To paint or not to paint!! Please help!!
We need your advice! We have a very busy family room wall. As you can see in the photo, we have a brick fireplace surrounded by two honey oak built in bookshelves. We have debated everything from painting the brick, white washing the brick, cover the brick with stone, painting the cabinet (but leaving trim honey oak at top - as the honey oak trim is throughout our whole house -- windows, doors, baseboards -- we do not want to paint all that!), but we honestly have no idea what to do!!
If you could provide any suggestions or ideas we would greatly appreciate it!!
Comments (13)
functionthenlook
5 years ago
zimmer
5 years agoRelated Discussions
painted latex over oil paint -- please help
Comments (12)Sorry! I should've stated that better! You can topcoat most primers in 2-3 hrs. Dont' leave a primer unpainted for more than a month. They get too dried-out and brittle. I should've said... >>> Once the primer and paint are applied, the adhesion process of all coats takes a while! You don't need to sand out ALL the gloss. * Just a moderate "dulling" of the existing sheen. * It's subjective...but I'd keep sanding if I could easily see a reflection. * I'd maybe drop down to 100-grit for the 1st pass. Then, a quick 2nd-pass with ~150-grit. * If you're near a C2 dealer, the C2-SAP (Sandable-Acrylic-Primer) is great for this kinda work. This is neat for REAL fussy applications. After priming, this primer sands nicely for extra-smooth topcoats. Faron...See MoreHow to paint over previously dark painted walls? Please help!
Comments (4)It's actually easier to cover a dark color with a light shade than the other way around. My painting contractor client taught me this years ago. That said, I think that to go ahead with one coat of primer all over the whole house makes sense. You will get a better feel for the rooms and the lighting and it will be much easier to get a nice smooth painted finish when you choose your colors. I've recently painted both my kitchen and my long entry with Ace Sensations flat matte finish. It went on so nice and is supposed to be a washable finish. I loved the look. And my kitchen was red. Put on one coat of white primer and started painting. Keep in mind that even if you use one of the better quality one-coat paints, you will still save money by using primer first. It's less expensive than paint, and if you wanted to skip the primer step, you would for sure need two coats of paint. Red...See MorePlease help me with deciding on whether to paint or not to paint
Comments (2)We are replacing our old cabs with new ones. Either factory or new unfinished with pro painted ones. Haven't found a cabinet maker we want to go with or anyone who can paint unfinished ones, so either would apply for now. I'm just concerned about how well the paint will hold up. We don't want to deal with chipped paint. We had a local cabinet dealer tell us that he didn't recommend painted cabs for the reasons I stated above....See MoreI messed up! Please help me find a better paint color!
Comments (28)it's only a matter of the amount of blue and semantics. The color I'm referring to is a pale pink-violet-grey shade, so all of the above. But my point was that the gray she wanted painted on her cabinets is at the opposite end. ETA: blfenton -- not sure if you were saying you thought maue was more pink than purple or if you said you were seeing mauve in the photos. Anyway, I'm not sure the paint was mixed properly (a color match should probably be from a tested, adjusted formula or from shooting the swatch rather than using the manufacturer's formula in a different base -- or just wrong color) and if it was, I'd look at lighting -- because all the laundry probably looks funky too (but to the OP -- I'm not seeing that, but you can never tell what a camera or flash may be doing to the color, Every light bulb and window impacts color)....See More
Geneviève
5 years ago
D M
5 years ago
Rina
5 years agoCabinet doors are a good idea, and you could also remove a few shelves to display a couple of large-scale items -- sculpture would be good. Please forgive the horrible image; my software is old and this is the best I can do since dear old Houzz decided to stop allowing us to copy pics in the old-fashioned way. My screen grab capability is as you can see not of the best.
I also agree that you could lighten up the look by painting the backs of the shelves in the wall colour. I did that on a built-in bookcase once and never regretted it.
Diana Clark
5 years ago
Bette P
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoYour first priority could be getting the wall looking good.
Try 1/3 empty space, 1/3 decor and 1/3 books. Emphasis on the 1/3 empty.
Heavy objects or heavy looking objects should be on the lower shelves.
Use odd numbers if a shelf holds only decor.
If you have collections, place them together but do not crowd, use more than one shelf if you need to or pack some away and change up the look when you wish to.
Do not place any small frames on the higher shelves where they cannot be seen, and restrict the number of small photo frames.
Art looks great hung on the back wall of the shelf, hopefully your shelves are adjustable. For example, the two art pieces on the top outer shelves are too large for the space, I'm sure you know that.
Study the photo you posted. It's easier to take new photos and study them as you complete this task, it gives a different perspective. Post new photos on this thread so we can help you.
I do like the look of these with closed storage on the bottom. This makes sense if you are using the shelves for things that are not 'decor' but necessary things to be stored here. Remove the scalloped trim.
Your mantle also needs to be edited.
J J
5 years ago
lynartist
5 years agoI think I would get rid of the fussy edge on the top! Remove some of the shelves and all of the things on the shelves! Too much stuff!!! Time to edit. Add doors to the bottom to store your stuff! I would add a combination of more books and some single larger items with a few collectible pieces. Try to keep the small bits to a minimum! I would like to see a darker paint on the wall, darker trim always looks like a stripe around the room to me so a color on the wall helps that. Hang some large art!!! I think you need help on furniture placement here too!
User
5 years ago
lefty47