What do I do with all this timber?
Hi Houzzers, I have bought this beautiful home because of its beautfiul trees/gardens and its high ceilings. (Also, because it is lowset, overlooks a lake (dam) and has a separate building that I am intending to use for charitable work helping girls with autism. It hopefully will be my forever home (or for as long as I can manage the 1.5 acres). It was built in 1980. Whilst I love timber, there is currently too much timber in the house for me. The stairs to the area upstairs are also non-compliant (very big gap between each tread and only one railing). So they will need to be adjusted somehow. The kitchen and sitting areas seem very small/disjointed, which is possibly exacerbated by the positioning of the laundry which also holds the house hot water system tank in one of its cupboards. it would be nice for the house to be a bit more open plan perhaps. The view of the lake is from the kitchen windows. I am not keen of lots of brick inside a house either, unless it is used as a feature. My preferred flooring is timber, concrete or tiles. I like midcentury furniture - Danish or parker furniture from the 1960s. Apart from beds for the bedrooms, I really have no furniture, so decorating is a clean slate. However, I do like timeless furniture. I am not keen on chunky colonial country furniture, nor the greyed white Hamptons look (where everything is white), nor the obvious Ikea look everywhere. I hate the current stone black countertops in the house and the stark white cupboards. I was hoping that you could provide me with some ideas for what to do with the walls and ceilings in the short term, (colours and ideas of what to paint or not) as well as what you would suggest as changes to the house over the longer term. I eventually want an offwhite stone benchtop in kitchen in bathrooms. I am also not keen on the toilet being in the main bathrroom , but that is not an urgent change. It would be nice if the layout of the kitchen, stairs, laundry, dining, sitting and lounge areas could be better laid out. (Your opinions are appreciated). The second building, which is all timber (and not shown in photos), will eventualy get toilets/bathroom and kitchenette, so that it could be used for workshops/events related to helping girls on the autism spectrum, but could also be rented out as Air BnB in the longer term (with the bedroom, kitchenette and living being open plan). What would you do to it and how would you furnish it.
Comments (27)
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Colour?? Help! what colour do i paint this room
Comments (8)Bronan, if you are over 13 and under 21, then the possibilities are really fun with black wood furniture in a room that could be set up with a ballet barre, or used as a dance practice studio as well as a bedroom! Since the floors are dark, you will need to keep the walls light, Usually in a bedroom you start with the colors in your bedding. If you want a new look, perhaps you could start with a pretty floral like this, paint the wall where you will put the head of your bed a deep coral pink to match the bedding and all the other walls a pale pretty coral too. room a soft, soft pink, and hang soft pink drapery panels http://www.target.com/p/threshold-multi-floral-comforter-set/-/A-14982101#prodSlot=medium_1_13 The coral will pop with your black furniture better / a good one that makes your skin pretty in the light - this one for a headboard wall to test - http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6878-animated-coral/ this one for the other 3 walls . . a white with the same coral undertone - http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6609-touching-white/ If possible, you might hang drapery rods on the mirror wall, so you can hang (with this bedding) white drapery at both the window and on each end of the mirror - it will make it feel a lot softer in the room if you treat it like a window. You can follow watch for on sale drapery until you can get a lot that is the same. Put the rod at the same height over the mirror as it is over the window. You might paint an inspirational quote at the top of the mirror in the dark coral (using a stencil) so that you visually fill the space between the top of the mirror and the top of the window. You could get a sample size of pale green paint the color of the green in the bedding to paint an extra piece of furniture that you need that isn't quite right. A little desk or vanity, or even a round end table or a bench for the foot of your bed. Hope this looks like an interesting option to you. Later, you can go for graphic black and white bedding and put hot coral pillows on it with the same paint job and curtains and get a whole new look with just new bedding....See MoreWhat colours do I use?
Comments (57)Hi anne, that's what I was originally thinking, my issue is what colour I use for the 'pop' :) I keep coming back to a teal/turquoise colour (it's one of my favourite colours!!), I love blues, purples, teal/turquoise - many on here have suggested yellow but I'm really not sure about it. Here in New Zealand we're in Autumn, nearing Winter so uncertain about the yellow. I found these cushions that I've fallen in love it, and wondering how I could make these work.. do I try teal and mustard together, as an interior designer suggested?...See MoreWhat do I do first? Walls, floors, tiles?
Comments (1)Paint your house and ceiling first. You are probably asking for trouble if you put the floors down only to paint over the top of them. If you can, remove the tiles in the kitchen and paint just behind the line of the splashback too. Once painting is done replace kitchen benchtop then splashback. I would call the bathroom its own job and do it individually, unless you only need to paint the ceiling and if a tiler doesn't need to be brought in for anything else in the house? A lot of bathrooms now are getting tiled from floor to the ceiling if this is the case, paint the ceiling first, then tile. If walls need to be painted, it wouldn't really matter if you did them first or last, though if you did it first expect to do some touch-ups. I guess if you really wanted, you could do the first coat before tiles then second after... I don't exactly like stopping and starting painting, so I would do the walls (if they needed to be done) in one hit, after its been tiled. Well that's the order in which I would do everything... Really, for what you're asking, the painting could be done at anytime, but to make life easy on yourself, I would definitely recommend doing it before the floor....See MoreAwful wardrobe - what do do? Need DIY ideas!
Comments (11)I grew up with these panel doors and remember the glorious day they were replaced by a curtain. So if you are open to the idea, for ease of use, least effort and cost that's a simple fix that your daughter may want herself. The top cabinet doors can be considered a cornice for the drapes, and can be upholstered, maybe in the same fabric as her window curtains, and a simple drape with coordinating stripe on the bottom. Search "upholstered doors" on Houzz, and you will see ideas for nailhead trim, tufting, etc as well. You may also be able to add thin trim molding in a custom design to make them special. Good luck!...See MoreMylongtermhome
2 years agoMylongtermhome
2 years ago
Kate
2 years agoI use a painting app call Procreate. You can paint in layers and turn layers on and off to try diff combinations. Some examples.
Mylongtermhome thanked KateMylongtermhome
2 years ago
siriuskey
2 years agoWhat a beautiful house the pink wall looks like rammed earth. where is it.
Rough idea using the PAINT program that come with most computers
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2 years agosiriuskey
2 years agoSome more ideas for your lovely Unique home, you have a lot of plans and importantly to make use of the accommodation for AirB&B for extra income. So in the meantime paint will make a big difference.
I have an 80' home with a lot of timber and brick and love how the timber works with black and white.
Seeing your kitchen has a black benchtop that you don't like but is of good quality you could use black which will work with that and accentuate the timber
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2 years agosiriuskey
2 years agoMylongtermhome
2 years agokbodman14
last yearMylongtermhome
last yearushi
last yearMylongtermhome
last yearsiriuskey
last yearYour rammed earth wall could be exposed brick, that along with white walls and ceilings with dark beams would look good, with your walkway done in the following style with open sides,
Oak timber floors are lovely and would help lighten the interior, similar colour to the beams in this picture
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last year
Kate