all of you are out there searching light fixtures for me! lol! I had previously looked at several of those you linked, Terry, and liked some, had issues with others, BUT...
CHECK THIS OUT!
Tell me what you guys think. I used the hammered spray paint in a VERY quick way. I would definitely need to do a second coat, but I think this will work. As I said, I just kind of want it to blend in and work with everything else. I'm pretty happy for now. (I see that I actually painted on dust. Ugh. I didn't even take it completely down. I really thought it would not look good, so I did a super shoddy job. My husband couldn't believe I spray painted in the house, but it worked!)
PS The globes I stole from a ceiling fan in my son's room. No big deal.
Robin, I was bored...lol. Wish I'd of seen that place before I broke the bank on the ones I've got. Oh well.
I like it! I knew it would look good spray painted and with different globes! The dust, well it just adds a certain penash that no other light fixture has...LOL!
With only $10 difference, I just want what will make the job easier. Plus, it's not like we wouldn't use it again in the future.
The other things I'm considering for now are, what kind of trim might look nice on top of the cabinets. This was a cheap one I found: (I would have to buy quite a bit of it, so price definitely matters, but of course, I want it to look good.) http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productI...
I'm going back and forth on cabinet pulls, also. Gail, you said something about being careful that black doesn't bring a Spanish look. :-) I have seen cream colored cabinets that I really like with wrought iron hardware. I think this would be very pretty: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productI...
But the way things are headed in our kitchen, I'm beginning to reconsider nickel. I also like bronze, but I think that rustic thing looks better in a living room. For a kitchen to look truly updated, I think silver, which goes with stainless, is a good way to go. What about this, it seems kind of like a combo of contemporary and traditional: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productI...
Personally, I am sorry that I chose the brushed chrome for my kitchen...I almost used the ceramic ones...wish I had...the chrome look is so overdone...my cabinets would have looked so much better with a tan ceramic knob...
I am running late...be back this afternoon with some more ideas and pics...
Why are you going to spray your cabinets???????? Mine were painted by hand...
It's easier to get a nice smooth paint job on cabinets if you use the sprayer. It can be done by hand (I painted mine by hand too at my old house) but you have to be a lot more careful about it to get a smooth finish. Spraying is also faster.
On the cabinet pulls--I'd try not to get too many different colors of metal going in the kitchen, personally I think things look more pulled together if you have similar metals throughout. So you could match them to the metal in your light fixture. Or if you fall in love with a particular metal for the cabinet pulls, you could repaint the light fixture to match.
That's not a belt sander. It's a palm sander. You can find them at your local Ace, HD, Lowe's, our SW store has them...they're easy to find. You don't need to order one online. Oh, Sears has a good one too. For a sprayer, you can rent them. I wouldn't buy. I need to go away for the morning/afternoon, I'll be back later. I just wanted you to have this information. BTW, I love my brushed nickel pulls and knobs!! Ceramic are too country-ish for me.
I just happen to have $50 in gift certif. from Amazon. Plus, in buying something I know NOTHING about, I was going by reviews. :)
Renting a sprayer is a good idea. I wonder how much...
So which do I need a belt or palm sander? I have NO IDEA about this. lol! ;-)
I really don't want to go with a bunch of different metals either, ecrane. That drives me nuts. So which are you guys recommending? The weathered pewter, which might go best with both light fixtures? Plus it would go with some of my stainless small appliances and maybe SOMEDAY stainless large appliances! ;-D
As far as resale for the future, I am trying to appeal to a young, hip couple with maybe some more contemporary/eclectic tastes as well as a more country-style lovin' family types.
Gail, I think your kitchen is pretty and the knobs look great! :-)
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Keep it comin'!!
PS Is anyone else enjoying a "cold spell" today? It's 77 degrees here today!
Robin, a belt sander is a bigger harder to handle sander. I wouldn't recommend it. If you slip with it, it will make a gouge in your wood. I'd go with a palm sander. I've got 2 and I use them all the time. Seems I'm always doing something ;) Renting the sprayer is probably dependent on where you live, as with most everything. I think when we inquired about it for painting some horizontal lattice, that it was $50 a day. They also have these unique little sort of aerosol type things you can use. Here, they were $10. You used your own paint, but it only held about 2 pints maybe and after that, you had to buy another. So it's not really very cost conscious. To rent a sprayer, you need to do all your prep work first, then go get the sprayer and spray primer, then paint. I'd brush on the Polycrylic. I'm not sure if you can spray the Polycrylic, I know it comes in a spray can, but when I used it, it bubbled. And just like ecrane said, spraying them is giving you a better overall smooth finish.
For the different metals...I like a variety of metals, just like I like a variety of woods and a variety of colors. My kitchen light fixture is that burnished copper look, my knobs and pulls are nickel, my faucet is chrome, my stove and micro have stainless steel with black, my toaster oven has chrome with black. The door to the basement has the old blackened original doorknob and plate, the 1/2 bath off the kitchen has a nickel doorknob and the back door, right beside the 1/2 bath, is black. It's all in what you like and what's pleasing to your eye. If you like the metals to all match, then do that! Don't let any of us sway your decision. We don't live there, you do!
Hey Gail, I love the color you painted on your cabinets up there. My girlfriend and family recently moved into a house with those types of cabinets, but in the wood. My girlfriend can't stand them, can't afford to replace, so wants to paint them. The color that shows up on my monitor would be PERFECT in her house! Would you give me permission to send her an e-mail with the above picture?
Terry...thanks and you are more than welcome to send the following pics...that picture doesn't show much...my kitchen and breakfast area is open...
You said something about country...this is a 75 year old farm house that has knotty pine walls throughout...that is why I wanted to remodel it and live in it...so sound proof with these painted knotty pine walls...
i have the paint cans down at the barn and I can give you the exact color of the cabinets...some local man made them at home and brought them out to install them...Oh...I forgot the reason i chose this color for the cabinets is that is the same burnished mustard yellow as my chairs are...
you can see that the counter top is all that divides these two areas...those glass cabinet doors have underlight zeon lighting in them...just to separate the two rooms a little bit...
Oh no Gail! When I said country, I meant the decorating style that is referred to as being country.Lots of cutesy knick knacks around and such. Bunnies and bears are 2 pretty popular items in country decorating. I bought a small cabinet that holds a VCR, a DVD and that sort of thing. It's pine, with the 2 top doors having glass in them and the 2 bottom being solid, to hold movies or whatever. The knobs on it are ceramic. I've been wanting to paint it black for a long time. I'm changing out the ceramic knob to ones in the blackened nickel. I also have an end table, that I bought in one of the stores that carry the country decorating type stuff. It's also pine, but it's drop leaf. Both side of the end table drop down, leaving you with a narrow middle part and drawer. You can either put both sides up, 1 side down, or both sides down, depending on how you'd want it. It also has the ceramic knob on the drawer. That's getting refinished in red mahogany with a blackened nickel knob. Both those items are (crammed) here in this room, waiting for the floors to be refinished up in the spare room, and of course for me to paint and refinish them. Most things I see that I would call that type of decorating style, will have either a wood knob or a ceramic one. That was what I meant. Our house is 111 yrs old and is referred to as a farm house style. It doesn't fit into any other category I guess...lol. My girlfriend wasn't so lucky to have custom made cabinetry in her kitchen. They're nice enough, but the finish on them just isn't to her liking. They're birch with the same type of panels I see in yours. FWIW, I love the brushed nickel knobs on yours. I will forward on the pictures and I'd love to know the name of the darker color. Thank you! Your kitchen is very nice.
Went to dinner with friends tonight. YEA!! He flips houses on the side and has sander, sprayers, tile cutters, whatever we would need! Yahoo!! I am so glad now that I didn't use my Amazon birthday money on those things. I can now shop for something else! ;-D
I pulled out my swatches (colors) to show my girlfriend. She is a very opinionated woman and didn't say anything at first when she saw the cream paint color for the cabinets. I think she expected pure white. Also, I'm second guessing the green. I see SO MANY honey/beigey colored kitchens. I love that color, but I'm doing that in the living room. I guess I went with the green for some punch and also to tie in with the green/black computer counter. Does anyone NOT LIKE the green on the walls? It's not too late to change. I'm not afraid to buy new paint. I will have to ask hubby if he has decided he likes it or not. :-) It's funny how they say they don't care, it's not their thing, it's all fine with them, until they DON'T like something, then they have quite the opinion on everything!! ;-D
Gail, your house is so pretty! You guys are killing me with these pics of beautifully decorated, spacious rooms! lol! I saw that you love African Violets! That cabinet with the Gro-Lights is so awesome! What a neat idea!! I might have to steal that for somewhere in here! ;-D Oh and I agree with Terry, the cabinets are very nice looking!!
Opinions on the trim added to the cabinets? Worth the trouble?? How would that look? Seems easy enough and would distinguish the cabinetry from the rest of the cabinets in the house. Would you go with a beaded design, leaf design, simple raised panel?
I won't even get into countertops and floors right now. I go back and forth all the time!!
Good night! I'm pooped!! Thanks so much for the input, everyone!!
Robin ;-D
Those cabinets above are birch? You're kidding me? If they are, it's a small world...lol. I've sent the pictures that shows the cabinets the best on to her. I can't wait for her to see! There might be more painting in my future... that isn't in or on my own house...LOL!
On the green...I can't remember if you already posted a pic of your green swatch, but as long as it's a neutral sagey sort of green that should appeal to plenty of people. If it's neon green, or St. Patty's day green, then that's another story!
As far as the trim--if you're just doing this for yourself, then go with whatever trim you like the best. But if you're doing it also to appeal to the widest range of people possible if you sell the house in a year or two, I would probably go with the simpler trim. Definitely not the leaves, I think those are going to be a little more polarizing for potential buyers since they might not go with everyone's style. The beaded trim would be a little better, but since that's not something you see often on cabinets it also may not appeal to everyone (anytime you have something out of the ordinary, it can turn some people off). Although personally I think the beaded one or the leaves would be pretty and unique!
I want to understand your house better. I'm thinking it's an open floor plan, with the living room and dining area side by side, kitchen is in back of (or in front of?) the dining area? More pictures please to show where dining area is in conjunction with living room? Kitchen is only open to dining area and living room with the pass thru?
How would you do a simple raised panel working with the routered out areas? I'm not understanding, sorry ;( I, personally, like the beaded trim. I don't know what it is about leaves, wheat or flowers for me, love them outside in my yard and gardens, but don't care for them in the house. I'm weird, I know. And that's in MY house BTW, not anybody else's house!
Robin, I also wanted to say that usually the first idea that pops into my head is the one I should always go with. Sometimes, I get talked into (my sister!) something different than I wanted and I always regret it. Painting is easy though to fix! TG!
Yes, it's a sagey green. This thread is gargantuous, but I THINK there is a pic up there showing the new paint on the wall. I'll try and post something else here in a minute.
Here is an example of a moulding/trim that I was thinking I could cut and nail on top of my cabinets before I paint them:
The one I bought (that is too small) is pictured here and has a beaded design, but is just a bit too narrow to fit over the routed part, so it wouldn't really work. But, Terry as you pointed out, to simply go for a wider option, I think that would work. BUT...would nails be visible? Any way I can do it more professionally to avoid that? How are (real) cabinets made with this kind of trim? Nailed from the back perhaps??? Again, I have no idea. ;-)
Ok, I'm off to see if I can find some better pics of my living/dining/kitchen area. :-) Scroll back up and see if any of those above make sense.
Thanks!! (Didn't I say I was going to sleep? I'm shopping on Amazon!! lol!)
I would use Liquid Nails. I also want to see how your kitchen is in conjunction with living room and dining area. Are they all separate rooms and can have different paint? Isn't there a part where the kitchen and dining area share a wall? How will you define that part, if not painting all the way into the dining area? I hope that makes sense...
Ok, here is a link to our homepage, which has pics of our home when we first bought it. (2003)
I tried to update it last night with more current pics, but then I remembered why it's such a pain in the butt. Since we bought a newer camera a few years ago, I have to resize each pic. I will go ahead and do it sometime today if the kiddos let me. But hopefully this will help. :) Let me know if it does not!!
I would probably be tempted to do varying shades of the color you like the best, since all 3 rooms are open to each other. For instance, the dining area and kitchen could be the same, with your living room a couple shades darker. Bedrooms and baths could be painted their own colors. Our first house was a small house at only 1080 sq ft. It had a cathedral ceiling that spanned the living room into the eat in kitchen. In the kitchen, on the only wall that wasn't shared with the living room, I did the pine plank tongue and groove and painted it with milk paint in a shade I sort of created on my own. Like Gail, I was matching up to my chairs, which are blue. The hallway was the same color as the lr and kitchen, except it had oak on the bottom half, oak chair rail and what they call picture framing. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures ;( they crashed along with my old computer. The bedrooms (3) and 1 bath, were all painted differently. In this old house, even though it's not an open floor plan and the rooms are visible from each other, they have wood trim going all around the openings. Only 2 opening don't have either a door or a pocket door. So I felt confident in painting them all separate colors. The colors flow, but I didn't have to figure out where to stop a color. Newer houses have just drywall for the corners into the next room. You have to stop a color somewhere on the corner piece and continue with the next color, making it smooth and even.
Thanks, Terry, for the advice. I posted a pic of a palette I had tentatively decided upon. The lighter beige is Behr's "Toasted Cashew" and started this whole redecorating mania! I wanted to get rid of the wallpaper in my entryway and redo the floor. Done. :) Then I chose a slightly warmer, darker shade, which I've yet to paint, which will tie in with the very dark brick fireplace. It is Valspar's "Warm Buff". It was basically what I was trying to find, then Nate mentioned it on a show on Oprah and I decided on it.
The kitchen/dining area, which shares walls, are the sage green, "Marine Reef." However, I want the two rooms to have separate identities, so I am fine with the flooring and counters to be different.
I am starting to rethink the cream cabinets. I found THIS PICTURE on HGTV's Rate My Space and in reading the comments, learned that these are PAINTED CABINETS. I have NO IDEA if I could find the shade that would pull this off, but I think it might go over better in our kitchen than cream. I simply LOVE LOVE LOVE the French country and Tuscan inspired kitchens with cream glazed cabinets and wrought iron hardware, but I am beginning to think our house will not be able to pull that look off. I might be better off trying to go "contemporary" to bring an updated feel instead of "rustic".
Does it get any cuter? ;-D It even has the bench/banquette feature I was wanting to try. I'm posting a pic in case the above link does not work. When I see kitchens like this, I rethink my sage green, but this is basically the "Warm Buff" that I am going to do in the living room.
Thanks for opinions on which look you think I should try for!
PS Wish me luck on getting my husband to install the light fixture today. I am thinking of painting the wood trim in the octoganal recessed area white first. I would like to go to all white trim eventually. Have to start small though. I kind of want that feature to disappear, because I don't really like it.
Warm buff is a real winner...you could still use warm buff and brick red anywhere...
One reason it is so hard to recreate that Tuscany look is because none of us has the money to use all the commercial appliances...the black wrought iron look to me belong either in a spanish hacienda (quite large and open) or the Tuscany look ...Our small homes we don't need those fabulous commercial ovens, stove tops , copper or hoods, etc...we could never get our money out of them...
Yes, I agree. I may not be able to get new appliances either, at least not right now.
What do you think about painting the wood on this recessed tray? I REALLY want to, but wonder if I would regret it. Wish I could try it and "erase" it if I didn't like it. lol! I guess it doesn't exactly work that way, does it? ;-)
So, your recommendation would be to lean towards the "contemporary" look? What do you all think about painting the cabinets a cherry wood like color? I would appreciate that it would be free of that heavy grain at least. I really think paint is necessary to help hide all the wear on these cabinets. At least going with a wood like color would make inevitable knicks less noticeable. I also was trying to figure out, if I painted in cream, where does the paint end? The inside of the drawers and doors are worn and could use freshening up. White is so high contrast, I would have to go all or nothing with painting the insides of everything.
If you look at pics of my living room, our fireplace has a lot of oak too, which is directly across from the recessed octoganal tray in the dining area. Would it look weird to paint one and not the other? I WOULD like to eventually do something like maybe paint the brick and/or mantle, but I'm not at all sure about it yet. I wouldn't want to make a decision about the dining room that would affect the mantle later.
Is this making any sense?
Thanks for all the input! Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!
PS Here is a pic of the sage green wall with my original prints hung back up. I really like the smooth cherry look with the green. I had my daughter hold up a couple of other wood samples. I think the "oak" looks very country with the green, whereas the cherry looks more high end and modern. Agree? Disagree?
don't paint the recessed area...just brings attention to it...
Please don't use a cherry red...use a brick red on the cabinets...cherry just looks pink and you don't want pink I don't think...I have painted many a fireplace made of bricks...I usually paint them like the white of the baseboards and any molding that might exist...then paint the walls whatever I wish...
I've never wanted to recreate a Tuscany look, so I'll believe what Gail says...lol. I like the first photo the best, but not because of the lighting or the appliances. The cabinets are more traditional in appearance in my head...which is assuming I know what traditional really is...lol. Gail, is the color of the first pictures cabinets what you're referring to as brick red? If so, Ben Moore historical color Georgian brick looks close. On my monitor anyway. Not sure about having a sample in my hand. Well, o.k. I have a sample. I have the Color Preview of historical colors and it's in it. There's another sample called Garrison Red. You might want to check them out. Or print out the photo and take it with you to get the one that's closest. Print it on photo paper if you can, it's more accurate. I would rather see the Warm Buff on the walls with the reddish colored cabinets than the white. I have wrought iron drapery rods and a wrought iron chandelier. To me, the style I have anyway, looks old. Like my house. The wrought iron is simple though. My mom used to have wrought iron on her end tables in the house I grew up in. It was a step up into the formal living room and that had a wrought iron railing. They were all the scallopy style though. My mom had a designer, who called it Mediterranean. Not a clue what that means ;D
To me, since it's a dining area and not a room, it should be similar to the kitchen, if not the same. If it was a room, then yes, I'd probably paint it different. For instance my kitchen is painted Hot Apple Spice and my dining room is painted Richmond Gold. The colors really compliment each other though. If you have the money to put in a tile back splash, then I can see the kitchen painted one color and the dining room another color. The back splash would go up to the underside of the cabinet. No, you couldn't do that either. I just went back up and checked the photo. The wall is the same wall above the cabinet. Just making a line with 2 colors of paint, doesn't look good IMHO. I've seen it done, seen it live and in person, and I thought it looked dumb. Made no sense to me at all. Sorry Robin, not what you wanted to hear ;( And if was my house, I'd paint the back of the cabinet that shows in the dining area the same color as the kitchen cabinets, since it's part of the kitchen cabinetry anyway.
I am so glad you said you wanted to paint the trim in where the ceiling fan is. I didn't get that at all. We had what looked like a 6 x 6, only in drywall, that went from the 8 foot middle wall end, to the ceiling in the house with the cathedral ceiling. The house settled and the drywall "post" pulled away from the ceiling. So the builder came back and put trim up there. I hated it! Next time we painted, it got painted too. Then it blended. I'm not a "white ceiling" person though. I've never liked white ceilings. I always paint them the same or a couple shades darker than the room. Just my own personal preference. Nothing lazy about doing it that way, I just prefer the look better. Since I love the deep dark colors, they all look better with the same color ceiling. I painted the kitchen in TN that I pictured above Dove White, but only because the room faced north and I was afraid it being red would be too dark. Then I didn't like it, but didn't have enough paint and my husband looked at me like I'd grown another head, so it was left. I always hated it though. If we had stayed there, it would be red now though. I also would of taken off that crown molding on top of the cabinets. I like plain. That was too fancy for my tastes, but the builder did it and didn't ask my opinion. It also didn't help that he pieced the crown molding together. One side of a cabinet that are what? 12" deep? Pieced together. Cheap and tacky looking.
So anyway, that's my opinion! Here's a picture of my chandelier in the dining room. It was taken last Dec. The Swarovski crystals are always on it, as is the red bead garland.
See how long it takes for me to type a reply? My gosh!
I really disagree about painting that trim in the recessed area. If painting it does anything, it makes it disappear. Since I typically scream at people who paint brick, cannot fathom why anyone would paint brick!...I wouldn't paint the brick. But that mantel, I'd paint it black and paint the wood or whatever it is above it, the color of the walls. It's far enough away from the trim, that black would look good.
Good thing I hit preview...lol! Gail, I've always had 8 ft ceilings, except for the cathedral and this house. I've always painted them the same or darker. For instance, in the master bathroom, the walls were something like Enchanted and the ceilings were Plummy. It was really cool looking, but I never could get in there right to get a picture. To me it's a mind thing. Some people think dark colors are going to make a room smaller, but they don't. I had one bedroom white, then I had it yellow, then a sage green and finally navy blue. It never looked any different in size and nobody who saw it said it was a small room...not even my mom who about fell off the chair when I told her I was painting the small bedroom navy. And trust me, my friends are ones who tell me when they don't like something and my mom will always tell me when she doesn't like something.
Oh, this house, the bathroom has 8 ft ceilings. Not only 8 ft ceilings, but a cove ceiling to boot. I painted the wall that goes into the ceiling navy and the other walls are a deep tan. Here's a pic. Well, heck, I can't add a pic here or I'll lose everything. I'll do it next post.
I really don't like brick fireplaces unless they are painted...but that is just a personal thing...(unless of course, i got to pick the color of the brick when the fireplace is built)...and I always paint the brick and the mantel the same white as the trim...
You have to remember that I am 65 and you all are young...I started out with loving the very traditional look...put all money into Baker, Kittinger, etc...furniture plus fine antiques...Then, as I started on my 12th house to remodel just a couple of years ago, I called my kids and told them to bring UHaul trucks...that I no longer needed or wanted any of the antiques...just to leave me enough furniture for my little house...
I saw your chandelier and have to admit my oldest daughter has 20 foot ceilings throughout her house except for the bedrooms and halls which are 15 ft high...She has one of the crystal chandeliers with many colors and mixed with all antique furniture I gave her...so part of it is just age...I have always like the wood and wrought iron chandeliers personally...once again, more traditional
In this house (my last place to live on this earth I hope)...I have just gotten a little funky in my old age...but I still can't use anything but a matte finish on all paint...even though it is enamel...it has no sheen...and I still have to have the same white on the ceilings through out the house...the ceilings are all knotty pine wood...
I still like to pick up color in accent pieces of furniture, art and other ways than the paint on the walls...
'Me thinks' we are two different generations...that makes a big difference...
No Gail, I don't think we're really that far apart. Honest! I prefer a matte finish on walls, but in the bathroom, I went with an eggshell, that looks more semi-gloss to me. I had a new exhaust fan installed because there wasn't one, but it doesn't work all that good and the walls get moisture running down them. So this is probably easier to clean, but eggshell would of been easy to clean too. And it would of been what I wanted. The cans said eggshell, but as you can see from the photo, there's a sheen to it. I don't think our age difference has anything to do with it at all. It's just personal preference. And yes, there's been brick I don't care for, so if I had something like was say that yellow brick? Yep, I'd paint it in a heartbeat. On my own and owning though, we've never had any brick to paint. I don't care for baseboards or trim painted, but if it has to be, then I like gloss. Weird, huh? We've only lived in 3 houses. We lived in our first house for 21 yrs. Second home was because company moved, and it had painted woodwork. New house and it was the cheap MDF trim made for paint, so it was either live with it or rip it out. We only lived there 17 months though. The pictures you've shown of your house, I love. I love everything that you've done and I really can't say that I would want you to change anything that you've done. My mom is just a few years older than you. She wouldn't live in my house and she wouldn't live in your house. She likes new and she likes fine everything. She likes white walls and white ceilings. Imagine my surprise when I ran out late winter to water her plants while they were gone, and she'd had her kitchen painted in a beautiful gold color. I almost fell down! It doesn't go at all though with the rest of the house. The only other rooms with color would be bathrooms...and I do call beige color...lol. So please don't be offended if I disagree with anything that you say. It's not meant to say that you're wrong and I'm right. I just disagree, that's all.
I actually would love to see more pictures of your home, if you don't mind sharing more. Or do you have a journal here? Start a new post or send me pics in a d-mail. Really! Oh by the way, thanks for calling me young...lol. I'm 48...49 in November. And don't say it's young compared to you!
The biggest DANG though, is you got rid of all your antiques?? The furniture in the photo's you've shared look like antiques to me! I think I got my love of antiques from my grandpa. He was always on the hunt for old things to refinish. And they were always beautiful when he finished!
I kept the smaller pieces of furniture and gave the kids larger pieces...my heart at this age belongs to my grandchildren, children, church activities, the prison ministry and my plants!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is fun getting older...
16 years older and interests change...here are just a few pics I had to take for homeowners's insurance...live too far out for insurance man to come look (LOL)...
Just so you know...I didn't add on one single square foot but took all the closets out except for my clothes so I could have more baths...and took the master bedroom and put a wall down the middle so I could have two extra bedrooms...and used the small bedroom as my office and gro lights...
I wanted so badly to put a tub in like yours but my house is built on pier and beam...so no porcelain tubs here...here is the view from a hallway door to a guest bathroom...
You can just see the edge of the trundle beds for grandchildren...they all sleep either with me in the same bed, on a pallet or the trundles...I don't sleep but they seem to sleep like little happy babes!!!!!!!!!!!!
going to bed...nana is tired from the beach all day with the grands...they wore me out...swimming in the Gulf and playing touch football on the beach...
I promise we will not hijack your thread...she just asks for a few more pics...than ks...and we love what you are doing with your job of redoing robin-joey...fun isn't it...and never ending...
Gail, BEAUTIFUL!! And people think I know how to decorate! You make me want to finish this house and get it the way I want it! My husband says we need to add a closet for my clothes...lol. And my coats. And my shoes. ;D
You're right of course. I agree that tastes change as we age. My tastes aren't so much different than they were long ago when I was 24 and we built our first house. More that things are more readily available and my husband had a really good job that afforded me to buy what I wanted. We lived in my sisters house, before it was my sisters house. It was a house we rented while ours was being built. A big old 4 square that I always knew was really something, but being a renter who wasn't allowed to put nails in the wall to hang anything, I couldn't do anything but dream of what the house could be. I'm happy to report that the house is what I dreamed it could be after my sister bought it.
Any more pictures you want to share, I'm ready to see! Thank you Gail ;o)
Thanks so much for the input! I enjoy reading about your old houses and seeing pics. It's rather comical though in how FAR it is from my house, still with the cheap 1980's builder fixtures everywhere. ;-) lol!
Thanks for the idea of painting the back of the kitchen half wall the color of the cabs. I wasn't sure, but yes, that makes sense. I will have to paint the pantry in the hall just outside the kitchen entry also.
Terry, don't worry, I want the COUNTERS to be different in the kitchen and dining, but NOT the paint. That whole kitchen/dining/computer counter area is already sage green. I had second thoughts about redoing the whole thing in the Warm Buff, but I think I'll stay with it for now. The Warm Buff is in the adjoining LIVING ROOM. :-) I understand what you say about painting brick, but...have you looked at mine?! lol! It has black "grout", (or whatever that is called.) I like the idea of the black mantel. Hmmm... Although, the mantle wood looks nicer to me than the upper panel of wood. Maybe paint the upper panel and side shelves black and leave the actual MANTEL wood?? What do you guys think?
So can I count that as a definitive vote for the "cherry wood like" colored cabinets instead of cream colored cabinets??
My husband seems to prefer the idea of painting the recessed tray above the dining area. Should I sand and prime? I don't have any Kilz right now. Could I just sand and do two coats of white? What finish do you guys recommend?
THANKS SO MUCH!
PS Check out HGTV's Rate My Space, but be careful, I have found it to be addictive so far!! ;-D
Have you posted a pic of your fireplace? I don't remember one but I didn't have time to go back through this entire long thread to doublecheck! If you're still thinking you might sell in the next few years, I would think twice about painting the brick. Personally I'm fine with the look of it (and in some cases I think it looks better) but I think I'm in the minority, there are lots of people who freak out about painted brick. And the people who like painted brick generally won't really be turned off by brick that's not painted, but the reverse is definitely not true, the people who don't like painted brick really, really don't like it (and it's not like they can remove it easily, so it's a bit hard to look past it). So there's really no upside (in a selling situation) to having painted brick, but there's definitely a downside.
Hey, I posted my images to RATE YOUR SPACE! I finally cleaned up a few piles on the computer counter and got some images there, to give an idea of the panorama of the room. Post your thoughts if you like!!!!!!!
One interesting comment I gleaned from Candice Olsen's Divine Design show is when she was working on revamping a relatively small, rectangular living room/dining room area. She said "dark colors don't make a room look smaller - it's HIGH CONTRAST that makes spaces look smaller."
It was an interesting point. You can use dark colors as long as you keep your surrounding colors in complementary shades, but you DO have to increase the lighting factor. Dark colors will absorb more light, and I believe that is what makes people feel the space is "smaller".
I personally wouldn't use the cherrywood paint effect in your kitchen, because it's just too small. I think it would look 'choppy' because of the glimpses you get into the kitchen from other rooms. It really isn't an open kitchen where the striking paint color can "anchor" a wide-open area.
Still, YMMV since it's hard to view any overall effect from just photos. Good luck on whatever you decide upon!
Well, I'm more concerned with the overall turnout of painting a red-brown color. I'm afraid they would look like red cabinets on a green wall...but on the other hand, I'm worried that the cream may not look right either.
That makes sense about the high contrast comment. So I should go more monochromatic? I have also heard Candice say that she likes to keep the horizontal planes in the same tone, so with that logic, I would want the countertops and the flooring to match in tone. Soooo, perhaps cream cabinets with sandy beige counters and floors would be my best bet??
just remember that creams or beiges will either go in the family of pinks or yellows...so be sure you are not getting into the family of pink (I think)
I think that is fine but I sure wish you could change that sage green...my daughter insisted on a sage green in her last bedroom...she hated it...it doesn't go with anything...can you show me the color going in the next room...so we can see what family of colors it is in>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Robin, refinishing those cabinets with a red stain will be far more difficult to achieve a consistent color than to paint them. I would think about using a creamy green (darker or lighter than the wall color, but from the same family of green) to compliment the wall color, but to contrast with the beige counters and floors. I love green kitchen cabinets. I like the spray finish you did on the over head lights and would use pulls and knobs in the same color. Use a mixture of the two in the same finish such as pulls on the drawers and knobs on the cabinet doors or vice-versa. They will blend nicely with any of the stainless that you already have in the appliances and faucet. I would not replace the sink or faucet. I would consider taking out the narrow ledge above the sink and replacing it with a cherry wood half round counter to use as both the counter and table. You would need bar stools to sit at it, but you would then have a nice sized table as well as a large serving counter. I know from reading that you love the cherry wood. It could be a cheaper wood with a cherry finish. If it is sealed with a good poly finish it will handle the slops and spills. I have a very similar counter as you that is a sealed mahogany. Plus the cherry wood will look terrific with the sage green which I love. The space under this counter could be used for a big toy box on casters that could be pulled out for play time then pushed under the counter when it is dinner time. Or just the place for a pet bed. The floors will be easy once you have the wall, cabinet and counter color figured out. Good luck with your project. I am about to start a kitchen project renovation tomorrow for a new client. I hope she has your color sense. Patti
bbrook: I like the idea of barstools very much, BUT...I feel like then it elminates the option of ever having a "formal" eating space, like Christmas dinner or a large gathering. At least as it is now, I could use my dinky little table and put a longer table on the end and cover with a long tablecloth at Christmas and Thanksgiving. I would love to somehow make the barstools fit in somewhere, but it already feels a bit cramped with just a medium sized table and a chair at the computer area. IDEAS? Thanks so much for the input!
Well, I'm headed off to Lowe's. I am going to look for a "cherry wood" like color, just to see what's available. I may do some work on the kitchen table and chairs so I can think some more about the cabinets. I also will likely paint the recessed tray above the light fixture.
some lady came along and said she hoped her new client would like sage green and have the taste in colors that Robin has...(LOL)...she is really not a decorator in terms of ASID anyway...she just decorates and likes sage green...but i see she hasn't come back to add to the conversation yet...I am with you!...but this is what makes the world go 'round...I just happen to have good friends who are or have been (retired) as ASID members and officers...(that is the only reason I know the value of ASID trained people)
What's an ASID Gail? Yet another term I'm not familiar with...lol. Our bedroom is sage green and like your daughter...although my comforter, quilt and summer quilt all have green in them, and my curtains are deep not hunter green, but a deep green velvet, I'd rather of painted it something different. Our (cherry) bedroom set is huge and hard to move. I'm thinking my husband won't want to re-paint for a few more years. The good thing is that purple (I love purple) goes with the sage green very well and is in my quilt and my summer quilt and my comforter is a like a deep dusty purple.
Yup, this is what makes the world go 'round...LOL!
No, I don't think the sage green is going anywhere. It's already up. I have had my doubts, but overall it's up and I'm keeping it. I can always change it however, someday. Plus, our couch is sage green so I feel it ties the two room together. Warm buff is the LIVING ROOM color.
So, Terry, you really liked the Brick Red for the cabinets even WITH the green on the walls? Because the green is staying. :)
Well, I don't know if this is worth anything...but when my daughter couldn't change the color of her sage green bedroom...she used a Ralph Lauren comforter with lots of greens in it that also had a bright red (a lot of it) in the comforter...and it looked good...
No Robin, I wouldn't do Brick Red with Sage Green walls. I thought you wanted your kitchen to look like the one above that has the brick red cabinets and the beige brown colored walls...where you said this above
Quoted:
I am starting to rethink the cream cabinets. I found THIS PICTURE on HGTV's Rate My Space and in reading the comments, learned that these are PAINTED CABINETS. I have NO IDEA if I could find the shade that would pull this off, but I think it might go over better in our kitchen than cream.
The green could stay in the dining area. Only paint the wall that they share in the beige brown color. That would give them the separate identities you're seeking. And I don't think the red on the back of that lower cabinet in the dining area would made much difference. For that matter, to tie them in, you could paint the legs on your table in the same brick red. Just my humble opinion of course...;D
Robin...are we wearing you down on the sage green issue...poor thing...I agree with Terry...it wouldn't take you more than a couple of hours to put another color on...
SO PRETTY! But...I'm unsure about it for my room. Ecrane advised against the red too, (not just brooke). I personally am about as confused as can be about what to do on the cabs, but I do like the green on the walls where it is!
Have you checked out the comments I've received on the HGTV site? A lot of talk about removing the popcorn ceiling, which I've never thought about and hubby doesn't want me to mess with. Sigh... lol!
Robin, I see where ecrane said she wouldn't paint the brick, but not where she said she wouldn't paint the cabinets in red? Brooke also suggested not to try and stain them red, but to paint them instead, which is what we were talking about anyway.
The picture in this post http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3928435 are sage green? I'll go check out the link after I get my shower! Worked at my parents in the yard all day and I haven't gotten in the shower yet...
gessie--how do you know that bbrookrd isn't a designer? Even if she's not, most of us on here aren't real designers so I wouldn't discount someone's comments just because they're not, we're all just here sharing opinions and we don't always agree with each other, but that's OK, this thread wouldn't be nearly as long and interesting if everyone all had the same taste!
I actually don't remember saying I didn't like the red cabinets...although reddish cabinets plus sage green walls wouldn't work for me personally, too Christmasy! But if you did the walls a different color I don't know if I'd have anything against reddish cabinets.
On the popcorn ceilings...I don't know how it is in OK, but here in CA everyone hates popcorn ceilings with a passion and wants to get rid of them. I have them in my house and it's definitely on the list of things to get rid of! Be careful though about taking it on as a DIY project--if your house was built before about 1975-1980 it's possible the popcorn has asbestos in it, no danger to you as long as you leave it alone, but if you start to scrape it off, then it'll get dust in the air and that's very bad. Definitely a job for the pros if it has asbestos.
That picture you posted of the green in that kitchen is not sage green...that is a wonderful green...sage green is washed out and that color is beautiful...if you have that color, good for you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sage green has blue in it to me...and that green has yellow in it and is great looking...
I was just being ugly, ecrane and I dmailed her and told her she had great ideas until she put that last jab in at the end...about "I hope my new client will have color sense like you" or something like that...I thought it was unnecessary...but was tacky of me also!!!!!!!!!! sorry guys...
Well, it made me feel good to hear someone say I had great color sense!!! :-D
Ok, I posted a reply and my 16-month old pushed the power off on the computer! ARGH!
Yes, ecrane, I'm so sorry, it was bbrooke who said something about the red being difficult to pull off, not you. SORRY! :-) I appreciate your input and yes, popcorn has a bad rep here in the Midwest too, but for some reason, it's still extremely prevalent!!
So, here is a pic with the colors I'm definitely using on the bottom, and the potential colors on the top.
SO...(remember I'm a former teacher!) A SHOW OF HANDS PLEASE!
The sage green is staying in the kitchen/dining/computer area.
The warm beiges are in the living room/entryway.
WHICH CABINET COLOR DO YOU PREFER?
THE REDDISH BROWN
or the
CREAM? :-D
PS I know there have gotta be some people out there following along who need to vote even though they haven't posted anything yet! ;-D
You are toooooooooooo funny,...that is the first good look I have seen of your color and it looks good...I had a totally different image in my mind...I am not voting (LOL)
I'd vote for the cream, just because it's a small space and I think it'll look bigger and brighter with cream rather than red. But from a color standpoint I think either of them could work, the sage green on your walls isn't as green as I was picturing when I made the comment about green + red being too Christmasy. If you like the red, throw it in as an accent color on some towels, cookie jars, or something else that you leave out on the counters, I think that would look nice.
I'd go with the red because I live with people who don't wash their hands before they open a cupboard or a drawer. Cream will show everything. And because I like red! I would do the lighter counter tops to bring in the cream.
I have to vote...as I always have an opinion...dark colors are just plain hard to keep when painted on old wood...I even tried navy blue one time and ended up having to replace the cabinets as they do chip, I promise you...I vote cream on the cabinets...only because you are not getting to paint first time wood...and the dark color is going to make you feel hemmed in...it already is a small kitchen...keep it light and airy...and I love the idea of brick red as an accent color in pics and washcloths and towels...maybe even a good stripe kitchen towels...(with dark red in the stripe)
I gottsa disagree again Gail ;( A friend of a friend has cranberry cabinets, with polycrylic over and they look as good today as when my girlfriend painted them 10 yrs ago! nanner nanner...LOL!
I am laughing so hard...when my oldest child was 3 years old and was really mad at me...the meanest thing she could say to me was "Nanny nanny boo boo , stick your head in dog doo"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! still laffin' thinking about it...
I don't care what color she paints her cabinets...this is too funny...
I'm glad I could make you laugh! Things getting too serious in here nanny nanny boo boo...lol.
I would however, like to have Robin to go back to the link she's provided us with to the red kitchen with sage walls and look at the before pictures. The before pictures show...??? Cream colored cabinets. So my question, oh dear Robin, is do you like the look of her before picture? Or her after picture? The before pictures are too blah.
Terry, I did what you suggested and peeked again at her before pics. You are very right there - extremely blah. I know she changed other things, like lighting, added stainless steel,etc., but it is QUITE a transformation.
I am still torn. lol!
My projects I am tackling right now are painting the recessed alcove around the light fixture. There were so many suggestions about removing the popcorn ceiling that I might do that too. I spoke with my husband about it and he about had a fit, saying that's only the kind of thing you do when you move in or out of a home. He hates mess, but he won't be the one doing it now will he?! lol! To see how it went, we agreed I would first try removing the popcorn in our master bathroom ceiling, b/c it's already messed up. It was messy but came off easily. He seems more on board now because it will look so much better! So should I go with white on the wood parts of the recessed alcove no matter what I do with the cabinets or do I have to decide first! Ack! What sheen do you recommend? Someone on the HGTV site recommended using the wall color within the tray, around the trim. What do you think of that idea?
I also want to paint our dining table and chairs. Change out the white to black or a black/green. Maybe stain the wood more of a light cherry. We might also move the shelving above the computer area into my son's room. I would like to buy some cabinets to match the lower computer cabs and finish what we planned originally, but we don't have the money right now for that. I can afford a gallon of paint here and there, but not a whole wall of cabinets. I need to start ebaying! lol!
While I was at HD last night looking at paint colors, I drooled over the Silestone a bit. Husband is saying no way are we replacing countertops, but I'll wear him down. I am also considering tile. Both are different enough from the dining room that it doesn't look like two formicas, in different colors. I AM thinking that maybe at least doing the UPPER portion of the bar in the green/black formica might add some cohesion, then a coordinating lower part in tile or a "sand-like" Silestone. That might look weird though.
Here's a pic of CAPRI LIMESTONE with the cream cabinet color:
THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT! Keep it comin'! This is far from over! (May have to start a new thread though!) ;-D
Robin
Robin, I hope you know that we are just having fun and trying to help at the same time...BBrooke and I dmailed one another...she thought I was attacking you and that is why she wanted to make her point known.
If you feel for a moment that this isn't fun, please so say...I don't intend to be mean to you...(and then the funny part)...you know how I love yellows, purples, reds, apricots, greens...she told me in the dmail what horrible taste I had if I like purples (LOL)...we don't mean to impose anything on you...just more ideas to think about...
That, I think, is a nice subtle kitchen...and , because it is a small kitchen, I think it will open it up in feeling for you...I was wrong all along thinking that the green you had selected was not the color that it really is...I vote yes on this...(not that I know anything (LOL)...just an opinion)
Red brown cabs...and I have no taste...sigh...because I love purple! Gail, how does loving and using purple equate to no taste anyway? ;D I want to say again, that a dark color does not close in the room, except for in ones head or if the lighting is very poor. Lighting is an easy fix though.
I love Spiceberry with the Capri limestone. I also like the wall color in the tray area, but with the wood, I'm not too sure if that would look good. The sheen on the wood in the ceiling should be flat. I think anyway and that's my opinion anyway...LOL!!
Now ladies, my mom is taking my daughter and I shopping. I'll be back later. Don't go making any huge decisions until I get back!!! hehehehehe
terry...don't worry...this is going to be a 300 posts thread by the time Robin finishes...
I truly think that either the Spiceberry or the cream will be great...I love the Spiceberry but ...back to selling the house...Spiceberry might be on someone's hate list...and think it shouldn't be on the color wheel (LOL)...probably i would use Spiceberry but cream is a much safer bet for resell...
For me the biggest thing on choosing the cabinet color is the size of your kitchen. If you had a large kitchen (like the person on Rate My Space does), then I think the red cabinets would look great. Since her kitchen is so large, it looks great with the dark cabinets and looked more boring with the lighter ones. But since your kitchen is smaller, that's why I'm thinking the cream would be better--a paler blander look like the cream in a small kitchen isn't nearly as boring as it would be in a large kitchen, plus if you add some red accents to spice it up, I think it'll look really nice.
What I would do is take a look at your kitchen overall right now--I know you don't like the wood, but consider the overall level of darkness/brightness in your kitchen now. The red cabinets are probably going to be a little darker than the wood you have now, so if you feel that the kitchen is too dark now, then the cream is probably a better choice. Or if you think it's not too dark now, then you'd probably be happy with the red as well.
safer for resale ... lightens the area, which btw, WAS the original intent ...
I can make this kitchen look French Rustic, with a splash of contemporary, don't you think?! ;-D I can always do OTHER pieces in the red, like the pantry in the hall, or maybe play with some crown molding/trim, something!
Didn't somebody up there talk about walking into houses with white or cream cabinets and turning around and walking out? I don't know Robin. I've never decorated a house for resale. I've always decorated the house for myself and I've never had a problem with selling a home. That goes for the navy 8x9 bedroom, the lavender with plum ceilings in the 6x12 bathroom, the 2 toned gold in the 2nd bedroom, the 1 wall in the kitchen done in a blue color I created myself...or in TN, the red on the walls in the kitchen, the blue and beige in the dining room, again the lavender and plum in the master bath, the hall bath done in a pink that looked like cotton candy with a darker pink ceiling and a 3' square darker pink painted on the wall, the tiny tiny bedroom painted in Bronzetone...the gold in the staircase and in the basement, the blue garage...and on it goes. I know for a fact that the rooms are all the same color in house #1 that I painted them, and the people who bought it from us just resold it. I've never had to repaint a room, ever. BUT, that's my taste and not everybody else's...and it only takes one person to buy a house. And I guess I got fortunate in selling, because the average DOM and the DOM that we had were very short. First house sold in 2 months, second house sold in 1 month. Does it show that I don't do what other people think is the correct thing? lol...and that I don't care??? LOL!! It's not my house Robin and my tastes might not be yours. I just will keep repeating it until people understand, a dark color does make a room dark. The lighting does.
BUT, you decorate it in the way you want, not what I or anybody else wants. You have to live there, you have to sell it. Anything is going to be an improvement over what is there now ;D
Well, you can never decorate to please 100% of the people. But if you are thinking of resale you would want to appeal to as many people as possible. Although I think both dark reds are handsome, I wouldn't want my cabs painted those colors. Certain granites strike me the same way - I don't like a lot of movement, but many people do. If we bought a house with that type of granite counters, the first thing I'd do is rip it out, no matter how much the OH paid for it.
I very much like the Ivory Coast Silestone with the cream (cabs) and sage green (walls). Very nice, and would appeal to the widest range of buyers by looking coordinated, yet neutral enough to be easily personalized.
However, solid surface is higher in cost than granite in some area. Particularly Silestone, which is sold in 3cm thicknesses instead of the 2cm everyone else uses. By the time you add the backsplash and edge, solid surface can be very expensive. I just can't see why the OP would put so much $$ into a place they intend to resell in a few years. It simply won't pay off. You do not get "extra" money for putting in what is BETTER than the average. The most cost-effective improvement projects are the moderate- and low-cost upgrades. I am sure laminate, or DIY tile or granite tile, will reward the seller at resale time. I'm not at all so sure about solid surface.
Mind you, I have solid surface (Swanstone) in my starter home, installed in 2003. But starter homes here average $500K for 2 bd 1 ba cottages. Only within the last 3 yrs have granite counters and stainless appliances made an appearance in our neighborhood, and even then only a small percentage of homes have them. Everybody wants them, yes, but most everyday people around here have yet to spend $75K remodeling their homes to put them in.
Most are like my neighbor, who puts up with grungy tile counters, splitting chintzy cabs, old appliances - but she's thrilled because her DH finally gave her a new porcelain tiled floor after 18 yrs to replace the damaged original linoleum.
It's easy to get enthusiastic and think of tons of projects to work on. The problem is that many homeowners do this, then run out of energy and leave things half-finished. Then when they do have to sell, it's a race against time to get the undone stuff completed.
As my successful RE agent told me, "the buyer's eye goes to the cheapest thing in the room. And then they price the house from THAT POINT."
I have to admit I think doing anything more than being in the "slightly nicer" range of the average house in the homeowner's neighborhood is overkill, particularly in the OP's RE market. I say this even though my DH and I own one of the most overimproved 2bd homes in the entire neighborhood. We have gotten enormous enjoyment over the improvements we've done, but we've been here for almost twenty years and plan to be here for at least 5-10 more. So we've amortized the cost to our satisfaction.
But if I had bought this house and planned to sell it within 5 yrs, I would have done only the most minimal improvements to it. Particularly in a slowing RE market, it is dicey to figure on much profit if selling within 5 yrs, so all the more reason to put as little money and time as possible into it.
I just have to get involved! You are all having so much fun - I want to play!
What kind of feeling do you want when you walk into your kitchen? Lighthearted cookie baking or more dramatic - roasts with cabarnet.
Either way, for resale, as long as it's done nicely I don't think you need to worry so much. You seemed to want to lighten up so that's what I think you should start with. If you don't like it, it's easier to go dark than it is to go the other way around.
Actually, the fact that this might be a low cost upgrade is one of the reasons I keep leaning towards the red. *IF* I don't replace anything else besides paint, etc., then I will have cream counters and black and white appliances, so with cream cabinets, that seems REALLY drab to me. I am kind of thinking that I should go with cream cabinets ONLY if I can pull off some other upgrades, but I don't know.
I see lots of rooms that need to be redone that have perfectly clean and simple cabinets, but they just look dated and blah. I also see cream cabinets in BEAUTIFUL high end kitchens, but I'm worried I won't be able to pull off that kind of "sparkle!" So, if this project ends up being really about paint, vinyl flooring and light fixtures, and I stick with the off-white solid countertops and black & black & white appliances, I think red brown might be the way to go. Maybe I could do some kind of glazing trick to increase the "cherry wood" look as opposed to red painted cabinets, which I really don't want.
OK, gotta go list some more on ebay to fund this project!
Thanks so much, everyone! REALLY!
OH! One more thing, I can't remember if/when my DG subscription runs out, but IF it does, here is my email in case you wanna keep in touch and I drop off the face of the planet. ;-) Or try my HGTV page.
Thanks for joining in! I KNEW there had to be more lurkers out there! (makes it sound kinda funny, doesn't it?!
Sorry my last post was crazy and redundant -- I'm hyped up on coffee and wrote half before I picked up my daughter from school and half after. lol
I did stop by my Home Depot to get some small cans of the Spiceberry and Tawny Port. I was standing RIGHT THERE in front of some emp. and waited/waited. (with 2 kids in the cart, trying to keep them seated with stickers and sippy cups). Finally, I turned around and asked if they would call someone. So the guy moseys up and informs me that Behr only makes quarts, no half pints like Valspar. Sigh...to Lowe's we go. It's so nice at Lowe's b/c they have a button and I don't know if this is a coincidence or what, but mine has lots of friendly women. Hmm...Anyway, I got samples of Spiceberry, Tawny Port and Latte. Should I paint pieces of cardboard or the actual cabinet? Husband leaves town Friday morning so I'd like to get it up soon so I can get his reaction.
And if I walked in and saw painted cabinets in a color I didn't like, it's an easy fix. For me, it's an easy fix. I'm finding more and more people can't see beyond what's in front of their faces. I'm not saying that as a put down to anyone, so please, no flaming. As to where should you paint it...I'd be more inclined to find a piece of scrap wood compared to cardboard. It's your call though Robin. Just please remember if you're using one of those sheets that-I-can't-remember-what-you-call-them, but you buy them in the section at Wal-Mart that has crayons, colored pencils and the like. Anyway, if you're using the ones that are white, remember it's going to take more than 1 coat of Spiceberry to get the true color. If you do use the Spiceberry, tint your primer to a dark gray for the easiest painting. I've read people do 2 then 3 then 4 then 5 coats of paint to get their red to look right. It took me 2 coats of Hot Apple Spice over dark gray primer. I also want to say that because you talk about money being an issue, it's going to be important that you select the right color to begin with. Are you going to have the money for more gallons of paint if you go with Latte and then you decide no, the Spiceberry or some other color would look better?
Thanks for such a warm welcome! I'm trying to do my kitchen also and have a terrible time picking out colors. I have a medicine cabinet with six little wood shelves that I primered and painted all the different color samples I picked up at Lowes. I figured that for some reason I liked these colors so I painted them on something that I can continue to look at as time goes by. I can take them down and carry them around the house for other projects. Good thing too, I almost painted my kitchen lavendar! I told my DH that it would have worked out fine. I would just put a sign above the stove saying "Welcome to Jumbo's Clown Room!"
I did paint my MIL's kitchen lavender. Lavender on 3/4's of the walls, then the rest of the wall white up to the ceiling and the ceiling. I had to strip about 16 layers of paint off the cabinets. Cabinet doors are white and the bases are a deeper purple color. I like it, she loves it, everybody that comes in likes in. So I wouldn't discount a lavender kitchen. She has a stainless steel sink that my BIL insisted that she have and she hates it. Says it doesn't hold the warm water. Her appliances are white. I also stripped as many layers of paint off a Hoosier cabinet. That piece I stained and polyed and it sits in the kitchen as well. She bought counter tops, lighter, almost a white with flecks in it, that she also hates, BIL told her he thought it would look best. I also used a thin chair rail (that I stained and polyed) to sit on top of the fake tile stuff on that bottom 3/4's of her kitchen walls. She likes lace, so I bought lacy white curtains. We also bought and installed, a white ceiling fan in there. She has a lot of copper molds, old ones, that I hung on the soffit in there. It's a nice kitchen. The nicest room in the house actually. I love color, so the shelves you painted in the various colors probably looks pretty good!
Any idea what it might cost to do Silestone in my kitchen? Of course, I know granite is infamously costly. I know I COULD go with formica, but, and I know it's a little thing, we used that on the computer counter and I don't want two formicas in diff. prints. I may have to just give in, but that's my thinking right now. (Still not wanting it for the kitchen counters, but I've toyed with the idea of doing the upper bar in the green/black fleck formica for cohesion, then tiling or something on the lower and backsplash in the kitchen. ??)
I know I like that Silestone has the Microban. I love LG/HiMac, but it just doesn't have the nice smooth FEEL that Silestone does. I love the integrated sink idea though. I saw that they have had promos where the sink is free, but that and other promotions are always with 25 (!) square feet.
Ok, back to my original question. My upper bar counter is 8'. My lower kitchen counter is, naturally 8' as well, but how is it figured with part of it being sink? The wall with the stove/fridge has two little strips 11.5" wide and 25" deep. It also creeps up the wall as backsplash and over the area with the light switch, but if I were seriously installing new stuff, that would naturally be torn out and replaced with tile or something.
So, math is not my strong point and I've never calculated something like this. How many square feet will I need? Can anyone help me with this?
I did ask prices a while back when I was drooling over the Silestone and she gave me these figures for the different grades:
A) 41
B) 47
C) 51
D) 55
IS THAT PER SQUARE FOOT?! Ivory Coast is D and Capri Limestone is C. Coral Troya (not bad, but basically orange), is A. Kalahari is a decent one I did not photograph, but I see that it is B.
Anyone able to help me? I know I'm a nimrod when it comes to this kind of stuff. lol!
Oh, here's the shocker of the day: My husband says he'd go with the red! (Tawny Port)!
I've got the cardboard up. Can't wait to live with them for a few days and see if one edges the other one out!
Oh, I wanted to say something about buying and selling. I have noticed an overriding philosophy that seems to prevail when deciding on a home. I often hear people at the end of House Hunters say, "It was basically move in ready." That REALLY appeals to people, I think. There aren't projects for your to do list everywhere you look. Someone else has done the work designing the space, you just have to move in your stuff, where it'll look great! You know? People see dated cabinets and ugly carpet and are immediately turned off. Now, I'm not saying this in defense of either of my colors, because I think it all depends on how the overall look ends up. If it looks GOOD, I don't think it matters that it's old cabinets painted red or cream. You know? Terry, you seem to have experienced this where people have taken to the colors you've chosen and happily bought the house and left it up? I can't IMAGINE someone ripping out Silestone in this house because, believe me, I've seen neighbors leave MUCH WORSE. lol! But, I also cannot really imagine me being able to truly afford it. Maybe Christmas?!
Those prices are most likely per square foot, that matches up with prices that I've seen when I was counter shopping. Sometimes counters are priced by the lineal foot too, which is a fancy way of saying forget the width of the countertops and just measure the length. Most counters are 2 ft wide, so a price per lineal foot would typically be about twice what the price per square foot is. Most places that I've shopped at recently price things by the square foot though, and that's what your prices look like to me.
The way to measure how many square feet you have is take a tape measure, and for each rectangular section of your counter, measure the width and the length. Multiply those two numbers together, and that's how many square feet are in that section (for example, if one area of the counter is 2 feet wide by 10 feet long, that would be 200 square feet). Repeat the process for each section of countertop (if your counter is L or U shaped, make sure you're not double-counting the part that goes around a corner--pick one rectangular area to count it in). Also make sure to measure your backsplash--same way, measure the length and the width and multiply together. Then add all the sections together, and that's your total. Make sure you do all your measurements in feet rather than inches, otherwise you'll have to convert square inches to square feet at the end, and that's more math!
If I were you, given that you're trying to do this on a budget, I would give some serious consideration to laminate countertops--Wilsonart has a new one that I've been seeing advertised that looks as much like granite as a laminate countertop can, and could look very nice. Formica has some newer nice looking ones too, and it'll be considerably cheaper than Silestone. Or else consider doing granite tiles and installing them yourself--you'll pay anywhere between ~$3 and $20 a square foot depending on what granite you choose and where you get it from (most likely you'll end up paying $8-10), but I think you can see what a huge difference that is compared to the Silestone.
Ecrane, YOU ROCK! Ok, that's what I thought, but wasn't sure about the cut outs for sinks, edges, backsplashes, etc.
I went to a kitchen showroom that advertised granite tiles. I have a question about that. I am totally willing to do the research and the work on that all myself, but I don't understand what the options are as far as the counter's edge. The guy explained I would need to select a WOOD TRIM EDGE, which I would hate the look AND functionality of. That can't be the only option. Maybe he was saying that was the *cheapest* option. Hmm...can't remember now.
When we (briefly) looked at granite, we picked up a sample and brought it home. It is like an inch thick! How would THAT work if I chose to do our counters in granite? (Not that I think that's likely, I'm just trying to understand how the edging and height issues work when going from laminate to granite.)
Ok, final question/thought...
I am SURE that someone out there knows how to make a paint/stain mixture that goes on like thin paint. Perhaps this is what I would need if I chose to go with the red? Maybe a teensy bit of the wood grain could show through and from a distance it would look like cherry wood?
Thinking, thinking...
PS I can't really remember, did anyone like the banquette idea??
Oh, I forgot, Digatunnel, you asked about the mood I was hoping to evoke? I would bet that the cookie baking relates more to the cream for you and the cabernet, the red? ;-D
Well, as far as my style, I would LIKE to have something like a mix between Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel. The worst for me is seriously modern or seriously country. I think I like a little bit of a contemporary feel, but still warm and a great place for kids/family/friends. It is TRULY a one-person kitchen. It's practically a rule between my husband and I and I always shoo the kids out and tell them I'll bring their plates to them. It's just impossible with the dishwasher door coming out blocking the entire path. The fridge or freezer door knocking a little one in the head, the cabinet where the trash is as well as the oven open right in the very middle and half the time I'm headed out to the hall or the garage for a roasting pan/crockpot/platter, etc.
I honestly don't cook that much! lol! I'd like to say this is the reason why, but... ;-)
I don't want to overspend and not get my money back, but I do want to make this house appealing to offset it's not so great qualities and be competitive. I am pretty confident that right now we could sell for 20k over what we paid, and I'm happy with that. If I spend a couple hundred on paint and supplies and maybe a little more on a nice upgrade like counters or floors or appliances (but probably not all 3!), I would think that that would really help boost the price of our home and help it sell quickly. But I am a real estate novice, so I could be all wrong. :-)
I appreciate so much everyone's input! Stay with me! It's just beginning really! lol!
For the edging, you can do wood trim if you want, or you can buy granite tiles that have had their edges rounded & polished (bullnosed) to give you a smoother effect. The tiles with the rounded polished edges tend to be about twice the price of the ones with the regular rough edges though. It's possible that the guy who told you that you'd have to do wood trim doesn't sell the bullnosed tiles though, in which case the wood trim might be the only option if you buy the tiles from him. I don't know if the wood trim would be bad though, I've seen kitchens with granite tile and wood edging, and it looks very nice. I think the key is make sure you use really good glue to attach it, and finish it with some super duper outdoor grade varnish to make sure it stands up to moisture, and be prepared to refinish it occasionally (that was going to be my plan when I was thinking of doing granite tiles myself)
As far as the height of the granite slab--some granite needs to have plywood underneath it, in which case the overall height of your counter will be a little higher than it is now (honestly I don't notice the difference on mine at all). But some granite is thick enough and if your cabinets are sturdy enough they can just put the slab directly on the top of the cabinets, so if they do that then the height would be pretty much the same as your laminate (since the laminate is on top of plywood or something, and all that would be removed). The other thing to keep in mind with granite slabs is that you may end up having to buy more square feet of granite than your actual counterop measurements--what happens at least at the place I got my slab from is you have to buy it by the slab, but there'll be excess material on the slab that doesn't end up getting used. For my kitchen which I think has a similar amount of countertop area, I ended up having to buy 2 slabs. Versus with Silestone, since it doesn't come in a slab you only pay for the amount of square feet that you need (although you probably do have to pay for the material that'll get cut out to make the sink, since that's "lost" material for them that they can't use for anything else)
On the banquette...I can't remember what other people said, but my thought would be that if you're going for a more contemporary look, I wouldn't do it. Banquettes are a little older & more country-ish--not necessarily a bad thing if that's the look you're going for, but for a more contemporary feel I don't think it'll really go.
I have been saying from the beginning to use formica...it is refreshing and clean looking...
When I sell a house and my adult kids do this, too...you hire someone for a minimal fee to come in your house and start taking half away to a storage unit...when a house is on the market, you don't want people standing and looking at 7 pictures on a table...take 5 away...and everything else in 'stuff' that you like ...you just want people to be looking at the house...not what you own...in the way of decorative things...
Another new thing happening in Texas is that owners go out and buy a high definition TV and tell the realtor that it stay with the house...buyers will pay for that high definition TV because it goes into a long term mortgage...
I would like to create a built in that mirrors the shape and height of the fireplace in our corner where the tv is. In looking at neighbor's homes with the same floor plan, I've seen that they sometimes have the tv against the large wall to the right of the fireplace, where our couch is. This means you see the tv first thing when you walk in and you cannot see it from the kitchen. I would like to get a nice tv and utilize that corner better.
Man, I've been watching too much Designer's Challenge. lol I would be SOOO dangerous if I had money in the bank! lol!
I have had Wilsonart HD suggested to me more than once. I would consider it. I like it. I don't love it though. I would like it better in our bathrooms, I think. I am too hung up on trying to coordinate with our computer counter, I guess. Also, do you think it will be a trendy product that goes out of style in the next 5-10 years? That wouldn't be good.
Next time I'm at Lowe's, I'll ask about the pricing of the LG-HiMac. One thing I would like about going that route would be a NEW SINK! I also think one of those integrated sink would be a very striking feature that even someone who is TOTALLY not into decorating or trends would walk in and notice right away and say, "that's cool." Plus the one I have now constantly has mystery gunk underneath the rim. So rimless sounds VERY attractive to me.
:-D Thanks, everyone!
Robin
PS I posted pics of the two colors over in the Painting forum!!!!
I can't remember the maker of my counter top in this house, but it's a faux granite. I love it. Like I said before, granite is just not going to be a selling feature for this house, if we ever did sell. You could experiment with the paint, by adding water if it's latex paint. I did some old doors at a rental house my parents owned. I stripped the doors, but couldn't get the paint out of the wood, so I mixed 3 parts paint to 1 part water. The more water you add, the more grain you get showing, but you have to remember that yours are already stained and you aren't talking about stripping them down to bare wood...which I don't think I'd do. I did strip my MIL's, but hers are the old solid wood kind that were built on site and installed back in the mid 40's.
Robin, I love Pottery Barn too. All my curtains/drapes are from them. When I went to visit the people in our old house up here, she told me I had the curtains down when they looked, but they were in the photos, but she didn't know where I had purchased them from. The house in TN, those people had it in the contract that they wanted all the curtains/drapery and drapery rods. I don't think so...lol. And no, I took them all. I'm not giving somebody Dupioni silk drapes or wool or linen or velvet or or or...You can also find look alikes at your nearby Target for some pieces.
When I priced counter tops a few years ago, they were sold in the lineal foot. I don't know if region depends on how they sell it or not.
Formica has been around for many many years and will continue to stay around...lots of people actually prefer it to granite and other surfaces...i have always used tile as that is just what I like...
I think how countertops are sold might have changed with the times--I remember 3-4 yrs ago when I was considering new counters for my old house (also in CA) a lot of places were selling counters by the lineal foot, but a few months ago when I got my counter for my new house, everywhere I went was selling by the square foot. Or maybe some places still sell it by the lineal foot, but the prices Robin's listing look similar to prices that I saw on solid surface that I know were square foot prices--I was looking at a brand that I know was a little more expensive than Silestone, and the prices were in the $60/sq ft ballpark
Robin--I don't know exactly what LG Hi-Mac is, but I think it's some sort of solid surface? If so, it'll be in the same ballpark as the Silestone, maybe a little cheaper but not anywhere close to the range of Formica/Wilsonart. I'd go measure your countertops, once you know how many square feet of counter you have then you can do the math based on the prices for even the cheapest grade of Silestone and decide whether that's an amount you think you can live with. Given the price range of homes in your neighborhood, anything that costs more than Formica/Wilsonart is not going to pay you back when you sell the house. There's nothing wrong with doing solid surface or a granite slab if you really like it and are doing it for you, but you need to be OK with the fact that you're not going to make that money back when you sell.
Gessie,
I know FORMICA is not going anywhere, but I mean the special textured Wilsonart HD. Some of the samples I've seen, when you get up close, they look like a pixely photo.
Here was the math I came up with (I knew how to do length times width, and am keeping it pretty much at that. I'm not adding in backsplash.)
All the promos are for min. 25 square feet and I think (padded) that's what mine would be.
And I calculated how much the Silestone would cost for the different grades:
A) $41 = $1025
B) $47 = $1175
C) $51 = $1275
I'm not even going any higher. lol! My husband would have a coronary! lol! He is SUCH a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of guy. He has NO IDEA why I would want to replace the countertops, etc. Pretty much anything more involved than paint and light fixtures and he is not on board. C'est la vie! He says I can do what I want regardless!
More later!
Here's an LG acrylic counter with integrated sink. Ecrane, I think you're right, they're just a notch under Silestone in price.
If you decide to spend that much money on a counter, then what do you think your sink and appliances are going to look like compared to that surface counter top? pretty old,...
Hi Robin - When I was looking at countertops for my kitchen, Silestone was square foot for the mass of the counter and lineal foot for the front edge and that front edge price changed according to which type you picked. ie: bullnose, rounded... it was outrageously expensive! -Didn't do it.
And yes, red - cabarnet and roasts, cream - cookies. When I designed my kitchen I thought about the feeling I wanted to have in it. When I went to friends houses and they have that tuscany look or modern (which are both fantastically beautiful!), I would stand or pull up a barstool to their island and be a little more reserved. When I went to kitchens that were light and bright, I found that I more plopped down in the breakfast nook and had a more excited conversation and laughed alot! I wanted to laugh when I walked into my kitchen! Could be 'cause I can't cook! ANYWAY... Pottery Barn and Crate 'n' Barrel have combined both feelings. (both of those stores were on our wedding registry!) Young and fresh - a little contemporary, yet a bit elegant and sophisticated. I think that's why you're having so much trouble picking.
I LOVE THE SPICEBERRY! It's just different enough to be YOU and yet it's fresh and elegant.
Truly take your time on the countertops. That's where I went wrong. I wanted hammered metal. Crazy expensive in the stores but I thought if someone would just build me the frame, I could take sheets of metal and hammer it with a rubber mallet into place. Solder where it needed it. Well, noooooo. Everyone said it could'nt be done. So my contractor said come with me and took me to a place and said pick a granite slab. It's $600.00 for the granite AND the installation. I said "That one."
In my rush, I picked one that had nothing to do with my plan and threw everything off. UGH!
Figure out how much you can spend, then look at everything in that budget.
digatunnel is correct, prices quoted DO NOT include edge or backsplash on solid surface. The only exception to this that I know of is Swanstone, which is actually a solid surfacing veneer over high-density particleboard. Their prices are by the linear foot, and included in the price is the basic 4" coved backsplash and a straight edge.
LG/Hi-macs is a Korean knock-off of Corian. Corian is no longer patent protected, so the Koream mfg LG who manufactures it for DuPont, immediately came out with their own identical version. The downside is the LG is the old Lucky Goldstar Corp. Their service can be extremely iffy in the US depending on region, and the customer service ethic isn't there at all in the company itself, unlike other vendors.
We really wanted Cambria, but the Swanstone pricing was so much better we used them instead. We have owned Swanstone integral vanity sinks in our bathrooms for almost twenty years and know they can take a tremendous beating yet look brand new. Like Corian, it is a matte finish, which we prefer. Our kitchen gets an enormous amount of natural daylight 365 days/yr, unlike many, and glare is such a problem I switched to a stainless faucet because the polished chrome was actually unpleasant in its glare during the summer.
Good luck in choosing your countertop material. It's difficult, with so many different options available to us now.
That is exactly why I was thinking about the LG/Hi-Mac. I don't want a shiny stainless sink that needs windexed every time you turn on the faucet or it looks dirty. Also, I would love to get a solatube and don't want glares like you said.
Gessiegail, the pic shows an *integrated* sink, it's a seamless part of the countertop, but you're right, my appliances would look dated, which is why I've said I'd like to update, but it's not an immediate concern.
If possible, I would replace my microwave first. It is all black and removal would make painting a bit easier. We also have to tape the upper portion of it on or it falls right off. I would LOVE to talk my mother-in-law into giving us a few bucks for it and placing it in her house she is trying to sell, which is appliance free right now. Here's one I like: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDi...
This would enable me to spend some money on a fancy backsplash which would have high visibility from the dining and living rooms! I LOVE this: http://www.floormall.com/tile/dal_tile/maracas_glass_mosaics...
But maybe something larger and more neutral. That would be much easier to decide upon once cabinets have been painted, etc.
Hey, my husband is hanging the light fixture for me tonight! WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE RECESSED ALCOVE? I hesitated on painting it. Should I?
Before you get a ceramic top stove, go over to the Clean & Clutter Free forum and read the thread on them--I have one and absolutely love it (and loved the one at my old house too) but there are a bunch of people on that thread who are really unhappy with theirs.
On the alcove--I would leave it alone, as I've looked at the other pics of your house, it looks like it's wood trim that matches the rest of the wood trim in the house, so I wouldn't paint it unless you're planning to paint all your wood trim (which I wouldn't do--it looks like nice wood, and I'd make the same argument on painting it that I would for the brick on the fireplace). And it also sounds like you're not really sure about it--once you paint wood, it's a huge task to get the paint back off, so I absolutely wouldn't do it unless you're sure about it!
No, you don't have to paint all the trim in your house if you paint that trim in the recessed area around your ceiling fan. I wish to heaven I had photos of the trim at our old house that the builder put up at the ceiling. I painted it because it stuck out like a sore thumb. I had no other painted woodwork in the house. Once it was painted the exact color of the ceiling (which for me is the same as the walls) it blended in and nobody even knew it was up there. Before I painted it, everybody wanted to know why the trim was up there and proceeded to tell me how awful it looked. I don't liken painting that trim up on your ceiling to painting a fireplace at all.
I need to point something else out. The micro you want is very nice...but built in micros stay with the house, unless you buy something else before you list or before you show that is something different. So if you opt for black and stainless or just black appliances and the next home you buy has white, you have to buy a new one for that house to match your other appliances. Unless you're in an area where the appliances stay with the house. My mom has a slide in Jenn-Air electric range. http://www.themaytag.com/30jeslelraje.html
It's not the ceramic top, but it is a solid surface. My grandmother has the ceramic top and hates it. The Jenn-Air is so easy to clean that my parents bought another one for their second home in AR.
Also remember that any of the tile floors you get will need the concrete board put down first. They're thick, so make sure your tile guy knows what type of threshold you'd like. The cheap metal ick ones won't look right and they won't work because of how high it is. Ask me how I know...lol...and no, I didn't discuss the threshold with them, so the guy I use for some carpentry stuff make me some out of old wood, but the tile wasn't cut perfect for the threshold, so the threshold's Tony made me are not against the concrete board and tile just right, so now there's a gap and it looks awful...sigh.
I'm opposite on the what the colors do for me. White would make me uncomfortable but red would have me talking and laughing up a storm. Red is great for baking cookies too...my cabinets might not be red, but my kitchen is!
digatunnel, I don't have a photo of my MIL's kitchen. It really is pretty. When a man walks in and says how nice the kitchen looks, I think I've accomplished something. She picked the color of purple, I suggested using the darker for the base of the cabinets and then I suggested what should be where. It was up to her though. If she didn't want it that way, I would of done whatever she wanted. She's extremely happy with how it turned out. I was almost done when I slipped off my ladder and broke my ankle...so it's a good thing she liked it! She had a counter that she liked and I did too. It was in various shades of purple and the colors matched the colors I was using. Her son though, my BIL, didn't think it should be purple, just in case she ever wanted it repainted. I also would of left her with her porcelain/cast iron white sink. It would of looked terrific in there. Repainting was a funny comment itself...her living room hasn't been painted since '74 with the same orange and yellow shag carpeting, the rest of the inside hasn't been painted since probably the '50's. A woman who hates change in any way shape or form.
When I was comparing painting wood trim to painting the fireplace, I was talking about if Robin painted all the wood trim. I was thinking it might look weird to paint the trim in that one area but not the rest it might not look right, but if you've done it and it looks fine then that's something worth considering.
I knew that's what you meant ecrane. Sorry I wasn't real clear in my reply. I had noticed the trim in another picture and just had that eeek moment remembering when our builder stuck it up on our ceiling. It just stuck out and looked dumb...I just can't be nice when describing how it looked! I'm too anal, I know...I've been told enough...lol. I've seen many tray ceilings before but I've never seen one "outlined" in the wood trim before. Like when we moved to TN and the builder had his guy do the knock-down on the walls and ceilings. After talking to him after the fact, it's cheaper and quicker and easier then to take the time to apply all the coats of mud and getting it smooth. Just like the popcorn ceilings. It's quicker and easier for the guy to spray that on then to get up there and apply all the coats of mud and get it nice and smooth. I know I know...anal again...;D
Now I'm thinking, "WHAT *IF* we never are able to afford replacing the countertops?" I would be in a sea of off white, punctuated by white appliances, and the one black micro. Ugh! If I could pull off good counters and at least one, preferably 2 or 3 steel appliances, then I think EITHER would look good. But as it stands now, maybe I'd be better off to go with the red! At lunch, I went to my husband's work and showed the pics to the former owner, who has good taste and an immaculate well-decorated house. I think she tried to cover up the fact that she couldn't believe I was even considering the red. She kind of stammered, "that's the color?" Then I showed her the off white and she was exuberantly positive. She loved those handles too. She said firmly, "I don't like the dark one."
Then my neighbor came over tonight. She said she thought the white would be very washed out with my counters and mostly white appliances. She also saw my granite sample sitting on the counter and when I mentioned that it would be nice, but I don't think I'd get my money back, she said she thought I would. Our taxes have raised in the last year and the new high school is set to open next fall and it's 3 blocks away.
I was kidding (sort of ) when I said I'd probably change my mind before I posted what I had decided, but here I am. LOL!
Maybe it will help to get the light fixture up. I also might go ahead and paint the living room and the dining table and chairs and see what I think.
Decision making is not my strong point. Can you tell??
The key thing is to take your time and make sure you're sure before you put any paint on the cabinets--they're a bit more work than painting walls, so you probably don't want to do it twice!
If you decide you do want the light cabinets but are worried about it looking washed out, you have a couple of options (other than doing the red cabinets). You could paint the walls a stronger color like red. Or you could just get some stronger colored accents--towels, flowers, things like that in bold colors like red will really punch things up. I think light counters + light cabinets can be boring if you pair it with bland colored accents, but if you add some colorful accent pieces, then it'll look like a nice light, bright kitchen.
Thought maybe it would help you if I posted some pics of the kitchen at my old house. Here's a pic of the "before"...slightly beat up dark wood cabinets, with light colored floor and light/medium colored countertop:
Here's a pic in the middle...I painted the cabinets off-white/cream, but nothing else changed. So now it's light cabinets with light floor and relatively light counters, and it looks nice even without a lot of colorful accents
All of your color choices are great! Maybe you're at that time that eventually comes to all women at some point, (or as I'm told it will), for you to put all your paint chips on the table and ask your dear husband to pick! All the choices are great - you really can't go wrong and he will be thrilled. When he picks just say "Perfect!". Now all of this is theory of course. I am a newlywed and have only been told about this.
Terryr - Husband says no to the lavendar!
Robin_Joey - I wouldn't try to change out all the appliances. Maybe just a white microwave so everything matches. This thread is so long I'm just assuming they'll all match! Unless you really are unhappy when using them, I'd just leave them be. The counters are going to be more than you think...I don't know why, it just happens. Look at how nice Ecranes kitchen came out and there is a black dishwasher! Doesn't matter, still looks incredible!
Ecrane your kitchen came out great! That red looks terrific!
Terryr- I'm thinking Tuscan brown serious red with lots of stone and brick. My kitchen is supposed to be yellow walls with white solid cabinets on the bottom and a little bright cherry red trim. I did learn to polyacrylic over the white from following this thread. Just cheery! BTW just kidding about hubby not liking the lavendar! It just won't go with my kitchen.
Robin, most people think my mother has great taste. If I showed her the white vs the red, she'd say white. If I showed them to my sister, she'd say red. If I showed them to my best friend, she'd say red. People who have similar tastes as I do will always pick the color that I know is the right one, but can't make up my mind. Not really ;) I always know what I want, I don't second guess myself at all. My sister and my best friend do and so does my mom. I'm always helping them. I'm helping my best friend with the spare bedroom right now. Does the PO have the same taste as you do? Is her good taste your taste? My mom has good taste, just not my taste. Are you talking about the PO of your house?
Also, do you use a lot of accent type things in the kitchen? Other than my Longaberger baskets, I don't really have much of anything on the walls in there. A calendar, but I suppose everybody's got one. I have things on the counter...my butcher block with my knives, my jar with spaghetti in it, my mixer, toaster oven, basket with cook books and basket with spatulas, big spoons etc. Aside from that, not much going on at all. Two doors in there, one goes outside, other goes to the basement, so two rugs. I wouldn't have rugs if no doors though. Not into them in the kitchen. Help me out guys, I'm seriously dense as to what you mean by accents!
Lavender isn't for everyone. Her kitchen is just off the enclosed porch, so it gets a lot of light and isn't seen really from any other room. Old farmhouse in the country. The kitchen is the best looking room in the house. She could of had more, but she didn't want me to do anything more.
digatunnel, I've been happily married for 26 yrs. To show my husband something and tell him to pick would be disaster and seriously boring! I think some people just see things in their head and go find it. Easy as pie. Others really really struggle with color choices and how to arrange and and and...I see things in my head and I buy what I need to create the look in my head. Be it in the house or in the garden (which is our whole yard).
I'm going to show a picture of the front porch and how I painted it. People said I was nuts to paint the ceiling of the porch navy. But once I did it, they couldn't believe how cool it looks. I had to lighten it to show the different colors.
Here's the other side. I painted the furniture in the same pumpkin color as the trim around the door. People tell me this isn't the same house as before I bought it.
Wow Terryr - just beautiful! The colors all work great together! I can't wait to see what happens in Robin_Joey's kitchen. I like all the combos she's come up with, I just can't wait to see what she decides!...
I missed a lot of the recent thread...but i beg you not to spend money on appliances...On the last house I spent over 8,000.00 just for appliances in the kitchen...Jennair and the works...what a waste of money...this time I went to the least expensive store in CC and spent 3200.00 on everything in the kitchen...side by side refrigerator, a stove top with oven...an extra big oven put in below the microwave...a dishwasher and a freezer...all in black fronts...guess what???????????? they work just as well as the top of the line back almost 10 years ago...
Never ever again would I spend that much money on kitchen...(appliances, that is)...that 3200.00 included a commercial disposal as I have a septic tank...
Ok, I'm going to try to make this a firm decision. :)
As of right now, I am going with... (drum roll please!)
TAWNY PORT! :-D
The one real benefit to white that I am a little worried about is that I could go with a darker flooring and darker countertop to help hide crumbs and dirt. The original intent of this remodel was to LIGHTEN the kitchen. I don't think I'm necessarily going to be doing that, but the improvements overall I think will be great.
Here's why I am going with the red: (I am making this list so that I can come back if (when?) I second guess myself. lol!
If you read an article on how to choose colors that best fit your style, they say to reflect on what colors in clothing, etc. you are drawn to. Well, my most ideal outfit is a black sweater with jeans. I don't actually wear a lot of red, but have been much more drawn to reds and browns lately. I'm big on green too, esp. lime green. The "trends" supposedly in colors are to bring the outside in, so lots of earthy colors and the "savories", like mustard gold (not gonna do it), red, orange and green. Chocolate brown is the new black, supposedly. ;-) I think I might do repaint my master bathroom cabinets in Spiceberry, which is basically chocolate brown. I think this will go well with my favorite knobs and pulls, the silver with the hammered center. I might try to do a glaze on top to add depth and increase the look of wood. IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO MAKE THE PAINT LOOK MORE LIKE STAINED WOOD, PLEASE fill me in! ;-D
Final biggie which sealed it for me is the countertops and appliances that I have right now will look good with the red, whereas I truly do think that the cream would have only really looked good if I had updated the counters and the appliances. I still want new counters, BAD. And a new sink. I want to save up for either granite tiles with wooden edge & stainless sink or LG/Hi-Mac counters, with an integrated sink. I also want a new faucet. If I get a new sink, I'm just gonna go for it!! I want one with the pull-out sprayer head!!!!! Oh, cheapest option for counters would be to tile it. I am sure I would be happy, but I'd have to learn how to do it and would have to live with grout.
For the floors, I'm going to do a tile. I REALLY want to do DuraCeramic, but I don't know for sure. I went to a showroom today where the lady (who sells tile) was saying to save money I should just go with the cheap clay, not even pay more for ceramic. (She was trying to help me save $.) Also, she said on average I could get granite tiles for approx. $10/sf. I don't like the cold feel though. Will have to think on this more. Oh, she also said she recommended the extra large tiles to open up the space. Said she'd done it in her kitchen and it made a huge difference. Ideas on that? I know I will want it on a diagonal.
Lastly, I would like to MAYBE cut out the center insert of the two largest cabinets (facing each other) and add frosted glass and lights inside. ;-D Oh and maybe some pendant lights over the bar.
SOOOOOO...WHAT DO YOU THINK?!
My husband left for Long Beach, CA today and won't return for several days. He tried to install my new light before he left and it won't work. I don't think it was him (though anything is possible), but he thinks the wiring was messed up. ??? I am upset because the light was only $33 and there were none left. I was going to buy a second one just to have as a back up for globes, etc and now wish I had.
So that's the latest in my design obsessed saga!
Wait till you see what I have in mind for the bathroom!! ;-D
First, are you sure your husband hooked the correct color coded wires to the correct wiring from the ceiling? That's the biggest mistake made. White to white, black to black and then ground to ground. All the light fixtures I've bought anyway have had white, black and ground wires. Did the light that was there work? If so, it's probably not hooked up right.
I like the colors and perhaps when you get the cabinets painted, the counters won't look so bad to your eyes after all. You're drawn to the same colors as I am, but I do wear red. Not primary red, but the cranberry red and colors like that. Brown is the new black, has been around for a few years now. I actually like brown and black together. The spare bedroom that's blue, will have a deep brown comforter and curtains, the furniture will be a red mahogany end table, painted black cabinet that holds DVD player and VCR etc, black iron daybed and a mahogany desk. I found a deep brown rug with the same blue color in it, but it's almost $300, so if it goes on sale, it'll be bought. The floor, which is wide pine plank flooring, will be stained in Fruitwood, with a satin floor poly on it. The end table that will go in there and another end table that will go in this room, were both stripped today. They're pine, stained in a golden oak color that I've disliked (the color) for years now. Hopefully tomorrow I can sand and stain them. By afternoon, I should be able to get the first coat of varnish on them. Both will also get a new blackened nickel knob. The cabinet I'm painting will also get the same knobs.
If you add the proper lights in the kitchen, you'll lighten it up. I don't necessarily think the floor needs to be light, but that's just my opinion. Not sure on the tile. That's something I'm not visualizing. I did the small hexagon 1" tiles (off white) in the 1/2 bath because the room was so small. In my eyes, the amount of tiles in the room gives the illusion that it's bigger. Room was done, walls and ceiling, in tongue and groove wainscoting painted Hot Apple Spice like the kitchen, toilet and pedestal sink in white, cabinet above toilet is also white.
I thought I said somewhere above...to make your paint more a stain, mix 4 parts paint (latex) to 1 part water and test. If it has opaqueness you're after when you test it on a scrap piece, use that. If not, add more water being careful to measure how much water you're adding. In case you need more than you mixed up. You might look into Milk Paint too, to see if they have the color of red/brown you're after or if you can mix your own using 2 or more of the colors they carry.
Yeah! It sounds great! I'm sure it will look just beautiful! I'm glad you opted for some form of red. It'll look great with the sage on the walls.
I have 12" tile on my laundry room floor at an angle and it really does look bigger. The only thing I would suggest is to get tile that has the color all the way thru it, on the inside, incase a child drops something and it chips, it won't show so badly. Also, on the tile, go to some of your smaller stores to check prices. I was surprised that some of them were much cheaper than the larger stores like HD. Also, if your going to do tile on the kitchen floor, watch how you're going to transition to the linoleum. I LOVE the linoleum you had picked for your entry. Actually, I think all the color combos you had picked were just great.
Keep going girl!
- Karen
I am so tired and distracted with this whole thing. As I mentioned, hubby is out of town...guess what I did this morning. As I was mulling over colors, etc in my head, I was simultaneously pouring coffee and making the kids scrambled eggs. I ADDED SWEETENER TO MY KID'S EGGS! Doh!! I knew I needed that coffee!! Lol!! Well I've had a cup or so and now I'm functioning a little better. ;-D
My husband called last night and wouldn't you KNOW IT?! After DAYS of not committing to either color, when I tell him I think I'm going with red, he says he is sure whatever I pick will look nice, but he kind of prefers the cream. Good thing it was a long distance call or might have been flicked on the head! lol!
Ok, I really need to try and get some more ebay stuff listed. I'm also wanting to get some painting done today on the walls. If you would like to help support the Robin Kitchen Fund, take a look at my junk! Maybe you know someone who's having a baby!! (Otherwise I don't think most of you can use all the breastfeeding supplies! lol!!)
Gosh, is it HUMID outside! Just went to a parade (Homestead Festival this weekend) and was handed a magazine based out of Chicago that's featuring a kitchen and bath remodel business in town. Doing a very cursory glance at it, they talked about large tiles, can't remember the size now, but huge tiles, that all the rage now. Where's the first light going?
These lights will be for the master bedroom. I'll post pics once my husband returns from out of town with the camera. Digatunnel, I'm so glad someone else grabbed one! Please share before and after photos!
Terry, Thank you for the advice on the paint. I have never heard of milk paint. Do you think the 4 to 1 ratio will give the look I'm after? Should I do a glaze on top? One thing I was thinking about was that I love the poly finish in the bathroom, but I wonder if there's a way to not have such a glossy sheen for the kitchen. A flatter finish would help me achieve the look of cherry wood better, I think. I wonder what to do about that. Hmm...
Ok, I'm gonna go make some boxed key lime bars with the kids and hopefully poop them out so I can get them to bed and paint the hallway!!!!
OH! One last thing -- someone slap me because I saw a bit of HGTV's Flipping Out today and the guy, Jeff, was standing in his house and had greenish black cabinets. WOW! They were awesome! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... ;-O
I would think the 4 to 1 ratio would work fine. What finish did you buy the Polycrylic in? I always use satin, and it's not a gloss at all. To me, the finish is no different than my kitchen cabinets are, and they are side by side.
You can call them and ask what colors you'd need to mix to get the color you're wanting. You do get the opaque finish with their product and they're the ones who told me about Polycrylic. The more coats of Milk Paint you put on, the less wood you see. I did 2 coats and still see the grain. I wouldn't of been happy with just one, it was too translucent. Now that I'm thinking about it, instead of spray painting black onto my VCR cabinet thing, I think Milk Paint would fit this house better!
And here is the info on the peel and stick laminate sheeting that they used to dress up the appliances. How hard do you think that would be to do???? It's pretty expensive, so maybe we could do just the dishwasher?
Robin, if I could trade in my micro and my stove for all black, no stainless, I would in a heartbeat. They are so hard to clean. I've got several products and none seem to work as promised. I think mostly, I hate that you have to go with the "grain" of the stainless, which is always going sideways instead of up and down. I'm just not a fan. I've seen stainless and black, but I haven't seen stainless and white, which is what your dishwasher would have to be. Just because I haven't seen it though, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I've never looked for it.
You didn't answer my question! What finish is your Polycrylic? Satin, semi-gloss or gloss? That's going to make a huge difference.
I've never seen stainless and white either, so if it does exist it's way less common than stainless and black. I think it's something about the stainless that just looks better with black trim. On your stainless appliances, are yours older ones, or are they the newer ones with the fingerprint-resistant finish? I thought they had made some improvements in that recently..
All my appliances are just a little over 2 yrs old. To get the fingerprint resistant, those were way more than I would ever pay for an appliance, and were only on higher end appliances. I saw a fridge that was like that, but at 2 grand, no way! It wasn't even anything fancy, no side by side with water and ice, no ice machine even in it. Somebody makes them that aren't stainless, but the finish is called stainless...can't remember who now though. My stove is Maytag (gas) and my above the stove micro is Amana, who is made by Maytag. I wish they were fingerprint resistant, but they aren't. They're a bear to clean. I honestly don't like either of them. If you never used them, maybe that would be something else, but I use mine. Our daughter has a habit of resting her palm on the stainless...and that just does not wipe off cleanly. I got talked into the stove...it's a 5 burner. I like a simmer for sauces and soups, and this was the only style I liked. Which now, I wish I'd just gone for this model in black.
I just saw the can again when I was in the garage a while ago -- I wasn't sure, but it was satin after all. Maybe the "gloss" is almost more a gloss to the touch. Anyhow, it's definitely durable and smart for a kitchen area, but I guess I'm expecting too much of painted cheap cabinets. It's not real wood and that's that. ;-)
Oh! I had one other question to ask. I saw on one of the kitchen redo shows where they were painting cabinets and they quickly talked about doing the "clear coat" at the end and mentioned that they incorporated some into the paint during the whole process. Maybe doing that would give me the lighter intesity of color I'm sort of hoping for, and increased durability without having to do a final coat??? Will using a sprayer mean better results? I have noticed when I do walls, I tend to overwork the paint or roll over areas (trying to incorporate them and keep everything smooth) and mess up the texture. It dries funny in patches. I'm trying though!
Sorry I haven't posted much, hubby is out of town as I mentioned and I'm currently trying to get the hall painted! I'm up to my ears in Toasted Cashew! lol! I'm liking the look of it!! Hopefully he'll get the light fixture figured out and I can update with new pics!
One last thing, I got a D-Mail today saying that my subscription runs out in one week. I might wait a bit to resubscribe, but haven't fully decided yet. :)
Thanks so much, guys! We're going out of town this weekend, and I'm irked because I'd rather be here painting! lol!
Kitchens is free for all members, whether they subscribe or not.
I've never heard of putting poly into your paint and I wouldn't. I tend to shake my can of paint if I didn't get the whole room painted in one day. And I shake it when I do a second coat the following day. You never shake poly, you can only gently stir. A person would use a sprayer to get it more even and smooth and supposedly the idea is to give you better durability. I work fast when I paint, rolling on a section and barely hitting the section I previously painted...working wet to dry. Don't go back over the section at all, just the very bottom or the very side...assuming you work like I do, from top to bottom in about a 4 ft section, then move over and repeat. So the top 4 ft is a section and the lower 4 ft under it is my next section. I always finish each section with a top to where I ended roll. Then I move over and do the next top 4 ft half a wall, and then the bottom. Does that make sense? I would also like my poly to be on top, so I am guaranteed the best top coat. I guess the same reason I don't use stain and poly in 1 can, I use oil based stain, let dry, then put on 3 coats of polycrylic.
I only use a spayer in an empty house! You won't believe the mist in the air from it. It would get all over everything everywhere! Actually, maybe I'm wrong about that. I've only borrowed my contractor's sprayer and it's something like 3 horsepwower! It's like trying to guide a firehose!
I agree with terryr - I would never use one of those combos like "paint and poly in one!" It just flat out doesn't look the same. Now I've never tried it with paint, but with stain - I use the seperate stain and then the polyurethane.
No, Terry, I'm not as good a painter as you and these little tips, I am just learning. I am pokey and I went over it again and again. (I know better now, to work fast, edge first, keep wet edges, don't overlap.) Also, I keep getting interrupted by my kids. I stayed up WAY too late last night, but that's the best time for me to work. The hallway extends clear back to our laundry area and our door to the garage and I got to that point, so the entire hallway is done. YEA!
I appreciate your advice so much, Terry! Thank you!! I will try to stick to your method next time and I think the finish will be smoother.
Husband will be home tonight and I am so ANXIOUS to get that light fixture situation figured out.
I have two more paint colors, Warm Buff for the living room and Pebble Mosaic for the white on the dining room table and chairs. I tried staining a little light oak napkin holder I own last night and I don't get how to stain at all. I was experimenting to see how the wooden seats of my chair might look stained a slightly darker color. Do you wipe stain off? I used two different colors, rosewood and red mahogany and it just looked really sloppy. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Suggestions?
Oh, Bbrooke dmailed me some advice. She suggested I create my own top to the table set and then cut my existing table top lengthwise to create a topper for a banquette. I am still liking the banquette idea, but just not sure how to implement it just right to get the look I'm after. She sent me shots of several banquettes she has done in her work. Beautiful! I just wish I had more space for a regular dining table elsewhere instead of this being my only spot.
Ok, last issue, my husband does seem to be somewhat on board about removing the popcorn ceiling. (I dont' think he'll admit it, because I know he dreads the mess, but I think he is of the opinion that if **I** do it, and not him, then great!) When he tried to do the light fixture, he scraped the ceiling area just in the recessed alcove. I am thinking of doing the entire kitchen ceiling today so that that can be ready to be textured and painted before I finish the green walls and start on the cabinets. I saw some texturing material at HomeDepot. I have no idea how I'll do that, but I guess I'll learn! Terry, I liked your idea of painting your ceiling. The navy on your porch was striking and really beautiful. I would like to do a color a few shades lighter than the Toasted Cashew (the basic beige in the hallway). What do you think? Maybe Apricot Rose? http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?compa...
Just something with a touch of color.
Ok, that's it for now! Thanks so much for sharing all the wonderful information and your terrific opinions!!
Hmmm...
I was going to borrow a friend's sprayer. I know for a fact I want to spray the cabinet doors, which would be outside in the garage, but I wouldn't mind brush painting the cabinets inside.
You guys are probably right about the stainless laminate. :-( Oh well. We'll see. I keep hoping for something to break down! lol! Especially the stove, so I can do a fancy backsplash. By the way, what is the standard for appliances in a house for sale? Seems like sometimes they are included, sometimes not. Seems like a strong selling point to me (less to worry about moving in.) My husband and mother-in-law act like it's no big deal to have a house with zero appliances. I think, if possible, it's better to have at least one or two decent appliances, esp. if the rest of the house is not so hot and you're hoping to sell ASAP, (like my mother-in-law, whose been paying two mortgages for 2 years or something ridiculous like that, because she can't "get around to" getting all her packrat crap outta there.)
Phew...next topic. ;-)
A guy at Home Depot the other day said that granite tiles are extremely difficult to lay. Really? Now that I know what my cabinets will be like, I am thinking more seriously about what I would like to do for the counter and floor. I WANT quartz and an integrated sink SO BADLY, but I'll bet that doesn't happen. Granite tiles with wood edging would be the next best option, followed by tile. Opinions?
I think I'm going to go with at least a 12x12 tile for the floor. I wonder how hard that will be because I'm definitely doing it myself. EEK!
Last thing: I want to cut out the center of the two largest kitchen cabinets (that face each other) and insert glass. I think I would need to use a trim to cover the cut part. Anyone have experience doing this? I've been looking for a trim that looks contemporary and can't find what I like.
Robin, please get your ceiling checked for asbestos before you go removing it yourself--if I remember right your house is old enough that there could have been asbestos in the popcorn. I think it is possible for it to be there in houses built up to the early 80's, although it was becoming less common through the 70's, but anything built before the 70's there's a strong possibility of asbestos. If it's there and you don't disturb it then it's no big deal, but when you go to scrape off the popcorn you'll create dust and that can be a big health hazard if there was asbestos in there.
As far as including appliances or not...especially if your likely buyers would be 1st time buyers coming out of a rental, it could be a good selling feature to leave them there, otherwise that's just one more expense that they'll have to incur, and buying a house is expensive enough. It's really more of a personal choice though, but anything that's built in (like if you have wall ovens or an integrated stovetop rather than a range) would have to be included in the sale, but freestanding things are optional. Personally I think it helps you if you offer them, but you'll probably still find someone to buy your house even if you don't.
I don't think granite tiles are any harder to lay than any other type of tile. They are harder to cut though, best thing is to buy or rent a wet saw to make the cuts (or you might be able to mark the tiles, then take them somewhere and pay someone to make the cuts for you). I've seen cheapo wet tile saws at Lowes for ~$80, or if you only need it for one or maybe 2 days you could rent a much better one for less than that.
Thanks, ecrane. I agree 100%. It seems like "lower end" houses should just come with appliances. Who has stuff that is so wonderful they'd rather haul it in than have it already set up with no extra work? Moving is hard enough as it is. :)
Our house was built in 1986 (maybe 1987.) Do you think we're ok??
Thanks for being so considerate and helpful. You're awesome! ;-D
And I was thinking her house would be new enough not to have to worry about it. Another thing I've always read and heard is that if you have asbestos, it's the dust you don't want. Hence the misting of water onto the ceiling as you're scraping to cut out any dust. I pulled asbestos tiles out of this house, but I didn't stir up any dust. Nobody else here working...plumber, electricians, carpenter...were worried about asbestos at all. My dad commented that the asbestos tiles looked to be the exact ones he laid in a bunch of our businesses way back when...so I don't know. Wear a mask if you do do it, regardless of asbestos or not. I tend to do things that others wouldn't do though. I also wasn't living here and I don't have small children. I would say go with what the age of the house is to make the call as to whether or not you should be worried. Our first house built in '82, didn't have asbestos in the popcorn. Err on the side of caution, please. If your house is a newer home and you decide to take the popcorn off, use a lot of the plastic drop cloths to cover everything up. When you're done, you roll then all up into each other and carry them outside.
O.k. for staining...I use a old t-shirt cut into small squares, maybe 8" square. I stick my finger into the middle of the t-shirt and dip into the stain. Stain is something that is absorbed into the wood, so if your item has a finish on it, stain isn't going to work. It should be bare wood. It doesn't have to be new wood, but it can't have a finish coat of any kind on it. I go with the grain of the wood, wiping it in and when I'm part way done...this depends on the size of the item, I then flip my t-shirt to material that isn't full of stain and wipe off. For red mahogany, you usually need to apply it thicker, let it set for about 15 minutes, then wipe off. I don't care what the can says...lol...some say to wipe on and off and then wait 3 hours or more to reapply. I don't do it that way. I put a thick coat on and leave it for 15 minutes, then come back and wipe it off. If it's a large item, like the end tables I'm currently doing, or a door, I use a clean t-shirt square to wipe off. If it's still not dark enough, then I wait the 3 or more hours and reapply. Even if your napkin holder was bare wood, but it's been sitting around, finger oils touching it, it would need to be sanded down first. I'm sure the seats of your chairs have a poly or varnish finish to them. That has to be removed first. You can't just sand it to scruff it up like you can with paint, the clear finish needs to be gone completely.
For the ceiling, I'd use a shade or 2 lighter than the walls. If it was my ceiling, I'd use the same color or the darkest green on the color card, but if you'd rather it be lighter, then I'd stick to the same green. Find the green on your card and follow it up or down which ever way it goes lighter and pick a shade from that. The Apricot Rose looked too pinkish on my monitor.
If you like your table, I wouldn't be cutting it in half. Where would you put it with a new top on it? And why cut it? Why not just make your own little table top for the banquette? And keep your table as is? I know what you're wanting to do regarding it, but then I read more of what you're saying you want out of the room and I don't see a banquette as being formal. They're more informal and frankly, country looking to me. Sort of reminds me of the booth my grandpa created way back when. It was easiest and cheapest for him to make it than to buy my grandma a nice kitchen table ;) I think your kitchen is going to be warm and sophisticated, and the banquette just doesn't blend in right. But, that's my opinion.
I've never laid tiles on the floor or counter before. I have though, helped my sister put up a tile back splash. That was easy and was a lot easier standing and putting those up, then kneeling and trying to get floor tiles set just so. Leveling the floor with extra thin set...I don't know. I'd rather hire somebody to do it.
When we moved to TN, the micro and dishwasher were included with the house we sold. I was getting a dishwasher down there, but I didn't want the el cheapo stove the builder was going to put in. I told him to keep it and buy me an above the stove micro instead. His stove was electric and I had a 5 yr old gas one. When we went to sell then down there, the Realtor seemed to think it would be better to include my stove and fridge in with the house. I don't know that it made any difference. I've seen way too many houses with one fridge in the house, then somebody buys it and gets in there and the fridge that was in there, is not the fridge they get. My girlfriend just did the same thing. I told her to put the old one in the kitchen and put the one they were taking in the garage, but she didn't. I guess the people thought it was a "bait and switch". It wasn't...it said in the listing that the kitchen fridge went, the garage fridge stayed. But people don't read I swear. IF were to move, I would not leave my stove or my fridge here. Oh heck, the first people who bid on our house up here (we didn't accept), wanted my washer and dryer too! Come on! Anything built in though, the dishwasher, the micro, the disposal, all those have to stay. Unless you change them out before you move. Same with light fixtures. If you put up a really nice light that matches something you own and you want the light, you can switch the light before the house is shown. I did that. It wasn't that it matched anything, it's that I'd been looking for this light in my head for a couple years and finally found it down in AR while on vacation! I was not leaving it behind up here or down there. My mom took the light in the kitchen of their old house. It was really expensive and she wanted it. So my dad took it down and replaced it with something cheaper. I think that's pretty common. If you're only going to be in this house for a few more years, I don't think I'd put a lot of money into the appliances. I know there's paint for them, but I'm not familiar with it at all. Also body shops will paint them. They do up here anyway. Not during deer season when everybody's hitting deer, but when they're slow. PLEASE, do this for me. Paint your kitchen and paint your cabinets, then show what it looks like. I'm thinking it's going to look fine with the white in there. They don't look old, so if it ain't broke...
In my kitchen up here in our other house, I had glass in all the short cabinets...above the stove, sink and fridge. They had an edge created on the inside, then a little clip that held the glass in. If you're using just something on the back to hold them in, it's going to show and I don't think you're going to like that. Do you have a cabinet shop anywhere there? I'm not sure I would want to be cutting on my cabinet doors if I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing. Otherwise, I'm going to end up without a door for a cabinet, and that's not good. You'd want from the routered edge in, to be cut out. You might even check with a glass shop, they might do a lot of cabinets.
The biggest thing when painting is not stopping till you hit the end wall. You don't need to finish the whole hallway, but you need to go all the way down the hall without stopping. That's when the paint starts to dry and it shows. Also if you go back and look, and you see areas that you missed, little pinhole type things, don't worry about them. You'll get them on your second coat. I always prime, just a habit, so I have my primer tinted to the color I'm doing, or for red, I tint dark gray. Doesn't necessarily mean only 1 coat of paint, but it covers better. That another thing, I don't care what the can says, 2 coats or more of paint always look better!
Finally, I wish I was next door to help you with this. It's easy to do when you've done it as much as I have. You know that gap in there between the cabinet and your micro? Just use a small artist brush to get up in there and paint. And remember, if you tape your baseboards, it's a guide where not to paint, it's not so that you can slop paint onto it. I don't tape. I hate tape. Anyway, if you tape, but you need to add a second coat but you've paint on the tape, pull the tape off while the paint is still wet. Then re-tape the next day. Otherwise the tape pulls the paint off your walls.
O.k. post made while I'm typing. You're safe if your house was built in '86. No asbestos in the popcorn.
Believe me when I say, I wish you were next door to help me too! lol!! As a matter of fact, I'd take ALL OF YOU! We could have a heck of a painting party if I could find a babysitter! LMAO!
I've just got the "wanties" for the pretty stainless steel. You're right, my appliances "ain't broke" so I shouldn't worry about fixin' em. ;-D
I saw a pretty granite tile called Venezia Gold Dark (I think) that would be really pretty, then with a tile floor? YUM!! What do you all think? Could I figure out laying granite tiles? Remember, I have a friend who flips houses who could loan me a tile cutter. He MIGHT even come get me started some weekend, then Joey and I could finish the job. Oooh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it!
I have earned over $200 in ebay sales and have lots of smaller items still to sell, like lots of baby clothes and toys. I think I'm gonna tell my husband I want a new kitchen by Thanksgiving. That's reasonable right? (Last year, I hosted a big meal for the first time.)
Well, kids are climbing me like a jungle gym, must run!
Thanks so so so much for the advice, you guys are the best! ;-)
Terry, I forgot to add, the only way I can paint is after the kids are in bed and I'm not even going to tell you what time it was when I went to bed. (I told you I'm slow.) So, I stopped at sort of a "seam" in the wall, but I had to quit. It looks pretty good but I don't know if I'll do a second coat or not. You really recommend it??
Oh and I tried to find a lighter version of Toasted Cashew and they all get into the yellows or peachy colors. When i mentioned light green to hubby, his eyes bugged out. Can you explain to me your reasoning for your preference for the green? I might be able to be convinced, I just thought a nice light color would "open up" the area.
One more thing Terry...I did look around quite a bit on the Milk Paint site and the hues look beautiful but I wonder if I should just stick with Tawny Port since I've already found it? Is there a certain quality to the Milk Paint that you recommend?
If the friend flips houses, then I would think he'd be more than glad to help you? I was just told Sat at the parade when I saw my sister's best friend who now lives in Telluride CO, that my sister and I really need to get into the flipping house business...lol..not here though. We wouldn't make a thing!
O.k. my reasoning...are you in my head?? You need to be in my head...lol...when I see a white ceiling, to my eye, it's being cut off and I know right where the ceiling is. Like when they say you shouldn't wear a black shirt, white belt and perhaps a black and red skirt? They say it "cuts" you off? But if you remove the white belt, your body isn't cut off and you look better. (This is hard to describe...lol) It does the same thing to me in a ceiling. My ceilings, being the same color, aren't cut off, they just go up and you don't notice a thing. I like doing darker ceilings for 2 reasons, 1) they look neat 2) It warms up the room. I don't mean the temp, I mean the feel of the room. The feeling I want to evoke in a person. Dark doesn't close in on me, it's evokes a feeling of warmth. Light colors don't "open" up a room. The lighting does. The compliment that I remember the most is when a friend I only see occasionally because she lives out of state, was herewith her boyfriend visiting her mom. They came over for a few hours... Jean got up to leave and told Darrell it was time to go, but Darrell wouldn't get up. He said he couldn't get up. He felt warm and love in my living room. It was cozy. Hokey? I don't know, but it sure made me feel good!
Colors come in color families. The green you've chosen is in a family. You need a green within that family, not a grass that needs iron kind of green, but that sage warm green you've already got on your walls. I don't know if this works how I want it to or not..
. http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?compa...
O.k. now find the Monticello Rose and above that is Somerville Red. Somerville Red is something I would use on the wall (which is exactly what my living room is) and if I wanted a lighter color on the ceiling, I would use the Monticello Rose. Do you follow what I'm saying?
My thinking on the Milk Paint is that it can go over sealed surfaces, you just need to add the Extra-bond into the first coat. It will also give you that look of a stain that you want, but it isn't stain, it's paint. I don't think on the areas where the finish is gone, that the Milk Paint will make it look like a stain, but rather as a paint and time worn. Two coats of it are going to give you a creamy consistency that have a solid, opaque coating.
I can't figure out what the heck is wrong. I can be typing and suddenly it jumps up to where I've already typed, yet I'm typing down below, albeit blindly. I scroll back down, but the minutte I hit a key or the shift key, I bounce back up. So for now, I'm going to stop and see if DG is having problems of some sort??
Thank you so much for the added insight. I see what you are saying now about the color of the ceiling. I don't know if in this space it would be a good thing to extend into more green or not however. I wish I could wave a wand and look at two different options right before my eyes. :) I also understand about the color families, BUT, it seems like my green wall color is in a brand (Valspar's Seaside Retreat) that does not look very true on the colorcharts site and also the display in the store shows the colors in mostly a random fashion. It is next to some other greens, but I wouldn't necessarily say that one is the lighter shade of another. The other thing about this ceiling is that it is so open to the living area and does not even have the green on but two walls at the most. So it might be eaiser to find a lighter shade of the living room color, warm buff, like this one, "Churchill Hotel Ecru." http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?compa...
Anyhow, I'll think about it a bit more. I need to get it down and then textured, so I've got a bit of time. :)
I think I'm getting what you are saying about the Milk Paint. I'm just scared to let go of my hard fought red color. ;) lol
I can't figure out the color charts on that site. When I'm in the store though, it's right there on the card, so it's easy. Unless the cards at Lowe's are all by themselves? BM and SW paints aren't. You can also find a color from them and have Lowe's match it when you move on to your bedroom ;) I don't know if you asked them to cut the color by 75% if that would be the right color or not. If you can get a pint or a quart of it to see? I'm just thinking out loud...you might ask them how they could get that shade, just lighter. I know money is tight. What I did once when I wanted one paint on a chip and what they mixed up was not that color, I had them keep adding in black. It was supposed to navy, but it was royal blue. So they just kept adding more and more black till it was the color I was looking for. Talk to your friend who flips houses, he might do tinting himself and know how to get the color you want.
Definitely Robin, I understand. It took you a long time to decide on that red, I just thought if there was a red in there that interests you, you would have the grain like you want it. I also think though, that by experimenting with the color and water, you'll find what you're looking for.
Have you thought about doing skim coats on the ceilings instead of taking off one texture only to apply another? The tape and at least one coat of mud should be up there. Now all you need to do is apply a few skim coats. Those are just thin coats over your whole ceiling. So your ceiling would be flat and not textured.
This isn't the best picture and I understand the room is bigger than your kitchen, but here's our bedroom and it's a sage green. You can see the ceiling in the same color as the walls. Gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Hey Terry, thank you. Very pretty pic! Ok, that does definitely illustrate what you I thought you meant. Now, in my room, which color would you use? I sort of feel like I want the green to be in smaller doses. I am tying in the computer counter and our couch and that's enough for me. I really like the green wall color I've picked, but I don't want much more than what I have. I do like the hallway color and I THINK I'll really like the living room wall color. Since this is not a typical 4-walled area, I'm having a harder time picking all the different colors.
I have never heard the term skim coat, but I think I see what you mean and that is defnitely an idea. The wall with the 2 French prints on it has wallpaper that I painted over. (I KNOW, I KNOW!!) So it has a smooth finish. The wall with the computer and shelving has a texture. There is a bit of wall to the right that stretches to the entryway and has a doorway and a closet on it. I was trying to decide what color to paint this little strip. If I painted the computer's wall the green, then went to the living room wall color for the little stretched out bit, then went to the entryway, I thought it would seem choppy. (This is hard to explain in words with no pics. Sorry.) Anyhow, if you don't follow me, that's ok, but thanks, you've given me something to think about. :)
What do you think, should I do a second coat in the dining room and the hallway? I will admit, I left the tape up and it has already dried. Last night, for the first time I tried to really edge the paint without the use of paint and I am not good at it, but I will try to improve. That tape is actually fairly expensive! I was trying to save drips on our baseboard even though I loathe it and want to replace it! Ditto on the carpet. Ugh! It is SO dirty. I wonder if I can talk husband into replacing it sometime in the next year or so.
I know we've moved beyond the ceiling...but the house built in '86 you should be totally fine on the asbestos. For some reason I was thinking the house was built in the 60's or 70's, but maybe that was another thread I was following!
No, wasn't trying to say anything, just I was at work all day and missed a bunch of the discussion and you'd moved on to other subjects by the time I got back on the computer! But I wanted to make sure and come back to that and make sure you knew you should be OK on the asbestos.
What walls in the kitchen are green? What walls in the dining area are green? And the rest are?? Help me Robin. In the dining area, is only the 1 wall green? The wall that shares with the kitchen? If so, what is the other color? Or is it yet to be painted? Give me colors please! ;)
Everything in the kitchen dining room is green. I actually have not painted the computer's wall yet, because the shelves need to be taken down and I'm leaving that for hubby.
Here are some pics that should help.
In the actual kitchen, the paint is above and below the cabs.
and then the wall with the computer. The skinny part with the light switch was where I was going to start the living room color, Warm Buff.
PS In the first pic, the wall with the clock that stretches over the dining area, as well as the entire hallway is now the Toasted Cashew same as the entryway.
Yes, it does. Why not paint the computer wall and keep on going with the Warm Buff? Or if it's connected more to the hallway, why not use that color? It's late now I know and I'm heading to bed, but if you can show me a picture of the area in question and how it relates to the hallway and to the living room, that would be great. First thing in the morning ;)
Oh, how does the wall look? Is there any of the little holes that I always seem to get that have the underneath color showing? I also think with 2 coats, it gives you the better color. The truer color. A more even look and color. You said you overworked it in some places and it shows, but you'll lose that by repainting it the second time. And I swear, the second coat goes on much faster than the first! Why do you live so far away?? drats...
Could I get an updated photo of the kitchen and the hallway color too? Please?
Well, my husband took the camera to work to show off his pics of his trip to California.
I don't think right now I would take pics anyway because I have ebay stuff everywhere! Lol!
Right now, I think I'll concentrate on the ceiling. I am halfway done scraping. (Yes, I'm doing it bit by bit with lots of breaks. lol) I mentioned to husband doing regular paint vs. textured and I think he was undecided. The texturing hides imperfections, which there are a few of. What to do...
Did you ever figure out what you were doing wrong with the stain? I finally got my end tables all sanded and I stained the under side of them. Tomorrow I can flip them over and finish with the stain. I think they can be varnished (it's a furniture varnish) in 3 hours. I'm excited! The red mahogany looks really good. Who'd of thunk? Well o.k. I did, but my husband was skeptical...lol. Now to get to HD and buy some blackened nickel knobs...or perhaps if we leave early enough in the morning, we can take a run down to Peoria and I can get the Milk Paint too!
No, Terry, I never really figured out how to stain. Your description of the technique helped, but I don't have anything that's bare wood, so I guess I don't even need to worry about it. :) How did your project come out?! Share pics with us!!!! ;)
Ok, here is a pic of the chair I started painting. I would like your opinion on the color first off. It is called Pebble Mosaic and I was thinking it would have a bit more olivey green to it. It basically looks chocolate brown but this is only one coat. Should I top it off with regular black?? Maybe that would match the computer counter better? I certainly don't want to add brown to the mix. Our couch is olive green microsuede. I also considered going ahead and buying some of the Tawny Port and trying it out on the chairs. What do you think?
Next, I need advice on what to do about the seats. They are glossy with varnish, but my daughter chewed (yes chewed) on them around the edge so 2 of them look like a little beaver got to them. (Geez, I thought she was actually napping!) They are the lightest wood we have and I would like to make them darker, preferably, medium oak or cherry colored. So should I use something like that Citristrip stuff? Then sand the heck out of it, then what? I guess I don't know what to do with it.
Sorry I'm thinking out loud here. Sounds like my boy doesn't want to take a nap after all so I better go get him out of his crib. Thanks for your advice! I appreciate it!
Oh, good news on the light fixture. :-) Husband went there last night and apparently they DID still have a few (I must have missed them) and he is putting the new one up tonight! YEA! Now I'm thinking about going and snagging another one for the living room, but I don't think I would be able to talk husband out of BOTH ceiling fans. It is going up tonight hopefully!
Please excuse the mess, but here are some pics to show the little corner spot where I am undecided about what color to use.
As I've said, this whole updating thing began with the foyer. I painted it Toasted Cashew. Now that I am serious about painting the living room Warm Buff and the dining room is Marine Reef, I am not sure what to do about this corner. It would go from Marine Reef in the dining room to the Warm Buff by daughter's room, then Toasted Cashew in the foyer, back to the Warm Buff on the remainder of the living room wall. (Sorry that sounds so complicated.) Anyhow, I guess I COULD even repaint the foyer in the Warm Buff so it has more continuity. The Toasted Cashew is above that soffit (is that what it's called?) that stretches above the dining area. I think I will paint the kitchen/dining ceiling in Toasted Cashew.
Just wanted to give you the requested pics. THANKS!
Robin, If the living room is a separate room, I'd use the color that you used in the hallway, that I believe you used in the foyer in that area. I would paint that one wall where your desk is in the dining area, in that same color, which I believe is toasted cashew. I don't think you're going to like that two different colors on a wall that just has a bend in it like you showed up above. If these walls are connected to the living room though, I'd probably use the living room color. I'm not sure where your entry way is in all this? Connected to any of this? For your chair, yes, get some sort of stripper and go at it on the seat of the chair. Citristrip is one that I tried, but wasn't happy with the length of time it took for it to work, so I used (and still use) Stripeeze. It's a lot more powerful, and toxic. You might not be comfortable using around your children. Chemical resistant gloves and course steel wool are my best friends. I have always used it, but if I can, in the garage. It's great stuff, but you have to understand what you're using and use caution. You'll want to use whatever you decide on, probably in the garage or at least outside. And yes, use a palm sander to sand the heck out of it. You should be able to get a lot of the chew marks off, unless they're really really deep, like a large dog would do, but I don't think your daughter would of ;) I have 2 palm sanders, one is from Sears and is a Craftsman, called a mouse. It has an attachment to it that would fit in between the ladder backs. Another thought you could try, is that at our SW, they have this green sandpaper that is for paint removal. You could use that first to see how it takes the varnish off. I like black and brown together, but if it's not a look you want and you're not using any other brown, then go with the Tawny Port or black for the legs. I think black would look really sharp with a red mahogany stained seat.
Unfortunately, I'm not feeling well today. I wasn't able to flip my tables over and do the tops. I'm hoping to do them either tomorrow or the next day, then put the furniture varnish on them. I also wasn't able to get to HD or even down to Peoria today to get some new knobs and the black Milk Paint. I never got dressed. If you can Robin, buy a cheap piece of wood and practice staining on it. It's really simple. Kind of like a rub on, rub off. Going with the grain of the wood. Swipe a t-shirt of your husbands, preferably white and cut it into squares to use. Latex gloves are a must. I buy the box of throw away ones from Wal-Mart. Sand the wood before you stain though, to smooth it out. I prefer no finer than a 150 grit, but that's just my opinion. I will definitely post pictures when I'm done with all...the end tables and the VCR/DVD cabinet.
Hey, kids are in bed, so it's my chance to get some work done, but wanted to answer a question for you, Terry. The foyer is immediately to the right of the first pic I posted today.
I think after talking to husband that I will repaint *ugh* the foyer. It's a small space though and since I painted over wallpaper, it's probably a good idea anyhow. The living room and dining room are all one space.
I see that the pics are not really showing it very well, but I would like a flat surface, I just don't think I can get a surface that is truly smooth. Just spackling and sanding? Are those my only options for smoothing these out?
NOT Spackle! You can buy a small tub of joint compound, aka mud. Use that with about a 2 to 3 inch putty knife. Slap it up there and smooth it out, making a thin layer. You can add more to it if it's too thin, just don't make it too thick that it takes forever to dry. When you do it, just feather it onto the areas that aren't all bunged up. Take your light down, or at least have it just hanging from the wires...it looks like a light weight fixture. If it's heavy, then take it all the way down. You'll know what the mud is dry based on the color. It's going to dry lighter than it is when you put it on. It's easy.
I took pictures, but I haven't put them on here yet. I got most of the end tables stained...the drawers and the drop leaf parts on one, I forgot, so I did the bottoms and part of the sides also on the drawers. Now for them to dry. It's not humid out, but it's also not very warm out. Slows the drying time down considerably.
Well, I've been busy, don't know about Robin. I have 3 pictures to show...this stinks, I can't find a before picture and dummy me didn't even think about not having 1. sigh. So anyway, imagine these tables as a honey oak color. Not anymore...and I'm also sorry, but I must of had some water or something on the lens of my camera...so it shows up looking like water spots on my tables. Hopefully I picked the best of the ones I took...because there ain't no going back...lol. Also, took a run to Peoria today to buy some Milk Paint and wouldn't you know it, but they were all sold out of Pitch Black. So, I just ordered it online. Not sure how long it takes to arrive...another sigh. Now remember, these tables aren't done. They don't have the furniture varnish on them...which now I wonder if I should shellac them. Hmmm...anyway, here's pic 1 of the bottoms of the tables done...
Pic 2, they're right side up, showing unfinished tops...looks like they might need another coat and the picture sure shows the blue on the walls in that room awful looking...they aren't that color of blue.
And finally, stain on all them. I finally did the bottoms/sides of drawers and the bottom of the drop leafs. I did get knobs for them today at Lowe's. Seems nobody carries the blackened nickel anymore ;( So I bought burnished bronze. Egg shape.
Yep! My Amazon box is here too! As a matter of fact, DH is opening it and mumbling something to himself that I'd rather not hear - this very minute!
Terry - You're so handy I wouldn't be surprised if you had made those tables yourself!
Studying for a state exam so I won't be on the computer again until Tues. ( I'm just sneaking in a break! I had to know how things were going!?) For me, making a ceiling look smooth is not easy.
I really think you should paint that brown wood trim in the middle of your ceiling the same color as your ceiling. It's as subtle as a jet engine!
Overall, are you excited about all you've accomplished so far? You should be!
digatunnel, nope, I didn't make the tables myself, but thank you for the compliment! I do have a dresser in the garage that I want to redesign. Remove all the stuff inside for the drawers, remove back and part of the front middle, install new pine plywood in the back and basically make a shelf in the middle going side to side, and then another piece going up and down in the middle. So when you look at it, it's an open front dresser with 4 spaces for things. 2 spaces will have baskets with the basic bathroom stuff (band aids, Neosporin, etc. etc.), the other spaces will hold towels. I'll paint it white when I'm done. I hope that makes sense. I didn't get the second coat of stain on today...had a funeral this morning and then my husband and I worked on finishing up with the horizontal lattice and trim on the front porch. Hopefully tomorrow the next coat will go on.
My husband had an early flight out of town this morning, so I'm up even though I don't wanna be. We were out of town this weekend for a Bluegrass festival in Joey's hometown. We saw both sides of the family and had a great time eating and watching music. Had a little TOO much fun Friday night and both had headaches Sat. Then Sat. evening, I got some kind of flu-like thing. No nausea, but fever, chills, headache and body soreness. Ibuprofen helped, so I limped through the weekend then slept most of the 3-hour drive home and then the rest of the evening.
ANYHOW, Digatunnel, get this, Joey does not want the light fixture in the bedroom! AT ALL! He does not want to give up his ceiling fan, so I'm trying to decide what to do with this light! It would look SO pretty with our master bedroom colors.
I finished scraping the popcorn off the entire hallway (just not the laundry room.) So it will start today trying to get the surface as smooth as possible, ready for paint. I want to do the ceiling first before I finish any more walls.
Well, muscles are still achy, so I'm gonna go for now. I will update soon with more! Thanks everyone!!
That's too funny! Oh No! My hubby called it the "practice light."- see if it's the right size to get a different one! UGH!
It really is a nice light fixture though. I will try to post before and after pics later. Have a nice day!
Robin,my husband would never let me change it out the ceiling fan in the bedroom either if for some reason I wanted to. I'm having a hard time with a chandelier in anything but the dining room. Perhaps the foyer if it's the right one.
Prime where you've applied the joint compound first...do the whole ceiling. Before you paint. And tint the primer so that you can see the ceiling better. That way, if there's any imperfections, you can use more joint compound to smooth it out better. The skim coats we, mostly me, did in the spare room, got 2 more skim coats on top of the primer before I was satisfied.
I did another coat of stain on the end tables and they look awesome. Now for them to dry...
Robin!! I'm the queen of palm sanding!! Buy #1. The DeWalt. The second one takes special sandpaper with holes if you want the dust bag to work. I know this because that is exactly what my sister has, but we didn't have the holes in the sandpaper. The first one just takes a full sheet of sandpaper, cut into 4 squares that clamp on. Much easier and much cheaper.
Thanks, Terry. I did read about that in the review and that made a lot of sense. More practical and economical. The other one has a nice grip and the dust collector seemed better, so I was trying to weigh the pros and cons, but thank you, I think you're probably right.
I did not get ANY painting done last night. I put my kids to bed and walked STRAIGHT into my room and fell asleep. With Joey out of town, I poop out easier. ;-) I woke up at about 3 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep! I'm gonna try and get some work done now that it is nearly morning. Maybe the kids and I need a run to the donut shop.
:-P
Thanks, Terry! We're waiting on pics from you of your latest project!!
Which one...lol...?? I've changed gears, end tables are still upstairs needing to finish coated and we're now working on extending the deck and adding a ramp. I also want to make the railings on the deck look like our front porch...because really, a deck on a house that's 111 yrs old looks goofy...lol
I used my sisters (#2) all the time. It was as easy to hang onto as any that I've ever used. I think the DeWalt will be easy to hang onto also, they're just not promoting that part of it like the other one is. You can use the 2nd one with regular sheets of sandpaper, I think 1/4 sheets too, but the dust bag doesn't work if you don't use the right sandpaper.
Well, breakfast time, hubby's yelling and we need to get outside and get going on the deck!
Another unusually ealry morning around here. Joey returned from a 4-day business trip and the kids were up late, so doesn't that mean they should SLEEP LATE? Apparently not. ;-)
Terry, we want to see your tables, unless you have another project you want to show us, in which case, we want to see both! lol!
I'm moving slowly on the ceiling. grrr I want it done! I'll try and post pics this weekend of a FINISHED project!
Digatunnel, I really like the finish on that lamp, don't you? We need pics please! Why did your husband call it a practice light? Mine is still sitting in the box and I'm wondering what we're going to do about that. Hmm ...
We spent ALL day today putting up the framing for the extension on the deck and for the ramp...I am sooo tired. We had to run tonight to go get more lumber.
My Milk Paint came in, so all I need is to get that cabinet outside to sand it, then take it upstairs to my work room (actually the blue spare room) and get it painted. I also need to put the furniture varnish on the end tables. The knobs I got look awesome with the red mahogany. If we could only get some rain...maybe late tomorrow and on Sun. Well, wait. Rain means I can't haul the cabinet outside to sand, but it does mean I can put the varnish on the end tables!! And my gosh do we need rain. I've never seen the compost and soil split open like it is right now. It's very weird looking.
I'm pooped too. That ceiling is exhausting! I got one complete coat on it, FINALLY! But because of all the dust (I thought I had brushed most of it off), the paint started to get dry and "lift" in spots. Oh what a disaster. Anyhow, I'll work on those places, smoothing them out, then do a second coat. Luckily the flat paint allows for some imperfections. :)
I am surprised that my husband actually knocked a hole in the wall above our master shower. There is a soffit there and it is pointless. We want to raise the ceiling there. *I* want to pull out the stall and tile a slightly wider shower and add a nice glass door! We already added a walk in closet, so I think updating the rest of the master bathroom would be a really good idea. I want to finish in the kitchen and dining first though. My goal is to have a big family dinner the first week in December and have the house in tip top shape by then!!
You primed it first, correct? Please tell me you primed it! We used a shop vac on the walls when we did the skim coating to remove 99% of the dust.
I did get 1 coat of poly on my end tables. I thought it was furniture VARNISH, because it cleans up with Mineral Spirits. Imagine my surprise when I got it from the basement and it says it's furniture poly, not varnish. Wipe on poly. I did it and immediately left the room, so I have no clue what it looks like. We worked outside till 6PM on the deck. We've at least got the 4' by 17 something foot extension framed in and the 4' by 4' ramp top platform framed in. Tomorrow we continue on with putting the deck wood flooring down. Hopefully in the morning before we go outside, or after my husband leaves for work, I can get another coat on the end tables. Our carpenter, who's the brains behind the framing, will be back on Mon. My BIL came by today, I gave no reason, just told them to bring him over...lol. Boy was he (and his aid) surprised!
Oh, Terry. No, I didn't prime. :-( I guess I just thought two coats of the cream paint color would do. I wasn't trying to hide stains or seal out odors, so I didn't think it was necessary. Explain to me why I should have so I'll know next time. Ugh. Anyhow, it looks pretty good now. I'll spot touch a few places and do a second coat.
Are you taking pics of your deck project?! Sounds like a wonderful addition!!!
Digatunnel, we want to see that new dining room light! I can't believe how pretty that bronzey finish is on the light and how PERFECTLY it would match our bedspread. I opened the top of the box, but have not taken it out. (since dh refuses to lose the ceiling fan). I am not sure what to do with it now. I guess I could send it back. I'd really rather talk him into it eventually. Don't know if that's gonna happen though. ;-{
* Use on any new or bare surface to seal the surface
* Prevent smoke or water stains from consistently bleeding through to the surface
* Prevent grease and mildew stains from bleeding through
* Making a major color change
* Painting over a glossy surface * Don't know when last painted; so topcoat will not be absorbed into the surface * Ensures great adhesion of the topcoat which will promote:
* Greater color retention
* Greater wash and scrub resistance * Makes for a more uniform attractive appearance of the topcoat
* Ensures better holdout if topcoat has a sheen
Mostly, for me, it's to seal the surface. You never put paint directly over drywall and joint compound...like in a new home. You always prime first, then paint.
Yes, taking pictures. What a difference just adding 4' to the depth makes! The length is 17' something, but at the east end is also another 4' by 4' where the ramp starts (so there it's actually an additional 8'). And then to have a railing that's going to look like our front porch is just going to make it all the better. And everybody's giving me different opinions on when you can stain. The rails I want to paint to match the porch, but the floor, since it's not covered like the porch, I want to stain. I hear next spring, I hear now, I hear in a month...grrrrrrr...painting I know I need to wait till next year and let it dry out. But the stain, I can't get anybody to agree. We're also waiting for a guy to give us an estimate for painting our 3 gables. Too high (3 stories) and my husband won't allow me up on a ladder...lol...
LOL! Didn't get kicked off it, my foot slipped. I was sitting on my MIL's counter and turned to paint the other cabinet. When I did, I put my foot down to steady myself and help me turn. And my foot flew off, the counter is higher than my inseam, so I couldn't catch myself, so I went flying, sailing, sliding till I hit the fridge we'd moved into the middle of the room. Broke my ankle. Actually crushed the bone on one side, broke it in 3 places on the other side...anytime I get on a ladder, he gets nervous. You'd think I was clumsy or something!
I haven't been on this thread in weeks and weeks...but i saw some flourescent lighting in ecrane's kitchen...yeah...no old fashioned at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!! spiffy looking new kitchen...
I thought you girls would be through with the kitchen and dining room by now (LOL)...have to do a little poking fun at you...when you get through we will have to publish this dialog...this is too entertaining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love it...just remodeled this old farmhouse a year ago and used them wherever i could...along with track lighting and the big ones that come down (just the opposite of recessed ones)
What's the saying? There's no accounting for taste?? lol...poking fun at ya Gail, just having some fun! I wanted to point it out before, but you seemed a little irritated that I didn't like your suggestion of fluorescent lighting...but the link you gave waaaaay up there? Isn't for those long tube ick looking things, but for bulbs. I have fluorescent bulbs where they'll work, but otherwise, just regular ole bulbs. When we rehabbed this old farmhouse, I tried to find lights that looked period. No track lighting, no fluorescent lighting (except for a few bulbs in lamps)...because after all, in 1896, the lights in this house were gas. We had to cut those off or try and shove them up when we installed the new/old looking lights.
I don't mind if the topic strays. ;-) Yes, it seems I should have a LOT more done now, but the main things slowing me down are money and taking care of 2 kiddos 24/7. Husband was just gone for 4 days and left again this morning for 4 more days. Sigh...
I am irritated at myself over the priming thing on the ceiling. I had even BOUGHT the primer, but just kind of ended up skipping it in my haste, without even really thinking. (I guess kind of like skipping the warm-up when you're exercising. lol!) Anyhow, when I decided to go with a color instead of white I guess is when I got sidetracked. I chose a very light cream, on the same color card as my living room wall color. I am thinking I need to add some crown molding to make the seam between the wall and ceiling really look nice. However, there is an edge which I don't know what to do with. I posted a pic of it way above when I was asking what to do about the uneven texture. It just kind of ends and the edge of the molding would be visible from the side. In that case, do you add one of those "corbels"? Not sure what to do about that...
I've attached a pic of the area in question below. (Ignore the spot that still remains to be filled in and painted. There was a wall bracket I couldn't remove at first.)
Now I want to get the chairs done and the living room painted. I will let you in on something. I knew this would happen, so I'm not terribly surprised, but...I'm having second thoughts about the red on the kitchen cabinets. Anyone wanna coach me through it? lol! I posted the pics on the Rate My Space and everyone likes the white and they say "definitely" not the red. I have only had Terry and my best friend vote for the red. I emailed my best friend pics of the two "inspiration rooms" and she said that helped her visualize what I had in mind and thought it would look very modern. She thought the cream looked very country with the green wall. I know the wall might be nicer in a terracotta or gold or red, but I have to tie in the computer counter. Anyhow, that's where I'm at. I'm still thinking I guess. I suppose if I went with the white, I could do a bold counter and flooring, maybe some slate or something. Sorry to drone on and on, but the whole thing is really aggravating. I don't want to spend the time to paint them and then regret it, so I'm taking lots of different things into consideration, like resale, etc. Also, because we are so broke as of right now, it is not realistic to think that we are getting new appliances, countertop and sink anytime soon, but maybe
