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Sunny daze, the color Patricia suggested, subdued mossy green gray, is one of my favorites with the reddish tones on the brick. You could go a little darker but that tone really works with the brick. The driftwood color is a good neutral color. It's probably what I have, or maybe slightly lighter on my home. It goes with most everything and has enough variation in color.
My dad was red/green color blind so I understand. We had to help him pick out clothes every once in a while. Bring someone with you to pick out paint or new siding color is my best suggestion, hopefully someone good with color. If you go with a tan color of siding be sure to pick out a darker tan. I've seen some end up with a pink hue to it that you don't notice until it's all up. Also, you shouldn't pick out green, you may end up with a mint jewel tone that would not be good.
If you’re up for changing the entire color scheme you could do a black or charcoal gray roof with the body (siding and brick) a light gray, and the trim in white.
I didn't read everything above.
My suggestion:
Purchase a nice very low console/chest for the electronics in a light color to blend in. Then to make the speakers disappear paint then same color as trim, or similar and remove fabric from front of speakers and replace with a light color fabric. They should somewhat visually blend as opposed to the dark color they are which makes them stand out.
My first wife never liked my Magneplanar speakers.
What about the second and third wives?
Black seems so severe. It will be off the good idea list soon and be on the what were we thinking list. My preference is to blend with the surroundings more. Maybe a greenish charcoal ish color. Remember black and dark colors absorb heat from the sun, your home will need more energy to cool in warmer weather.
I went ahead ahead and painted a few walls. I already love it!
Glad you love it! Please post pics. BTW, wondering about your comment about new deck, no railings. I think I see a raised deck that would not be safe without railings.
So true Joanne on not messing with sanding too much or at all. I ended up with a very old banged up chest of wood drawers (27 drawers) that belonged to my grandfather. It was a dentists cabinet we think, he worked in the dental supply business, it's not a library card chest. I tested the finish, it was varnish. I was able to save the original finish by using a process called re-amalgamation (not sure if spelled correctly). I was able to clean it up just enough and not lose the patina. It's very rickety, old and beat up but my favorite thing ever.
I'm not sure of the age of this. Maybe early 1900's, but I really don't know. Tend to doubt it is earlier than that. It's hard to see the dovetail detail in that picture because of the stain covering them. Thank you for sharing the additional photos. I would clean it up but probably not spend significant money to have a professional restore it.
And I agree with you, looks like it got a not very good refinishing in the past. So preserving the finish on it should not be a priority.
Naw definitely 1st quarter 19th century. Don't need to see dovetails, an experienced eye can also tell from the original back boards, rim lock and escutcheon and proportions. Guarantee if we saw more pics of the drawer construction, rear & bottom it would seal the early 1800s age.
Consider having the mantle you want made to go over what is there as a cap rather than a replacement.
Maybe fill in with a wood strip painted to match cabinets. Maybe a skinny edge tile is sold that matches your tile, at least in color. Cutting the tile doesn't look like it's working very well. Go to a speciality tile shop, they might have something that would work and you probably don't need too many even if they are costly. But touching up with paint may work. I would let the paint fully cure extra time before placing it. Maybe even test it out for a while in one spot just in case.
These are individual 3X12” tiles. sorry to hear the glass cut you so badly
I’m all healed up an much the wiser now, thanks. If you want 3” x 12” subway tiles, and you can’t set these glass tiles with a 1/8’ unsanded grout, there are many beautiful options in ceramic tile that you can cut to fit your space perfectly. No chips, no need for a diamond blade, no odd trims. You have a lovely space. Now you just need the right tile for your situation.
I wouldn't want to use Paze or Zelle, Vemo or PayPal My bank offers Zelle but I don't want to use it. I really don't like using my checking/debit card for many things. I use one cc for auto billing and monthly bills and pay off every month. I feel cc offer more protection on unauthorized charges and I can turn them off easily if needed. I use a different cc for gas, groceries, shopping and online shopping and pay off every month. Then I don't have to worry about someone getting my checking account compromised. I may get a third cc for any larger items that I have to wait to access money to pay in full. Like new a/c or furnace, something major... but maybe not.
I have not joined the digital wallet crowd yet. I don’t have any issue managing my credit card or my passwords for the sites where I shop. Their pitch seems to be that you just use your email address to shop and they will be storing your card numbers and passwords for you as their service. They manage your digital wallet to make it easier for you to shop. They then keep that data for 7 years. Paze is a new company so I would NOT be among the first to use it. I would opt out before I was forced into it.
This is exactly what I was thinking. I do use Paypal sometimes, but I don't see any advantage in joining Paze. I got a note from Chase this morning, they received my request not to opt in and said they would not opt me in.
I suspect that cloaking credit card numbers this way will ultimately help the consortium of large banks using Paze to help manage credit card fraud and I'm all for that, but I don't want to be an involuntary guinea pig for a program that doesn't seem like it is going to be of service for me.
If you can afford it I've read that the fiberglass ones are way better than vinyl. You can get crank out windows. I have one in my home. I have sliders in all on my windows but for ease of opening the one over the kitchen sink I got a double crank out (single would have been too big) My original windows were sliders but I really wanted double hung but the opening were to big and would have had to install two double hinges in each opening.
I wonder if a black or bronze (or black) wouldn't look better on the outside of your home. You may be able to get white on inside/bronze on outside. My sister has Anderson windows that are white vinyl on the outside, real wood on the inside. She did have to stain the wood herself. She has had them for about 35 years and they are in good shape.
Beautiful house! Do you have DIY skills at all? My husband and I are rehabbing our casement windows one at a time. It’s time intensive but not hard. We learned everything from online resources.
We got an estimate for replacing one large picture window and it was 8 grand for an equivalent of the wood frame original.
I found a company that rehabs old windows and doors -- that's all they do. I wanted to maintain as many of the original features of my 1928 English cottage as possible so I hired them and am glad I did. For me the alternative would have been VERY expensive new windows because I couldn't stand the thought of most of the products on the market.
Walking around my neighborhood of older homes, the ones that have the most charm still have original windows and doors. Old houses are definitely a labor of love (and not cheap to own). Enjoy your new home - it's gorgeous!
I would absolutely NOT touch the wall. That will look odd.
You didn’t state the size of the existing fridge but it looks like a standard size. I would go down in the width of the refrigerator and reconfigure the space. Here are my ideas in order of what I would do as a designer:
Reconfigure the existing space; remove the cabinet above and put in a narrower but taller fridge/freezer combo. I’ve done this before and the clients are always skeptical but very happy in the end. It’s easy to match the blue paint as long as you save a door to bring to the paint store. A narrower fridge will allow you to open a French door fridge to the right. I would choose one with a recessed or low profile handle and try to find one with a zero clearance hinge to make the most of the space. They are out there. Higher end brands make them. Look for double drawer models to make the space feel bigger.
Switch to a left hinged fridge with a freezer drawer below. Not great to have it open this way, but if you get one with a see through door, it won’t feel so tight.
If you use a freezer merely for ice, ice cream and a few emergency frozen foods, you can get away with an all refrigerator unit, and put a freezer drawer below a cabinet elsewhere. You can even add a fridge drawer elsewhere. That would allow you to go down in size of the end unit, but still have a lot of fridge space overall. Subzero makes a nice all glass front refrigerator. I wish I knew your existing fridge size. I would be better able to advise you.
I have seen the sexiest and most useful tall fridges that are merely 20” wide, so don’t think that wider is always better. Focus on the cubic space when deciding.
Yep, you need a single door fridge. My mom got a two door model like yours. She had it for a few years and it didn't fit, was up against a wall like yours. She could never open one side fully. The two door models seem to need more clearance. When shopping for her new one we looked closely at how it swings open and if the door needs extra space to swing open. The thing thankfully died a early death, it had issues mechanically early on that took numerous visits under warranty. The replacement was a one door, freezer drawer below. I would never buy a two door fridge after her experience. They seemed like a good idea at first.
The tub making the toilet bubble is a clear indication that the drain venting was improperly installed. The bubbling occurs when a slug of drain water is pushing air in front of it and the air can't escape, that's the purpose of the vent piping, to let air in and out as needed. So the trapped air being pushed exits via the toilet causing the bubbling. That's also the likely reason the toilet doesn't drain properly and repeatedly plugs, the trapped air also slows the toilet solids from moving down the piping causing the solids to slow down and settle out mid-pipe. Then the next flush of solids runs into the first, and from there things spiral into a blockage. The only way to fix the problem is to redo the underfloor piping correctly. If you're on a a slab, that's a huge issue to break up all the concrete and replace the drain piping; you will likely never get the plumber to admit their mistake. If on a crawlspace the fix is much easier. The builder may have sufficient clout to get things fixed but they may balk as well.
Is there still a residue? Try mineral spirits, acetone (some finger nail polish contains it ), isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol works surprisingly well on some things. Mineral oil, WD 40..like removes like.
Sand the treads and re-stain. I would polyeurothane, which might make them slippery.
I do not have a lot of ideas but maybe renew the stairs.
EJF - Look up medical bankruptcy and medical debt. If our country had a comprehensive single-payer healthcare system, medical bankruptcy and medical debt wouldn't exist. (Just one example.)