I think I hate my new dining room chairs ...
eliznewjersey
4 years ago
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Angel 18432
4 years agopink_peony
4 years agoRelated Discussions
My kitchen is new but i hate it...(pics) what can i do to improve
Comments (37)Dear Polar Princess, I am happy to read of your recent survivorship and a getting new lease on life. I think your oak cabinets look very well made and can be a star with some new accessories. Oak is a timeless, beautiful wood. Here are the changes I would try for minimal cost: 1) As has been mentioned numerous times: remove the stenciling & ivy to freshen the look. 2) If you can easily remove the light bridge over the sink and add molding to the top of the 2 cabinets where it connected, that will also modernize the look, as previous poster suggested, for not much money. 3) Backsplash: Provide Maximum sizzle and splash, which will transform the kitchen with a shimmering glass tile mosaic. See link below as example. Your area is not big, so you could pull this off for only $200 to $250 in materials. 4) Definitely bring in the brown leather bar stools you like or even something very modern in style as a contrast. 5) Counter tops: white laminate is not necessarily bad. In fact, if you add a shimmering glass backsplash that is a nice counterpoint to the white counters, you may find they are now more pleasing to you, without going to the expense of adding granite. You already know how easy to maintain your laminate counters are. You might jazz them up with some interesting place mats or update your centerpiece to be more in keeping with the brown leather & mosaics. 6) Window valence: maybe replace the lace look with something more tailored to complement the new backsplash and stools. 7) Wall paint: See how the backsplash changes the look and decide if you want to add wall color or not. 8) If you still yearn for SS appliances, check into changing out the front panels of the frig and dishwasher with SS. Don't think that is possible with the stove. I would really keep the bisque because they will look nice with the new backsplash as well. The link is from a larger website with many different choices of mosaic color combinations. The featured one is Anima because I think it would complement your while/bisque and oak and brown leather. Also check out several of the Spectralight (with and without El Dorado), Shimmerfly (one is Honey Pearl)and others which might complement your adjacent room colors. Good luck with all your decisions. We celebrate that you are here to make them! Anna Lee F Here is a link that might be useful: Glass tile backsplash...See MoreI hate my dining room! Would this curtain fabric work?
Comments (32)I love the drapes you have! I think the problem is the wall color. The soft gold in your great room would work well with both your drapes and the fireplace tile. Or maybe a warm, soft terra rosa, glazed or color-washed? But personally I like the gold. Ivory or a paler version of the gold would also work. Do some big sample boards - just some old cardboard will do - but at least 2'x4' or 3'x3'. Your windows read very high-set - that stands out as not being the usual placement - you can experiment with the height the drapes are mounted and see if a different proportion pleases you better - maybe a little higher, even almost to the ceiling. The drapes are puddling, and maybe they have a hem that could be let out - they could go higher. Or sew on a contrasting band of terracotta on the bottom. (or whatever color the inner curtains are - hard to tell in pictures sometimes.) The bit of wall between the window and the crown molding is so narrow that it might be better not to treat it as the wall but as panelling, like over the mantel. All you would have to do is frame it with short vertical pieces of flat molding over the window casing verticals, just glue it on. Paint the molding to match your trim and either do the recesses the same or to match your over-mantel recesses. A bigger rug out to six inches of the walls. Something easy to clean and with a pattern - you have children eating there. My youngest is nine, we still have spills. Low pile, no loops, not fuzzy. Something to occupy the walls will make the room feel cozier - a long window seat with a bench cushion and pillows, and cabinets underneath. Do you ever have many people to a sit-down dinner - an L-shaped banquette would give you lots of seating. Kids could play there, do their homework, look out the window, keep you company as you worked in the kitchen - put away homework and toys in the cabinets - presto clean. Also your linens and servingware not used every day. Accessories with more weight and color, more dimensionality than the plates on the wall and the pictures and things over the hearth. It really is a good dining room, good bones, good molding, good view, good fireplace, good flooring, spacious. It won't be hard to love. The fireplace is your starting point because you can't change the tiles. Then either wall color, rug, or rug, wall color, working with the tiles. THEN drapes and upholstery. Then accessories. Paint is your cheapest element. Even if you hire someone to paint, you can buy the cans and do big sample boards yourself or directly on the wall. You don't like the color? Worst that happens is you're out the cost of the sample can. So it's worth experimenting, because it will set the mood of the room....See MoreI think I hate my glass front cabinets...
Comments (20)Thanks for all the advice! My grandsons rearranged (SO nice to move all that crystal!) and moved the top shelve down one peg and they do look better. There is no question that all white dishes in dish open cabinets look best, but that is not what I have and I need yet another set of dishes like I need termites! I LOVE dishes - different ones for different holidays and occasions. I inherited most of what I have and setting the table is the part I love the most about holiday preparations. I have some lovely heirloom linens, lots of silver and I love arranging my centerpiece. My daughter appears to have inherited the "dishes gene" ( a 1st cousin has it too - I'm convinced it's genetic!) so someday she will struggle with where on earth to put these - of course some also go to my son. I'm hoping that my grandchildren will want them - at least 2 grandsons appear promising! They do look better. I realize that what is bothering me the most is how Shiloh does their Shaker glass front cabinets. If I had been able to see a picture (their web site is horrible!) or a cabinet in the showroom, I would have known I did not like this. What I don't yet know is if what I wanted is even an option. What they do is basically leave the center flat panel out of a Shaker door and put in glass (after delivery) instead. This mean the frame is very wide - not the typical narrower frame, so it's hard to see what's on the bottom shelf in particular. I know they do this so all the bottom rails will match. Well, all my glass fronts are on the same wall with no other cabinets, and even at the corner, I would not have cared if the rails matched. Who knew...They just look heavy to me. I will live with them for a few months but also find out what options I have, if any. We spent 5 hours today re-arranging the cabinets (I was able to bring my Mother's crystal and some Tiffany very thin hollow stem champagne glasses up from a cabinet in the basement. I rarely use either as it's too much bother to bring them upstairs. So now all my crystal is in one place! We had a ball filling the two food cabinets - lovely having baking/dessert ingredients in their own cabinet and a cabinet for other things right next to the stove instead of across the floor. And the drawers... oh be still my heart!!! OH how I've longed for those drawers (doesn't take much to make an old lady's heart beat faster!)!!! I had my DGS1 go find the angel food cake pans as they were the hardest to reach in the old cabinets. Bliss - right there when I open the drawers! Drawers are the greatest idea for kitchens since sliced bread! Especially for old ladies like me! I'm SO glad I did this...even with the concern over the glass cabinets. That will eventually be resolved or I'll just get used to them. Getting the glass in will make a difference - they look awfully "unfinished" right now - top of cabinets needs trim and crown molding, too - that will make them look more balanced....See MoreI Hate My Dining Room
Comments (24)I guess I am the only one that thinks your art is too big for that wall. After you paint the vent the same color as the wall, it might look okay, but I think three smaller pictures would look better. Do I see a leaf or two in your table? Making the table smaller would be much better with two chairs on each side and one chair on each end. As you have it now, there is not room for end chairs. I like your room, just looks a little full to me....See Morepink_peony
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