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I would contact a good independent flooring company & ask for their suggestions. The ideal solution would be if the hardwood floors could be restored.

Keep the hardwood! Refinish as is necessary. Why on earth would you replace hardwood and install plastic?? The hardwood will last and be beautiful and is completely appropriate for your home- and it is already in place.

I wouldn't rule out laminate completely, but with a 1939 house and a crawl space underneath, I'd be more concerned about moisture than the hardwood simply "breathing." A lot depends on the condition of the existing boards and what's happening below them.
I'd definitely look into refinishing before covering the floors. I know someone who runs Robar Flooring, a hardwood flooring company in Toronto, and he knows his stuff. One thing I've learned from him is that even pretty rough-looking old hardwood floors can sometimes be brought back to life with proper sanding and refinishing. Of course, it depends on how much wood is left and whether the boards are still in decent shape, but I'd have someone take a look before giving up on them.
As for insulation, I'd start with the crawl space. If there's moisture coming up from below or inadequate insulation, adding laminate and underlayment won't really solve that problem. You might get a much better result by keeping the original hardwood and addressing what's underneath it.

With no information and In the spirit of the approaching holiday season ... I'll go with this!
LOL


Stainless. It's a range.......: ) not art in the living room.

It’s personal preference for sure but Zen to me usually suggests lower contrast finishes and a more minimal feel - are you set on the black fixtures and the gold sink?

Diana Bier Interiors gave you some good advice. I would follow it.

Paint can change things quite a bit, example the dark wall rack, the dark R painted a fun light colour, mirror frame, picture frames etc, If it were me I would find that easier and more pleasing than changing the colour of the antique beams.

Leave the beams.
Those stairs terrify me.

My thoughts were in line with what Beverly FLA suggested, but she articulates it better, that’s why she’s a ”Pro” & I’m not . i thought something more interesting & square. But you & your husband have to love whatever you choose. Good luck.

Cut different sizes of Kraft paper and tape to wall and height is important as well. Ignore the content, only providing to help with visualizing a balanced vignette.


If you do not want beige, avoid all the suggestions for beige and go with what you wanted which was something colorful/ blue and mountain_/ocean related. Something sentimental. A
As Norwood Architects said, just choose whatever you want that is a reminder of your trips/memories. If you are set on the two you found in your OP, the first one is nice and framed can look good. Adding blue accents might be all you really need to tie in the space.
There's 1000s upon 1000s of different paintings that can fit your criteria, so finding one that is sentimental to you, I think is key.

Nothing wrong with the cabinets. I think more interesting ”styling “ or accessorizing is needed. I like simple, but think adding color, texture, maybe plants, etc would help. It’s really a blank canvass.

Yes definetely cabinets would look better with new brushed brass harware and glass doors.


You can get quotes for refacing the cabinets. If you don’t like wood, you won’t feel better about this kitchen with “new knobs”. Do some research and figure out if you can save for a kitchen you love.
It can be done in stages, but price everything you want and then make a plan.

Nice bay window you have there. You can put a custom bench or just buy a simple bench and put it a little away from the middle window and call it a day.
However, still need to see the other side of the bedroom to get an idea of space and measurements if you can , please.
What are the measurements of the bay window area? Once that is known, it will be easier to find seats

When someone says " It is not at all our style" and then follows with " budget friendly ideas please..." ? Budget friendly means different things for different people. She posted the former condo which she loved. The "beachywas a wicker chair, seashell decor, etc AND a white kitchen
We can't answer the budget question, but changing ( drastically ) a home that is lovely/suburban/not beachy is just a question of how far you want to go , to be thrilled.
It's the internet, and she got my answer, no differently than if I were standing in that space.
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#3 makes the most sense. I think the ceiling rule is silly. There are all sorts of "rules" that make little sense in some circumstances. #2 with two different curtain heights looks off to me.

Pictures of your space?

Size of foyer? Whatever you choose make sure it’s “dimmable”, not all are,& I find bare bulbs ( especially candelabra ) harsh & too much glare.

Right, somehow I skipped over that, sorry. of the three you listed I think I like the second one, but it doesn’t state that it’s dimmable. The other two state that they’re dimmable, if that’s important for you.

And if you would paint that wall register the same color as your wall it would not fight with the chandelier as much, at least from the view the the photo was taken from. I like the second chandelier, your choice, as Freedomplace showed, for your foyer, seems to coordinate well with the dining room one.

Thank you! The suggestions are so needed and appreciated. I didn't even notice that. That should be an easy fix!

BeverlyFLA has given you good advice. Based upon what you stated I don’t think that space will ever look good. Either artificial turf ( a good quality one ) or a hard surface such as pavers.

Thanks, everyone.
That is very helpful, socalgalgw - I was wondering if there would be a downside to annual rye. Thanks!!

I see ”liriope” mentioned upthread. Be careful you don’t get the plain-green-spreads-by-underground-runners kind. You will be so, so sorry. I am.
It is my understanding that variegated liriope is not a spreader.

Really something for you to decide, not others. Depends upon the type of cooking you do, whether it’s worth the extra $ cost to install, the look you’re going for, etc. I have no use for one. my kitchen is very streamlined & minimal ( don’t even have electrical outlets in the backsplash ) but ymmv.

I agree with Robyn, even though they’re popular in higher end kitchens I don’t think they’re particularly attractive, but, as I stated, I prefer a more streamlined look. Probably look better in traditional looking kitchens.

Beautiful stone. Glad your not going with a pot filler.
@chispa I see a pelvis too.

Do you really want to cook in front of a giant pelvis?

What chispa said .…

How about something like this? Ridgegate.


I like @Cathi Thomas’ suggestion.

Is there a need for a ”formal living room”? Possibly switch the two rooms? Is there a wall in the formal living room that could accomodate a larger TV? I rarely watch TV but the one you have does look small., especially from the distance from the seating area.

Because the room has a label, because it is wide open to kitchen locale and is THE ONLY FIREPLACE......it is probably fruitless so suggest a different locale for tv.
Answer is to close mostl or all of that right hand wall. Give the tv a new spot in the same room.
If ......you add all dimensions for all below - walls, windows openings, passages......
to this?
More concrete answers and help may be forthcoming


The mantle is to high and wide. A combination of Judy’s bottom pic and Emily’s would work.

Is there a reason you want to reno and not tear down/build new?
fwiw we bought an older vacation home with the intention to reno but after understanding all the issues with the foundation, quality of the original materials, and general neglect we ended up tearing down and building

Hard to tell what the wall color is- looks pretty gray. But I'd go with a warm white tint. Not white, but a tint. Sherwin Williams SW7634 Pediment, or SW7003 Toque White. Or move toward a color like SW 7568 Neutral Ground or even SW7531 Canvas Tan. They will all stay light and warm enough to work with the two other paint colors and the floors and cabinets.

I'd remove it, it's not providing useful storage. Do you use the counter space? That might make a difference. Once you've updated your kitchen, having them flow better might be good. Currently there's a view into a meh kitchen and separation looks good, but with a wow kitchen or even a pretty nice one, separation won't be as important.

From the looks of your desktop it appears that more storage is needed rather than more plants. I love plants also, both indoor & outdoor, can you add in another room ? Sounds like there’s already more than enough going on there.

^ agree, it’s easy to add lots of smaller storage/display pieces when 1 larger one does the job and feels less cluttery

PLants need light so if plants are a must so is the light . IMO maybe wait until you can have plants in the perfect place for them.

Agree with Sigrid’s comment … ”garish” , but it would look sort of ”Christmas” .

Interesting!!

I prefer the color scheme presented by @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC if I understand the doorway area can be a contrasting wood to provide contrast and draw attention to the home entrance as your focal point. I like the multiple shades of green and black(?) windows. They give depth and interest even better than contrasting trim. I don't like the beige with this at all. Green/black/charcoal look great but not the beige. A midtone cool-grey roof and not a greige roof will look very sharp and put-together with the greens. The best way to view something like this is in late winter when the landscaping looks awful. If the house colors look good then, you have a winner. All this added AI landscaping could make a cattle shelter look good.

I would start with a MAJOR decluterring. How much of that stuff do you need to keep? Either get rid of it or find a home for it.

First empty it then a to scale floor plan I will say family movie night and sleep overs usually do not work together for sure not with teens .Ask the teens what they want IMO since this will be their space and honestly no office either . Gaming is a big thing for some teens that requires some different seating , and do not forget sleep spaces .

I would do nothing. With every home I’ve purchased I’ve redone the things I didn’t like. For example, in my current home I had all the landscape & hardscape done to better complement my modern MCM home. Guess it depends upon your market though. It looks like a nice house though, maybe just a little cleaning up the landscape.

Make sure it is super clean, inside and out. Fix what's broken. That's it.

The first thing I would notice is all of the old shrubbery that I would have to tear out and replace. I’d get rid of all the shrubs and just put down mulch. As others have said put the garbage cans away and power wash the concrete.

I have both. My second home has really tall ( idk how tall ) cabinets that go to the ceiling, my primary home does not. Even though I’m tall I never use the the uppers in my second home & I’m not about to climb on a ladder to access them. I realize that it’s ”de riguer” to have them installed to the ceiling, see that mentioned on this site always, but I don’t understand the appeal. Guess it’s for aesthetics. Resale? Do you intend to sell soon?

It depends on your local real estate market. If there are many new homes in your area with 10 ft ceilings with cabinets to the ceiling, then it would make sense to upgrade your home with similar specs.
If most homes are of the same vintage as yours and they all have soffits, then it might not matter if you keep shorter cabinets.
As a buyer, I would be annoyed that you had a newer kitchen and kept the soffits with short cabinets. Depending on the market, I might make an offer that would take into account having to remove the soffit and get new upper cabinets.
You aren't going to please everyone!
Maybe show us a photo of the kitchen so we can see how the soffits "feel" in the actual space.
Also how big is the kitchen? Getting rid of the soffits will have a bigger visual impact in a smaller kitchen.

" I am remodeling my kitchen and replacing almost everything but not changing the layout, no walls will move. "
We have remodeled 2 kitchens without moving any walls, but we absolutely made layout changes. In the first one - a U-shaped kitchen with the sink in the middle - we moved both the range and the fridge away from the corner, greatly improving both storage and work space in the kitchen.
Chances are there are places you can improve with minor tweaks to the layout, without significantly changing walls or appliance placement.
As for your question: in both our kitchens, the top of the uppers are 8' from the floor, in spite of vaulted ceilings in both cases. I would always recommend cabinets to an 8' ceiling; possibly 9', depending on the situation. But 10' is WAY up there. Cabinets are too expensive to install if they are not realistically ever going to be used.
Pictures would help a lot!

Very little. Finally caved & hired someone to install Christmas lights on the exterior. Very little inside other than 3 ’ & 4’ prelit trees from Balsam Hill. Reason is that I hate taking everything down .
i know someone who starts decorating in October, 4 or 5 Christmas trees plus tons of decor, looks like the Costco holiday decor aisle exploded in her house!

Celery, nice!!

That's a very elegant table display, Celery. I like it a lot.
























^^^ I'll like that a hundred times.
You are on the internet. You will get opinion , asked, or unasked. You don't ever know what is acceptable to another homeowner and whether it applies to you, your home.
Needing a back up battery for something as simple as running water in a power failure?! , and paying 1500.00 to have that inconvenience for the love of looks?
My advice to you is same as any client, live, up close and personal. : ) It's a faucet for looks. One of many many many others, just as stylish.
Methinks @tumchewx is kinda .... ummmm....a jerk? I can be the queen of smartass answers but I might have to relinquish my crown.....
Geeze, even if I knew everything about this faucet, I wouldn't answer now. I teach teenagers, and I don't need more attitude in my life.
This is the kind of board that's going to give you a good, complete answer. Very often questioners don't know what they don't know, and none of us know what kind of research you've done.
The right answer is, Thank you.