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Home Decorating Flooring Design Dilemma

I don’t even know where to start.

3 years ago

Last year we bought a VERY 70s house (look at that shag carpeting!) but it’s time to modernize a bit. The first and easiest change we’re focusing on is flooring, though we’re having a hard time deciding. What do you all think about tile in this house? Or should we stick to wooden flooring? Colors? It’s a bit dark in the room but we do lean towards darker colors. We’re going for a traditional/classic look without looking too dated. Everything in this room will be removed (shelving, fireplace, the fake ficus, etc) except the TV and couch. This is our living room where we spend most of our time, which doubles as an entertainment section for guests.

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Comments (4)

M V
3 years ago
I'd go for a medium/dark toned hardwood or engineered hardwood. I'd stay away from anything red-toned if you are going to keep the dark beams in the ceiling. I like those beams myself and you didn't mention they would be leaving.

And that means doing the stairs that currently have carpet. While you're at it I think you'd best make a decision on those railings and room dividers. Do you want them to stay full height like they are or could it just be a railing (code likely calls for at least 36" on that). If you want it to match the flooring then now is the time to do it.

Or they could be a different colour - black or white etc, but I think I'd change what you've got there to make it feel more open and less like a jail cell between the dining and living areas.

Here are some options.

I love a wide plank rather than the more traditional narrow plank but that's personal choice.

Many of these are oak, some are maple and hickory. Oak gives more grain. Hickory can be quite variable in colour. Maple tends to be a bit less grain and more solid coloured. You'll want to go to a flooring store and see what you like best. Ideally they'll have some samples you can bring home and try in your space.

Hardwood Flooring | AA Floors Toronto · More Info

This one is actually a bit more red than I thought originally....

Hardwood Flooring | AA Floors Toronto · More Info

Hardwood Flooring | AA Floors Toronto · More Info

This one reads a bit grey along with brown.
Hardwood Flooring | AA Floors Toronto · More Info

Quite brown but leaning red
Hardwood Flooring | AA Floors Toronto · More Info

A little more red
Hardwood Flooring | AA Floors Toronto · More Info

I think you'll need to consider your lighting and add to whatever is there now to brighten the rooms up and keep the wall colour on the light side.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
LIGHTING! That's where you start. Rip out the carpet and remove any window coverings. Get as much natural light in there as possible.

Now leave it for a few days. You will get a sense of where the light is needed. Now you bring in an electrician to tell you how much it will cost to upgrade your house's electrical box to suite your new load requirements. You do not have ANY lighting in that space. You will need to add ++++ pot lights to this room just to get rid of the darkness.

A 70s home that has the original orange carpet is GUARANTEED to have original electrical box. That's your 1st investment. After that you can add the dozen or so pot lights you need just for this room.

Do not choose any colours until you have upgraded your lighting. It never works out well if you o colours first....ever.

Boring/needed stuff first. Then you start your demo.

Oh...It helps if you have a FINAL concept on paper....so you know where you are headed over the next 7 years of reno 'fun'.
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please help a newbie figure out where to start?
Q
Comments (8)
How about this for starters: one bag of potting soil (any size you can carry), 2-3 windowboxes, and a few seeds which are for sale all over the place. Oh..and don't forget gloves and tools. Short, bushy, and trailing plants fit windowboxes and small pots well. And for taller plants, large pots. Instructions are usually right on the seed packs. If you still have cold weather and want to WS them to give them a head start, cover part of the boxes with plastic sheets so that rain and air can still get in. Make sure to put recycled lids of something like that under containers for good drainage. Balconies + trailing and climbing plants = gorgeous. Herbs and vegetables will adapt to balconies too. Even small fountains where you can grow cress or other water loving plants. Raid library and bookstores for books-books-books. You'll learn a little bit from each one, and years from now you'll be "the wise garden" sage. I have a book from a Washingtonian gardener who made her oasis on her balcony in the famous Watergate--she suggested putting a mirror in any dark, deep shade areas of a balcony, not in the sun, and it really adds a lot to the view. I grow mostly edibles on my back balcony. You can see a little of my backyard balcony railing in this: Here's another sunny balcony (not mine) for inspiration! Nice how the yellow flowers add a little depth to the trailing petunias/torenias.
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Where to Start?
Q
Comments (6)
We have horrid Virginia clay here, so I feel your pain. I would get several small shrubs, so you don't need too large a hole. I always dig after rain-much easier-or my DH goes out and digs for me. He has been known to resort to using a pickax to get started. Some that do well in my dry spots are Abelia, dwarf sweet box, (Sarcococca hookeriana humilis), digitalis pupurea (wild foxglove which isn't a shrub of course, but is so pretty in drifts of 7 or 9 plants), nandina, and hellebores which also will do okay with some sun. I would also go to a local public garden and/or nursery for advice that suits your area. Some hostas can take a fair amount of sun. Check out the Hosta Forum for ideas. Liriope might be good, too. The nandina, liriope, and hellebores will spread, too, after a couple of years. You will need to be patient if you start with smaller plants, but the payoff will be a lovely garden under those trees. Oh, and remember that those trees will grow as well, so you could end up with less sun than you have now! I am not a fan of those ground covers like vinca. Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff) would be a lovely alternative. Once you plant, you could add a soaker house up on the hill and attach your hose once a week to give the new plants a good soaking once a week when you don't get at least 1-2 inches of rain in a week. I am afraid there is no way around that for the first year. You might be better off to plant in the fall after the really hot summer is mostly past. Good luck. I am already picturing a lovely hillside there! If you do plant, come back or send a note to me through Garden Web-I am linked on my page for that. I would live to see your progress!
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So new I don't even know where to start...
Q
Comments (1)
You can deadhead the blooms at any time but some people like to keep them for winter interest. On the other hand, if these are reblooming hydrangeas, deadheading promotes new bloomage so feel free to cut the strand that connects the bloom to the stem. If you have no fungal problems on the shrubs, feel free to use the spent blooms as mulch!
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Going to meet Kitchen Designer/Cabinets next week. Where do I start?
Q
Comments (9)
I cannot read your drawing on my screen. You should peruse magazines, Houzz, Pinterest, and save any kitchen designs pics that appeal to you. Your designer needs to have something to start with - do you like modern, traditional, transitional? Though don't get hung up on meaningless marketspeak design names like "modern farmhouse", "industrial chic", or "the horsey-set look". Pictures tell a thousand words. In any case, here are the questions I would start with: - what is your budget. This one is the lynchpin for any plans you have for your kitchen. Nothing - nothing - can proceed without a ballpark of what you want to spend. Is it $40k, $75k, $100k? You will need to buy cabinets, counters, appliances, sink or sinks, faucet(s), ceiling lighting, undercabinet lighting, hardware, backsplash, maybe flooring. Think about what you want to spend for all that. - appliances - what kind of cooking do you do, and for how many? That would help to determine your appliances. Is a 36" fridge enough, or do you need larger, or do you have ability to have a spare fridge in the basement for overflow. Do you want a rangetop plus wall ovens, or a range? Do you have a gas line for a gas cooking, or do you want all electric? And most of all, no matter what, come hell or high water, make sure to budget for hood exhaust, including making sure your duct from the hood to the outside is 8" or 10" diameter. This is not negotiable. - counters - do some online reading about the various counter types such as granite, marble, Quartz, quartzite, soapstone. There is no "correct" counter. It's what appeals to you in the way of looks, budget, and upkeep. - cabinets - it is sometimes hard to know whether you would want wood, white painted, or color-painted. Again, look at kitchen pics and see what appeals to you. Also, take your kitchen into acount with this decision - if your kitchen won't get a lot of light, perhaps dark cabinets isn't what you'd want. How high is your kitchen's ceiling? I think 9' is ideal. Taller than that adds issues of cost, lighting, and practicality.
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Hannah Wolfson
3 years ago
Congratulations! We bought a similarly '70s home, shag and all. The neat thing about them is the spaces actually work really well for today's living. Don't be fooled by the funky decor--you can see from looking at the cased openings that the lines are really clean and modern. You said you're leaning traditional; that's fine, but try not to fight with the house too much. Maybe go with a more simple look for the house & fixtures and then you can always bring in more traditional furnishings.

Along with what @SJ McCarthy said about infrastructure/electrical (for us, it was adding some steel beams in the basement), flooring is a great place to start. Yes to wood, especially if you're traditional. (We actually went light with our dark beams, but that's up to you.) Beware when you get into it that your subfloor may be OSB, and if so, it's worth getting rid of because that stuff is like a sponge for water and is pretty unstable after all of these years.

Replacing the divider and railings will make a huge difference visually. I'd consider a slat wall, maybe in combo with either a simple metal or a solid wood banister for your three little steps there. These are both light wood but you could go darker as well.

Also, if you inherited that wall-mounted bookshelf system, PLEASE don't trash it! It's definitely not in the right spot, and the gap between the two sections is a little weird (I bet there was once a desk in between), but it could be moved to another part of the house or sold to someone who will appreciate it.
HU-187528210
3 years ago
Needs work. But beautiful beautiful bones!!
I’d probably go with a midtone medium brown wood floor. In a herringbone pattern.

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