On a semi-related note of general "decor" and style, the Mrs. is very happy with how the living room turned out...
Before:
During:
The dark color above the switch panel as well as the "L" of white were the first "sample" colors we tried. It looked great during the day but was waaaaay too dark for this space at night. The color around the switches and outlets was the final color we went with (Ben Moore "Calm" for those curious, the trim is Ben Moore "White Opulence").
After:
The baseboard had a very thick quarter-round moulding that we removed. It instantly made the room look better as the chunkiness went away. I may do a low profile shoe moulding since there are some gaps between the floor and baseboard but I need to decide if I'm going to refinish the floors where the lay or if I'm going to remove and plane each board individually. It's obviously easier to just sand and refinish in place but we have plenty of squeaks and some of the boards move around a bit, so there may be value in removing and inspecting the subfloor panels.
The Mrs. wanted to keep the window frames in their natural wood tone for a while to see how we like it. I like the contrast and it definitely helps "frame" the lake outside the window, but the outer trim is heavy oak of which I am just not a huge fan of for trim or cabinetry. If she wants to keep this look, I may retrim with a cherry or maple to help lighten up the grain some while keeping a similar color palette. We also want to extend the windowsills some as the cats absolutely love sitting on top of them! Admittedly, the trim does tie into the flooring nicely, so maybe I can find a happy medium somewhere...
While I was doing this, I also replaced the cream-colored outlets. They were older, non-TR style and obviously the wrong color for the walls (or any walls for that matter, yuck!). A few of them were also wired backwards (reversed polarity) and one has a broken ground (even still, so I'll need to check the line).
I need to paint the ceiling, but that's after I finish painting the hallway and kitchen (next weekend). I will install a new ceiling fan in this room as well, but that will have to wait until it cools down some - gonna be in the high 80's and low 90's for the next week, so there's no way I'm crawling around in an attic with sleeves and pants on, working through fiberglass insulation, while sweating like crazy! I need to install another light fixture in the hallway as well. where the kitchen, hallway and living room meet, there isn't a single light and even with all three lights on in each room, there is a huge dark-spot where the rooms come together.
Before:
During:
The dark color above the switch panel as well as the "L" of white were the first "sample" colors we tried. It looked great during the day but was waaaaay too dark for this space at night. The color around the switches and outlets was the final color we went with (Ben Moore "Calm" for those curious, the trim is Ben Moore "White Opulence").
After:
The baseboard had a very thick quarter-round moulding that we removed. It instantly made the room look better as the chunkiness went away. I may do a low profile shoe moulding since there are some gaps between the floor and baseboard but I need to decide if I'm going to refinish the floors where the lay or if I'm going to remove and plane each board individually. It's obviously easier to just sand and refinish in place but we have plenty of squeaks and some of the boards move around a bit, so there may be value in removing and inspecting the subfloor panels.
The Mrs. wanted to keep the window frames in their natural wood tone for a while to see how we like it. I like the contrast and it definitely helps "frame" the lake outside the window, but the outer trim is heavy oak of which I am just not a huge fan of for trim or cabinetry. If she wants to keep this look, I may retrim with a cherry or maple to help lighten up the grain some while keeping a similar color palette. We also want to extend the windowsills some as the cats absolutely love sitting on top of them! Admittedly, the trim does tie into the flooring nicely, so maybe I can find a happy medium somewhere...
While I was doing this, I also replaced the cream-colored outlets. They were older, non-TR style and obviously the wrong color for the walls (or any walls for that matter, yuck!). A few of them were also wired backwards (reversed polarity) and one has a broken ground (even still, so I'll need to check the line).
I need to paint the ceiling, but that's after I finish painting the hallway and kitchen (next weekend). I will install a new ceiling fan in this room as well, but that will have to wait until it cools down some - gonna be in the high 80's and low 90's for the next week, so there's no way I'm crawling around in an attic with sleeves and pants on, working through fiberglass insulation, while sweating like crazy! I need to install another light fixture in the hallway as well. where the kitchen, hallway and living room meet, there isn't a single light and even with all three lights on in each room, there is a huge dark-spot where the rooms come together.
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