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I bought this house and I am willing to do anything that is needed to help the look of the kitchen. i am planning on re doing the kitchen.
i dont need anymore seating / eating area.
more counter or storage space is needed.
also this is the back of the fireplace. on the other side is the living room with the actual fireplace. there is also a chimney.
So wonderful! @Paul F. Once you finally get your house fully recovered from the fire you'll have to have a housewarming and we'll all be there. Does Hermes have a gift registry so we can honor your front door?
Well, part of coming here for help is answering questions.
Unless you're used to having the TV up high (over the fireplace), having it to the right like Paul F.'s first picture is better. Just buy a new console and skip doing a built-in.
The TV over the fireplace will be too high no matter what you do. I'd buy a new console and put the TV to the right of the fireplace, at eye level when you're sitting. And a bookcase would work well along the left side wall. Then arrange the furniture around the TV/fireplace wall and the right side window, perhaps an L-shaped sectional with a chair/ottoman by the window.
Always had gas until I moved to Florida. I like electric, no odors, no electric pilot lights, electric is not expensive here. Gas can be cheap in some areas of the country and very expensive in other areas.
IMO electric is the future with the new convection cooktops etc. It's just my opinion, but gas is a dirty fuel. Just check the bottom of your pots and pans if you doubt that. I would never go back.
It is impossible to tell the real cost of various forms of energy because utilitity companies in different states get different kinds of government handouts for gas and electric, depending on the state. None of them pass the savings on to rate payers and instead pass the cost savings on to the CEOs. It's Big Utilities, who buy and pay for commissioners and elected officials, that are the problem.
There is a baseboard heater so long drapes will not work there.
Oh you have a beautiful bedroom for your guests and son. I think bigger bolder lamps that are a bit taller... Maybe frame the map in a dark navy or black frame.
Wondering since you can not do long drapes because of a heater.. .Could you do plantation shutters? Maybe get room darkening ones... I love the wood floors too.
Roman shades
Notice this lamp is a little larger. The floors look like yours.
I happen to like this one becasue of the boxer dog.
I believe most people treat their stainless steel appliances as their own thing... no need to try to tie in a fixture. Maybe a pro will chime in on this.
I love the idea of mixing metals and I did something similar. I did hardware called honey bronze that matched the lighting fixtures in brass. I also did polished nickel faucet and black on my stools. Here is a pic. Let me know if you want to see more.
I also did black dining chair like you said you wanted to.
1. The large arched cabinet doesn't work in the room. The cabinet should not be placed on the diagonal. It appears too large for the room. Find a new placement for it in the room or remove it.
2. I agree your room requires a new fixture. Please note the terrible quality of the light those exposed bulbs create in the room. They are too bright and too cool in color.
A linear chandelier might be a good direction for this room.
Texture and pattern would be a start
I like your tone on tone, see what Paul F did, adds a lot to room, maybe all you need.
How often do you open the blind the behind the bed? Daily, never? If never, I'd add more curtain panels to fill in the gap in the middle and cover the window entirely.
There's a lot of wood:-). I think if you sheetrocked going up the stairs,replaced the built-ins with updated ones leaving the diagonal design above the cabinets, adding color to the room with furniture and placing the tv on the wall under the stairs would change the look of that woody room!
Without the diagonal designs...
Paul F. will you pretty please stick around for a year or so while we build? Feel free to add horses or camels or whatever you like in odd places but I may need you. LOL
You’re having a classic Mid-Renovation Anxiety Attack. Congratulations! You’re normal. Most of us freak out mid-job no matter how confident we thought we were with our choices.
This looks LOVELY! It’s very serene, which is a good adjective for a bathroom. Please follow @JAN MOYER’s request for detailed measurements and more photos. You will get more advice - and confidence - for your choices. So far, looking good.
@freedomplace1 what software did you use to change the floor tiles in the pics so beautifully? Plz share, I luv how effortlessly you were able to see the impact without having to resort to changing the tiles
I worry that you are considering some things that aren't really suited to your sweet little house. Unless you really want to change the look to something that leans MCM or another totally different style from what it is.
Beth posted a pic of one of these....what would you think of something like this to 'fancy' up the garage area? You could plant something to the right of the post that would climb up and over the top of the walkway and across the garage area.
If you change the garage door, I would leave it the same color as the house; I like how your's kind of disappears...unless you select a natural wood/wood look door.
Agree that all the architectural chat is likely to be wasted money and agitas. Paint your front door a bright color, consider one of the suggested changes to the garage door, and put all the rest into landscaping. Check back in a year and see how you feel.
Not the red.
I hate rock mulch ! The previous had rock mulch on top of landscape cloth installed across the front of my house, and now it's full of weeds. It's very difficult to weed and I refuse to use Roundup on it. I hate that cancer-causing stuff that they say is now in our groundwater. Kate Cowers, perhaps you wouldn't be so cavalier about using Roundup if you had lost close family members to that horrible disease like I have.
Oh, come on now.
Thanks! This is why I need this app, sometimes I go completely in the wrong direction. Really appreciate the advice - saved me a $165 mistake!
Lamps
I would build it out like this and just hide it all. Natural wood or white or wall color.
Weed block underlayment is what we have used under our driveways, front walks and patios. On Cape Cod where a solid surface often is not allowed because drainage is the operative goal. Pebbles, larger than the grooves in your sneakers and tires, for obvious reasons, are used.
Thought this article might help you.
https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/patio-materials
For your installation maybe you could do stones and areas of greens would look lovely.
I think it could be possible you can reuse some of the stone from the water feature to help create a stable surface for furniture. So you could pull the water system, do a good job with a firm fill, and top off with a stable surface. If it's legal not to have the railing, you could remove it and create a step down into that seating area from the porch. Use plantings and lights to edge that square and create the parts people don't walk through.
I noticed you have a couple chairs on the porch. Do you want more shaded seating below? Maybe put in a swing bench with an awning overlooking the yard. Or if you want more sun, skip a shade and put out some nice table and chair action. Either way, either blend that with your current seating, or replace the current to match when you get new stuff.
@beesneeds - Thank you. I love the idea of removing the railing, creating a step down and plants/lights. Thanks!
I think you should take pictures with more natural light.
I would move the big chairs to face each other on the tall wall (since the others are dwarfed) and maybe get a vintage game table between them.
Pull the two small chairs to join the rest of the living room or at least in that direction. You have tall ceilings and you need to keep scale and height in mind.
Thanks Paul. I’ll try and get that large painting vertical. Will need to find a ladder.
Yes, you've got it, but.......you'll want the ottoman by the lounge chair, and the heavy appearance of the two blue/gray chairs seems like too much for the space.
You'll need some large art in the space, and I see now the TV is placed too high when placed on the console table.
I've actually seen an upholstered pad mounted to the wall and it just looked clever.
Flo’s idea for a drop is solid. I would look for a square or rectangle. As F said you can use as console or bar but pull up just the one side and you have a table to sit at that does not take up much room—just the width of the drop side when up. The two chairs would face each other, one facing the patio door, one facing living room. And you could probably find one where the center undroppable section is big enough for two to dine without flipping up the dropped section.
Just another suggestion about the light. I have used a S hook to bring up a light closer to the ceiling in the past. It's an inexpensive way of moving the light out of the way.
"Before jumping to conclusions"
...or read the previous posts...?
I hate uncovered windows at night too - makes me feel like I'm in a fishbowl.
And I like to walk for exercise in my neighborhood - I often can easily see into people's homes at night. Nobody's ever doing anything scandalous, tho - darn it 😄
Some people live in neighborhoods where people go outside and walk, although it may be hard to believe.
The OP never asked for help lighting the steps, only the area to the right of the steps. He's most concerned about lighting the platforms that will display items. The one misconception I think he has is that the closer of the light fixture gets the more it needs to be dimmed compared to the rest of the bulbs. A high quality, high CR light fixture and bulb won't need that type of individual adjustment in the space of only 6 feet in my experience of lighting art. If you are lighting chrome then that's a different story.
I would look into using 3 Nora deep baffle fixtures for sloped ceilings... maybe in 1000 lumens or as low as 600lm. Nora LED bulbs come with 3 different lens that control the spread of light and narrow the beam. Maybe if you use the 3 different lens, narrowing the beam as you get closer OR the other way around....will give you the control and spread of the light you are looking for. Good luck.
@wsea - no, the steps on the upper flight will not be floating... the actual framing is shown. If needed, the wall can be penetrated for a wire and be fire-sealed with a surface mount light, but I do not want to cut an outlet box into that drywall, if that makes sense.
@wdccruise - I appreciate the thoughts, and think you may not be understanding the challenges. Gimbaling light was the plan, but tested, there is tremendous glare for hall-passers-by due to the elevation of the light. If pointed back towards the recess from the edge of the stairs, then the person walking down the stairs is blinded.
@The Kitchen Abode Ltd. - Thanks for the recommendation. I looked briefly at their site, and think I ran across them when looking at lighting art previously. Are you referring to one of their light 'projectors', or a different product line?
@Paul F. - Thanks for your good understanding the request. Yes, I may have a misconception, though with the sample tests I had with a WAC lotus downlight, having lights placed just a few feed above the objects (back of the area next to the stairs), it was definitely a narrower spread and hotter near the center. Do you think that will change with a different fixture? Separation heights from 'ceiling' to step are 6'-3", 4'-3", and 2' (and that does not account for height of any decorations placed there).
I have some other Nora fixtures, and good to hear about the different lens options which may help. I'll checkout your recommendation - thank you.
- Nicor DLG2 2" Gimbal Recessed LED Downlight with "SP" spot optics* -OR-
- Nicor DQR2-AA 2” Adjustable Square LED Downlight with "SP" spot optics*
plus
and
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*20 degree beam angle
I had darker oak stairs that I wanted to match with my pre-finished floors. I was told I needed to bleach the stairs first and then stain them. However, I had heard about a stain expert at a paint store nearby so I brought him various samples of the new floor and a piece of darker oak that was about the color of my stairs. He mixed a thick matching stain that looked like latex paint. It was wood color, not white.
The paint-like stain flipped out my floor guy when I brought it to him to try but with some coaching from the stain guru he put it on. It's like a white wash process with color. Paint it on and wipe it off. Let it dry and put another coat until the wood is lightened up without losing the grain. It absolutely lightened the dark wood to a range where it was not so jarring with the new floor, without adding a pickled finish. No bleaching necessary.
This type of stain could help you tone down the contrast at least.
herbflavor, thank you for your thoughtful comments with pictures. Very helpful!
Call Hurst. They are suppliers of all grades and widths of unfinished hickory flooring. Unfinished Solid 5" Hickory Hardwood Flooring at Cheap Prices by Hurst Hardwoods | Hurst Hardwoods They can discuss a range of options at different price points. You can live with this or accept an error and reset to move forward for a long future.
Previous discussion on same room.
Topiary! I already see a dinosaur.
The boxwood is lovely!
I saw the big pelican at HomeGoods the other day. It was $149.
I am impressed how you put that on the photo I provided. Is that easy to do? @paul_f
Oh sorry I thought you were look for a more affordable place to buy interesting art. I think your first thought was better... colorful art. Black and white photos and bronze metal not so much.
Photoshop! It's a subscription program now and it takes a little while to figure out. The new AI can be amazing though. It cleaned off your table.