Looking for lots of thoughts/ ideas to update a center hall colonial

4 years ago

We live in the northeast. Our home is a center hall red brick colonial. It is a nice open floor plan. Because of our age (just turned 50), I’m feeling like it looks dated throughout. I am looking for thoughts and ideas for ways to make it look fresh and contemporary inside. Not too modern, but comfortable and updated.

We are planning to have our floors sanded and stained. We are open to updating our staircase. We have a two story foyer and a two story fireplace. The fireplace is done in a stone product. I feel like it looks terribly dated, but my husband does not.

I’m open to change and won’t be insulted by any ideas at all.

What have you done to update your home? Quick things and more complex projects.

Thanks.

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Comments (5)

apple_pie_order
4 years ago
Do you have any inspiration photos of rooms you love?
grapefruit1_ar
4 years ago
It looks like you have a very nice home with classically beautiful floors. When I hear " update" I think that you will get many suggestions to paint everything gray and change your staircase to metal. The pictures that you have shown do not look like there are big things to do. Maybe fresh paint, furniture rearranging, moving art, etc. is all you need for a fresh look?
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I think you're giving the taper too much power. If something needs to be in a bin, that bin doesn't need to exactly fill up the whole shelf. Lots of stuff may not need to go in bins or baskets anyway. You could get 12"-deep boxes and put them on the deeper side, and leave the rest of the shelf for setting things that don't go in bins or boxes. Or, if you do need a bin that exactly fills the shelf, can't you use your plethora of woodworking tools to make your own in a trapezoidal shape? It's just an oddly shaped wooden drawer, which is itself a lidless wooden box. (I made a storage box/bin for an oddly shaped space by cutting up foam-core board and hot-gluing it together. Now and then I have to reinforce it, but it works great! I'm too lazy to make it out of wood, and I don't have a lot of experience using thinner wood like 1/4" luan or masonite, and 3/4" stock would be too heavy) You could install shelves, or you could make "pockets" to hang on the wall based on what's going to go in them (if you make your own pockets, you can make them as fat as you need for whatever you're going to put in them). I'd say: First, figure out how to put a single hanging rod on the 24"-deep side (and limit how many coats can go in there--everybody in the family gets two hangers, and any other outerwear goes in the bedroom). Or, put in one hanging rod (those Closet-Maid/Elfa wire shelves?) for long coats, and install second one halfway down the wall to convert one half of that space for jackets? My experience is that especially in winter, there are more hip-length coats than short jackets, so plan for winter, not spring or fall. Then see what sorts of other storage needs you can fulfill there--would the vacuum bit on the coats side? Can you put pockets on the side wall for gloves, hooks for umbrellas and dog leashes? Can you put a tray or basket on the floor to hold boots or shoes? Or something on the shelf above the hanging rod that would be useful for what you store there? Then stand in front of that tapered side with all the stuff you're going to put in there, and see what inspires you. Do you want shelves you can put boxes on? (You could make a small trapezoidal bookcase and bolt it to the wall, leaving space below it; or use brackets on the back wall to install tapered shelves--you can buy brackets of varying lengths.) Would pockets or baskets on the side wall be useful for stuff like cleaning supplies or shoes? Would hooks allow you to use the most shallow section for hanging the vacuum hose?
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Design Girl
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I also live in the Northeast and I know what your saying. It looks like a beautiful classic home, but yes, it could use a few things to freshen it up. You have beautiful millwork, and floors, but the floors read yellow/orange to me. I would refinish the floors to something more classic. In the Northeast, many classic colonials have floors stained darker and richer. I have red oak floors, and am changing them from the color you have, to dark walnut mixed with a small amount of Ebony to counteract the red tones. I've already done my bedroom, and bath and am now doing the rest of the house. If your floors are white oak, you may not need the Ebony. In terms of your stairs, I think they're beautiful. The only thing I would do is stain the railing and the stair treads dark to match the floors, but paint the risers white. I would NEVER replace the ballusters, just keep them white and as they are. A runner would also cozy up the stairs. Make sure if you carpet the stairs you ask the installers to waterfall them. Paint is another thing you may want to update. The color appears to have a yellow cast to it, which again reads 1980-90's. I've been there too. Chose a light color that you love and goes with your furniture, but still has enough contrast to make your millwork shine. Yes, everyone will tell you to paint gray, but it's not for everybody and is actually waning in popularity where I am. However, there are some nice proven colors to consider. Ben. Moore White Sands (OC-10), is a lovely neutral beige/sand color that contrasts nicely with white trim and is warm and inviting. A popular warmer gray is BM classic gray (more of a greige tone). BM Revere Pewter may also work. All these need to be tested in your light. In terms of your fireplace, the picture is not close enough for me to determine what if anything should be done. It looks like New England Fieldstone, which can be very pretty. From what I can see, your fireplace is very large and the mantle looks skimpy in comparison, and a bit too far away from the firebox. Again, a better photo of the whole family room would be helpful.
googapa
Original Author
3 years ago
Bump
decoenthusiaste
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
This might take the yellow out. Believed to be Navajo White walls and White Dove trim. Beefing up the mantel and perhaps painting it to match trim would help. We can help with furniture layout and re-hanging art, but will need more photos.
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Looking for lots of thoughts/ ideas to update a center hall colonial

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Looking for lots of thoughts/ ideas to update a center hall colonial

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apple_pie_order

grapefruit1_ar

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