How do I make this Stickley piece look good in this house?
First, let me say, this Stickley piece is just about the only nice piece of furniture we own. :-) It was our "wedding present" from everyone (including ourselves). And we love it. It looked great in our 1920's house. I think it looks just terrible in the house we just bought.
I've been painting our house everyday during naps, and with my parents coming this weekend, and help to watch my toddler, I'm extremely motivated to paint our LR and DR.
I attempted to paint my trim a color and the walls white, but it just doesn't flow from our foyer. This such an open floor plan, I think I need "flow."
Here are the considerations:
- Ceilings and Trim will be BM Navajo White (matches our kitchen cabinetry)
- Foyer is SW Believable Buff
- Family room is SW Baguette (same strip from Belieavable Buff)
- Kitchen off of DR is SW Baguette but 15% of the color
Questions:
What color should I paint my LR and DR? They share a wall so at min. the top needs to be the same.
Should I do bottom half wainscotting in the DR, or does that not look good with my furniture style? Remove chair rail completely? Remove pillars? (The white ceiling medallion is definitely going)
I would love any advice on what colors you think go well with Stickely furniture in the Aurora finish (or any finish for that matter). And that would also compliment the hallway color of Believable Buff. This is where I'm really hitting the wall. (no pun intended)
Thank you in advance. And excuse the dust, we are putting in floors ourselves and it is slow and messy progress!
View from foyer into LR and DR:
Foyer looking into LR on the wall I painted and will repaint because it is not working with the foyer color (just like my name, I always repaint!):
LR looking into DR before floors went in:
My old house, where I think the furniture looked great:
How do I bring a little of my old house character into this house? (minus the red walls, it really won't go here)
Comments (28)
parma42
14 years agocredomk
14 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (18)I was thinking of removing the pavers as well, they either need to be laid correctly or gone. I almost tripped on one of them yesterday. And boy, I thought I had seen what the water was like until yesterday. It was like a monsoon in the yard! That area off to the side of the pavers that looks like it runs off into the woods was about 2ft wide. It was quite a mess and a larger problem than I thought. I am still going to try the pot filled with stones idea and have seen a few that might work. On another note, I found out that our building will be getting a new roof but could get no confirmation on whether they were adding downspouts, I can hope can't I?...See MoreHow do I find a home inspector? A good buyer's agent?
Comments (9)Kristen, I'm very excited for you! There are lots of things you must seriously consider, of course, and it sounds like you are on the right track. I had a buyer's agent, and I am glad I did have one. The house that I did buy had a listing agent that was VERY unprofessional and would do anything to sell the house. However, DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT, put all your faith into a buyer's agent. Make sure you do alot of your own homework and question everything. At the end of the day, any agent - buyers or sellers - are looking at accomplishing one thing: to sell you a home. Absolutely DO NOT use any inspector the buyer's agent or listing agent, or anyone that has a stockhold in selling you a property. Find your own. I hired one that was highly recommended from my trusted buyer's agent, and he screwed up royally. Missed so much...$20K worth of things that should have easily been found. But, he was working with her to make the sale go through. And inspectors are not that worried about reprecussion of a bad inspection...the most they could ever get is a little slap on the wrist and to refund your inspection cost back. Surely not enough to cover damages that should have been found. Home inspectors DO NOT move anything. So this is what you should do yourself: look under area rugs for trouble, move the curtains to see the windows better, move the refrigerator to see what is lurking beneath (in my case it was a rotten floor), ask to see the house after it rains, etc. Go in yourself with a flashlight and look into every corner. Better yet, take knowledgable friends and family with you. Specifically have these questions asked and answered: when was the electric updated and where? when was the plumbing updated and where? how old is the septic system? How old is the roof? Also make sure you get the water tested. VERY important, especially if you have well water. Another very good thing to do is to go to the town hall and see what permits were pulled for work done on the house. See what was done professionally. Big things count: roof, septic, electric, plumbing, and installation of a furnace. Make sure you have the chimneys checked as well (not doing so cost me $4,000 to have them updated as they were caved in and I waived the chimney inspection). Don't think the ASHI organization is the pinnacle of excellence in finding a great home inspector either - that is used mostly for advertising so HI's can say they are part of some national organization where their credentials are checked. The take a test once, pass, and that's it. Find your HI through friend's recommendation. Interview several yourself. After all, YOU are hiring them to do a job. As far as a buyer's agent, do the same thing: interview a few, ask alot of questions. You are basically giving them a listing on a potential sale. So, you have every right to check them out to see if they really do have your best interests at heart. So do, many do not. Remember, they want a sale, period. Good luck, Kristen, take your time, and ask, ask, ask questions galore to find the right people. They are out there, it just takes some digging. Best to you!!!...See MoreCould you please help me make the front of my house good looking
Comments (12)I thought my house was funky, but yours is even quirkier. I would not fight the funk- I would go with it. Instead of trying to make it look traditional, which won't work with that roofline, how about going modern/Frank Gehryesque? (Not that I know what that is.) Here are some outside of the box ideas: 1. Change the front siding to match the sides and attic (?) area. 2. Change the garage door- maybe to a modern barn door look with two doors. 3. Replace the attic windows with a series of identical clerestory windows from side to side, about eight of them. Big wide trim around them. 4. On the second floor, continue the window pattern that's over the garage all the way over (probably mean adding three or four more). Wide trim around all. 5. Metal or galvanized tin roof. 6. New door: single light french. 7. Depends on what rooms are on the first floor, but I'd put another two single light french doors, sliders, to the right of the front door. 8. Pergola from end to end of the house to define the first floor, with a solid (galvanized tin?)roof over the entry door or maybe all the way across. With a patio outside in front of the single-light slider. 9. Paint: charcoal gray with black trim, or dark purply-brown with plum trim. Or warm tan with white trim. Or...? Landscaping: tall spiky things. Good luck. I have had a heck of a time working around the bizarre add-ons on my house. Each part of the house still has different siding. So I am in the same boat- except that I have only one story to contend with, which makes it a little less daunting. In any case, it will not be cheap....See MoreHow can I make my house look better?
Comments (17)It looks like the "front" (view) side has vertical siding. Is that the same as the "back" side? So that the horizontal and little bits of diagonal siding are only on the gabled ends? If so, I'd consider swapping out the siding on the garage end (and the far end, possibly, if it matters) to be vertical siding that matches the long sides. The funny bits of white trim can go, and I would also lose the contrasting corner trim (paint it to match the body of the house). If you don't need the light from the two windows above the garage, consider losing those as well. Maybe replace with a simple vent. If you're wanting to reside completely, I think a vertical board-and-batten looks great on a California ranch. Here's a thread from another board that shows a ranch with original B&B siding. If you scroll down you'll see a photoshop where someone has made the garage door B&B as well, so it all blends together. And way toward the bottom you'll see it painted in a dark gray. I think this type of siding works well with darker colors. Here is a link that might be useful: Board and Batten ranch....See More
IdaClaire
14 years agorepaintingagain
14 years agorepaintingagain
14 years agonappyhairbigteeth
14 years agorepaintingagain
14 years agoIdaClaire
14 years agoI'm thinking something along the lines of Laura Ashley Olive #4. Here's a pic (that I found while Google searching) that obviously belongs to a GW forum member. (If this is your pic - gorgeous room!)
repaintingagain
14 years agoIdaClaire
14 years agoBaby Turtle is a lovely color, as is Saybrook Sage (shown here):
I personally think that reds and greens are gorgeous together. Unless they're in the primary shades, they don't remind me of Christmas at all ... if that's what you're worried about. ;-)
repaintingagain
14 years agopalimpsest
14 years agoIdaClaire
14 years agoIt looks like there are a few photos that have gone missing, but there's still some green LR/DR eye candy in the Gallery (link below). My DR was painted Laura Ashley Olive #6 (a very dark shade) for awhile:
-- until I painted it deep turquoise instead. I have Stickley mission oak in that room, and I think it looked great with the green.Here is a link that might be useful: Gallery Link
palimpsest
14 years ago
Sueb20
14 years agorepaintingagain
14 years agopalimpsest
14 years agogrowlery
14 years agonappyhairbigteeth
14 years agonappyhairbigteeth
14 years agowork_in_progress_08
14 years agottodd
14 years agostinky-gardener
14 years agopalimpsest
14 years agorepaintingagain
14 years agoslateberry
14 years agomarybeth1
14 years agoPlease don't lagh at my flowered drapes they are gone. I use to have this in my LR and DR. I just wanted to show you. It is BM Saybrook Sage. It is a lovely grey sage green. Your piece is Stunning and would look good anywhere but I agree a deeper color would look great. Maybe a gold or green, I now havr Baby Turltle in my Family room and I think that would look great with your furniture.
Saybrook Sage
Baby Turtle
BM Guesthouse
BM Flowering Herbs
Can you tell I love green!
parma42