Dining room/office space overhaul help please!
jani
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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Flo Mangan
6 years agobeadsnsew
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Total Kitchen Overhaul...help me with lighting, please!!
Comments (10)Thanks for the ideas...now I just need to find a lighting store that would have a clue about old houses. I'm finding that most designers/stores/etc. deal with houses that are either new construction or 1950's-today. Rarely do I find ones that know anything about 19th c. houses. I'm sure they're around here somewhere...a lot of the towns here in the Albany, NY area were founded in the 17th c., so we should have some knowledgeable people. I might contact the NYS Historical Preservation Dept. and see if they have any ideas. Love Rejuvenation, so we may get a piece or two from them. Our whole house has sort-of weathered brass sconces in each room, but unfortunately, the light they shed on the room is minimal. I really want a modern, bright kitchen in function, but aesthetically, want it to look as turn-of-the-century as possible. :) Sarah...See Morehelp with living room/whole house overhaul
Comments (8)Thank you all for your suggestions and keep them coming! I promise I'll post pictures as soon as I can get them loaded into Flickr or someplace. As for the entry, we do not want to do more wood here. It is the main entrance to the home and we live in MI. There is a lot of rain/snow/dirt. We definately want some sort of hard surface like tile or travertine. It is such a small area that the re-sealing of travertine doesn't really bother me much. We do have a tile guy coming out tonight so I'll see what he recommends. As for the doors....I grew up in a house with oak trim and oak doors throughout. Pretty, but I like a little bit brighter style now. But then I kept thinking and I wasn't sure if you were supposed to paint the interior doors white. Seems really bright. But, I guess that gives me an excuse to use bolder paint colors in the bedrooms (something I also didn't grow up with....Mom paints almost everything beige, pinky beige, SOFT greens or blues that are really a shade of white. I kind of want to do a butter yellow in a bedroom. Speaking of bedrooms, they do have small windows, so not a lot of natural light to bounce off the walls. Thanks so much for your help. I am already eying the bathroom to see if we could but some sort of brownish paint in there. I looked again today and it is kind of a blue/green, maybe not as teal as today's teals (not sure if that made any sense). I can't wait for the day I get to gut that, but one project at a time....See MoreHELP! Office and Dining Shared Space
Comments (20)Hailey I would have a finish carpenter come in and build you a wall unit against the wall with your new desk. It can be customized to be shallower on the sides to fit the area and deeper in the middle to actually site at. I would mount your computer screens on the wall of that center area (like a flat screen TV) so that when not in use cabinet doors can close over them. This way when you're not working your dining room is solely a dining room and you can eat there or entertain and your work mess is all stashed into the wall built in. Get your self a nice dining room table that can function as your work space during the day if you need to spread out. Get some comfy dining chairs. You will tire quickly of an office that has no possibility of being "put away " during your non working times. A desk never belongs in a dining room if it can be helped. Another option is to get a Murphy bed for your second bedroom so it can be an office until guests come. Congrats in your new home!...See MoreHelp with design, please! (Office space, maybe?)
Comments (30)That's what I was going to say, RL. There is too much open space right now that is being wasted, IMO. Bring the sofa toward the entry by about four(?) feet, so it is more lined up with the island and see if you can't bring it a little closer to the island (one foot?). Everything seems to be jammed into a small space, which the whole room isn't. Plus, the end of the sofa is jammed up against the entertainment center, which makes it unusable for TV watching. I think you might be surprised by how much these minor tweaks will open up the space. Oh, and also center the TV center on the wall. You could probably put a smallish desk on the side wall and still have room to put art on the left of the entertainment center. And yes, have the front legs of the sofa on the edge of the rug in both directions. A ficus tree would probably do well in that right corner, as it does not require direct sunlight....See Morebeadsnsew
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