Family room needs french door treatment and art
We bought a colonial house, along with the existing Colonial Williamsburg style furniture and decor. My style is coastal/tropical. We do not want to spend the money to redo all at once, so I am transitioning by using a British Colonial style. Photos below, please forgive the mess in the kitchen.
I have two problems with the family room.
Problem #1: The french door needs a window treatment to cover the glass for privacy at night and temperature control. Right now I have tacked up some ugly green fabric until I can come up with a plan.
The existing windows have custom valances and 2" dark wood venetian blinds. The french door has just a matching valance. I love the blinds and am ambivalent about the valances.
I have considered the following for the french door:
a) Mount 1/2" venetian blinds or bamboo shades to the door itself. Not crazy about that idea as we use the door a LOT and I want to maximize light during the day. I cannot do thicker blinds because of leaving clearance for the door handle. I don't like most cellular shades.
b) Mount 2" wood blind or large bamboo shade over the entire door frame. Problem - the french door valance is shallow and would not cover the blinds header, so that valance would need to go. I think this would look odd since the adjacent windows would still have valances.
c) Take down the french door valance and put draperies that stack to the right. Still have the non-matching issue, plus it would be a pain to climb over the chair to open and shut the drapes.
d) Take down ALL the valances. Problem - the existing wood blinds don't have a decorative valance, so I would need new fabric valances. I thought about solid green valances to coordinate with the loveseat, but the kitchen window really needs more color or pattern to give the kitchen some oomph. The kitchen counters are putty brown with flecks of cream, black, and brick red. I don't want to use solid red valances, and I'm not sure what kind of pattern might coordinate with the loveseat.
Problem #2: Art for over the piano. I found some great prints of music clefs and of pineapples that pick up the gold color of the wall. Problem is that we don't really like the gold wall, and hubby vetoed the art because it was "too gold and he wants a pop of color". I have not been able to come up with something colorful that also works with the muted color scheme we have.
All suggestions are welcome. (Except the following, LOL - I know I need to hang the painting over the mantel lower, redo the mantel accessories, relocate hubby's stereo wires on the carpet, and clean up the breakfast bar.)
Thank you!!
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PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
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Transition from Arts & Crafts to Art Deco?
Comments (106)I went looking for images of those elements. Ribbed glass panels in cabinet doors is easy enough. Here's one in a bathroom vanity: Ribbed glass (or ''seeded'' glass) is also often found in period light fixtures: As for marquetry countertops, if you asked most kitchen cabinet makers for such, I imagine they would gape blankly at the gabbling woman. But there are plenty of companies doing stock and custom hardwood marquetry inlays using CNC laser cutters. Here's the thing - they are doing it in floors. Google ''hardwood floor inlay'' and see. Yes, many of the rosettes are infeasible for a 26'' counter, but look for the ''border'' designs - or create your own. Assemble a 26'' wide section of inlaid ''floor'' on a 3/4'' plywood substrate, encase it in Waterlox, and I do believe you'd have yourself a marquetry countertop. Another option - perhaps cheaper - is stenciling on hardwood, of which this is an example. And so is this What else? Beveled glass is readily available, as is chrome countertop edging, and any furniture or auto upholstery shop can cover a panel of 1/8'' plywood in soft butterscotch leather framed in silver studs (maybe not actual silver, but close enough). I don't know exactly what version of Art Deco you are headed for, or if you even like butterscotch, but the point is, you are not doing yet another white kitchen, you're doing something that isn't being done by the mainstream, so the ordinary kitchen sources are not making this stuff. Sure, there is cool Art Deco hardware around, but what passes for ''Art Deco'' kitchen cabinetry in the online catalogs is . . . disappointing. You are going to have to make it, or at least source it, yourself - and I think if you're comfortable outside the painted lines, you can. You'll find yourself hiring a floor guy to work on a countertop, hunting down the local hot rod upholstery shops, telling your cabinet maker to fit bathroom vanity faces to kitchen cabinet boxes - they'll still look at you like you're crazy, but you'll know you're not. Go for it, girl!...See MoreWhat rooms are best for art/family photos/mirrors?
Comments (25)Ok I understand now LOL I would have to agree...those pics with everyone's hand on dad's shoulder or whatever...ya they're stiff. The photographer we use is pretty fabulous at taking shots that are candid, yet obviously professional. DH and I have to rein ourselves in every time we see her because she's so good...and we like really big shots (8x10's would be the small ones we get LOL). I personally hate school photo's. They're always too stiff, with bad lighting, and a back drop that isn't meant to compliment anyone. (Or worse the pictures of the outdoors back drops). We haven't faced that yet...I don't know if we'd even bother with school shots. This gal does lovely shots of older kids as well. We were just there yesterday, so I'll be broke in a couple of weeks when she posts the pics on the net for us to pick from LOL But since we have a new house (on monday) to move into...I ummm need more for the decor right? heh heh I do like to keep my family photo's grouped together. We are in a five level home with lots of halls, so I'm using them as our family museaum, with photo's going back to the great grandparents and forward to my little munchkin. But even though I do tend to group them...I still like to have one or two scattered in other rooms. And I'm with SR...no issues with them in the bedroom...since they started out there in the first place :oP But NEVER pictures of my mother or DH's mother in the bedroom...that's just wrong :oP heh heh Lynn that's a great family shot. Very casual and undated, something I hadn't thought of before, but a great idea to remember!...See MoreWhere to place art work around this buffet
Comments (20)Awesome suggestions! I've been sparked! @njmomma: I like this example. As the original buffet comes with a mirror, I don't like it. Perhaps a separate vintage mirror would be nice to reflect some light in the space. Then I can hang pictures around it. @yvonne: I have hordes of pottery and you bring up a good idea; instead of buying more art I should hang my pottery on the wall, after taking off the mirror top. We have quite a few family pictures; in our previous home the buffet was flanked by those vintage items. However as this space has less traffic than the front hallway where I was considering for the family pictures, I'll keep the pottery in this location and the family pictures in the front hallway. @holly: I'm refining my mint favorites. I'm looking at reds, oranges in abstracts and landscapes. However previous suggestions of using pottery may put Minted on the back burner. @tedbixby: yes I have considered putting the wicker chairs on either side of the buffet..To the right of the buffet is a dry sink which is normally in the living room but due to the Christmas tree we had to switch it out with a drop leaf table (which is usually to the right of the buffet under the window). @grover: the room functions as it is. There's a dog pen because we have to pen them when we're gone. We don't use a dining room table, so it doesn't need to function as that. And we have an abundance of antiques but less room than our previous house so we have to find a wall for them. I wish we could put them in storage, but these are my husband's family pieces and he's not interested in doing that. And he's not ready to reduce the inventory, so we have to work with the pieces in the square footage that we have....See MoreDecorating Time! French Art Deco - Chinoiserie Dining Room Chairs
Comments (56)Thanks Terri. We’re waiting for one more piece we purchased, then I’m heading to friends in early Nov. to pick up a couple more. I’m also debating the light fixture. The current one was $50 on CL. So once I get all that done, I’ll do a ”big reveal”. Hint, one thing that’s coming is a c.1970 zebra for the library that might offend. My perspective is that we should respect what’s already sacrificed. And this one has been rolled up and wasting away in a warehouse for two years....See Morelatifolia
last yeareverdebz
last year
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
last yearYou missed your biggest issue........Paint. The Dubloon Gold on the walls has got to go.
Place your art over the piano instead. Your fireplace wall needs texture and attention. I would consider a round wood framed mirror with hurricane candle sconces. Botanicals to add some color and texture to the walls.
You could select wood blinds or plantation shutters for the French doors.
ratherbeatthebeach
last year- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last yearYou can select a mirror that has antique glass which will give the sparkle without the reflection. If you're a DIY there are videos on YouTube showing how to take a regular mirror and distress the finish from the back to make it antique.
decoenthusiaste
last yeararcy_gw
last yearratherbeatthebeach
last yearratherbeatthebeach
last yearUpdate - we finally got some grommet curtains mounted. I was going to do one way draw stacked to the right but dh wanted panels on both sides and I like how it turned out. (I know some of you will tell me the rod should be higher but I wanted to stick with off the shelf lengths and the next longer length would have required mounting the rod on the crown molding). I also bought some tailored valances in the same fabric for the other two windows but they are not up yet.
MarleneM