First Time Home Buyer! Help me with my colors!
Hi everyone! My boyfriend and I just purchased our first home together, and we will be getting the keys tomorrow. Our home is new construction but came with very builder grade finishes. Currently, the paint color is a bright white Sherwin Williams color. I have been trying to choose a paint color for weeks now. There is the one window in the room which is north facing. We have an open concept floorplan and the kitchen is very open to the living room. My problem is, I got stuck with this large couch that is brand new and I am trying to make it work with my ideal color's which is lots of neutrals, black, sage green or blue. However, I plan to change the color of the brown kitchen cabinets but am stuck with them for now. How do I make this space cohesive? The couch pulls darker grey tones in some lights and seafoam green undertones in other light. Help!
Comments (9)
eld6161
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoRelated Discussions
First time home buyer: Ideas for kitchen
Comments (4)Congrats, Kris. I agree with investigating your possibilities and letting them simmer for a while, but why not go ahead and paint right now to suit yourself? The awful paneling. Cabinets. Everything. You'll be pleased and happy and no longer in a hurry to do something that actually costs money. The suggestion to leave that phony paneling in place and eventually panel over is a good one. Do paint at least it now, if nothing else, so you can smile instead of wince, then eventually cover with the surface of your choice. Unfortunately, it usually still looks substandard after it's painted because there's just not enough of the right kind of texture to it. I've done it, BTW, and been very pleased with the result, but I was a very young housewife with a pile of maternity bills, and the possibility of showcasing its cheesiness by juxtaposing nice new cabinetry against it mercifully wasn't a possibility. I just ran new paint over everything in sight, sewed up new curtains for the window, scrubbed and waxed the linoleum, and hung some posters and plants (anybody guessing the era here?), and I'm guessing it probably did look as cute as I thought it did then. Even poverty can pay off sometimes. :)...See Morefirst time buyer in over my head
Comments (60)Ty to the almost everyone on here for your support, I really appreciate it so much and have learned so much from this whole experience. Last update, we have rescinded the contract, the seller has decided not to fix the wiring, and after meeting with her LA and my REA she will not budge. She has an emotional attachment with the home we were now told, we dont think she really wants to sell it. Her own LA told her she was being silly, she wouldnt even let the contractors in to get a bid on the electric..so we have moved on and to be honest I am extremely happy at this point. It has gotten to be too much for me. To try to answer some questions, the gut rehab across the street is still in the running with us, only problem is we think the rear yard is too small for the kids the way it is fenced and the placement of the garage.That was the only reason we didnt offer on it, the garage is smack in the middle of the back yard!! As far as my DH, Yes I did defer to him when it came time to write the offer, he is the sole breadwinner here and I knew how much he wanted the house,we both wanted the same result, I just let him take the lead on this at the time. We are new to the whole homebuying thing,so it was a bit stressful at the time. Diane- sigh, Im sorry you feel the way you do about me, my thread is now done so I guess you can go find someone else to "pick on". I never asked for sympathy nor did I feel I was a victim, I was looking for advice which is what this forum is here for. Please think about how you post to people, I am not new here, just new to posting. If I were a first time poster you would have already run me off. Thank you all, we will be looking at new listings in the next few weeks and hopefully will have good news to share soon!! Don't give up first timers, there is home out there for us somewhere!!...See MoreFirst time home buyer figuring out how to renovate old house
Comments (5)You're on the right track - the more you learn, the better. "This Old House" is well worth watching, and all their remodels are online. A source of tried and true (if unimaginative) ideas are in house plans; there are many online and it pays to spend time looking at how traffic flow, cabinets, entrances, etc are handled. That said, nothing turns off a contractor faster than an armchair expert, so remain open to suggestions. Given your stated like of modern/industrial, I imagine you have have a good idea of what you want, so you might not need a designer, and perhaps not an architect. Hiring a structural engineer for a few hours to look around and to get their thoughts and advice is a great idea. Realtors, remodeling, contractors, codes, financing - it's all a "Wild West" under-regulated mine field - listen to your people skills, your gut instincts, and common sense....See MoreLooking for advice for First Time Home buyer
Comments (1)FHA is only 3.5% down plus closing costs. Your parents are allowed to gift you funds to purchase the property. There is a way to gift equity, but you will need to speak directly to your lender about the acceptable way to have that gift of equity on this purchase. Yes, it is a stumbling block that your parents own the house now. There are additional lending guidelines for this type of sale. This is in no way an arms length transaction and that is part of the difficulty with financing. The difficult part in this transaction, that I see, is that your parents just purchased the home less than a year ago (in addition to the fact that you are buying a flip from your parents) so the lender may have to use a lower valuation than the new value. Possibly even their purchase price last December. It is likely you will need to have two appraisals on this property to meet guidelines. However, having said that, the guidelines are loosening up from where they were a few years ago so if you are going to pursue this purchase, this is a good time to do it. You will need to discuss this with a very knowledgeable loan officer. Stay away from big box banks and go straight to a non-bank lender like Guaranteed Rate. I say that because you need someone that can underwrite, fund and close an FHA loan directly and has a knowledgeable experienced loan officer to help you negotiate this financing. I have an excellent LO if you need someone just pm me (no obligation). This will be critical to you in this purchase....See More- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago 
l pinkmountain
2 years agohousegal200
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoCan you provide a photo showing kitchen and sofa area in same shot. Often color problems can be solved by changing layout so less of the wrong color piece shows. Your builder-grade finishes are actually very harmonious. Put aside the idea of painting them for now and see what you can do with other elements that are less permanent. Yes, the couch is the immediate problem, not the builder-grade finishes and colors. Some suggestions:
--Less couch. Remove the chaise section if that's possible. That will open up your space, expose more of your rug, which actually goes very well with ebony cabinets, your art, ottoman, etc.
--If chaise section can't be relocated, can you float it to face your very nice view? Then put a patterned throw on the back of it.
--Get ebony/brown/gray, and taupe/gray sofa pillows--very high contrast.
Zardozi Indian Paisley Gray Velvet 22"x22" Pillow Cover, Magestic Gold · More InfoA morrocan wedding pillow/throw would look great draped on your sofa. They're made of natural fabrics in ivory, taupes, gray.
elcieg
2 years agohousegal200
2 years agoelcieg
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoThe brown cabinets are fine, but why is there glass tile, simulating a back splash, only on one part of the wall? It is unfinished, and tile should run above all of the counter. Paint color...yes, white is not the best choice for minimal North light, the right window treatment, rug and furniture can make it work.
Inspiration:
mimimomy
2 years ago
fnmroberts