Let's Talk Remodeling

[Am_I_There_Yet]

AMITY, your "orange" room looks great. I think I like the four posts, but then I have a four post bed. I love your bedding!

The posts are staying. They've grown on me! I did run into one of them in the middle of the night though.

 

[SplshMtn99]

WOW! I love EVERYTHING everyone has done!!!! I soooo wish we had the $ to do a full job like you all have done instead of trying to work with what we have.

We are still at the "I NEED TO PICK A BACKSPLASH" stage.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

The posts are staying. They've grown on me! I did run into one of them in the middle of the night though.

Okay I admit I laughed when I read it. I have done that as well.

 

[shovan]

AMITY, I have to tell you that I also have a four post bed, so maybe my opinion on that is also a bit off, from slamming into the post during the night!

The contractor installed the light in the kitchen after he finished in the bath yesterday. Remember the cut out in the ceiling that had the plastic panels over a flourescent.

Yuck, This was it before:

This is the way it's been for months, the plastic panels & metal removed, with the bare flourescents showing:

(It doesn't look centered in the pics, but it is.)

I have to say first, that although this looks a LOT better, my DH was RIGHT about flourescents doing a better job of lighting a kitchen. Did I really just say that my husband was right?! Yeah I guess I did. I really like the way this looks, but we are going to have to do something to get more light in there. Either add more cans or find a different fixture.

Anyway here's a pic of the new fixture installed:

He patched the ceiling & painted the edge the same color as the wall we had changed months back.
Here's a pic of it lit up:

 

[shovan]

WOW! I love EVERYTHING everyone has done!!!! I soooo wish we had the $ to do a full job like you all have done instead of trying to work with what we have.

We are still at the "I NEED TO PICK A BACKSPLASH" stage.

When you are paying for someone else to do all of the work, not everything happens as quickly as it should. And pics can only show part of the "whole picture". Just so you don't feel bad, check this out:

That's a wall in my den, where the closet was. The closet backed up to our bathroom & we used that space to enlarge the bathroom. It's probably going to stay that way for a while too! The walls in the den are wallpaper covered paneling! So the WHOLE room will need to be sheetrocked. As I think I mentioned, we also have a wet bar in the den with a formica counter, that we will need to be changed before the walls get sheetrocked, so we are looking at another huge expesive job in there. Will we ever be finished? We are also considering a built-in bookcase/entertainment center on that wall too. The funds just aren't there right now.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Shovan, I don't have the best lighting in my kitchen either, but adding the under-cabinet strip lighting did the trick.

It adds just the right amount of task lighting. Maybe look into doing something like that?

BTW, that is a cool light fixture! I don't think I've seen a light like that before!

 

[shovan]

Shovan, I don't have the best lighting in my kitchen either, but adding the under-cabinet strip lighting did the trick.

It adds just the right amount of task lighting. Maybe look into doing something like that?

BTW, that is a cool light fixture! I don't think I've seen a light like that before!

I do have under-cabinet lighting in there already. It's probably fine, I'm gonna work with it a while, to see if I can get used to it. I've probably just adjusted to have that glaring flourescent light without the dingy plastic cover over it!

I came across that fixture at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago! I've been hunting on the net for months & couldn't find anything I thought would be right. ( Not a price my DH was willing to pay anyway.) They had it in a flyer in the paper, so I jumped in the car to go see it. I can't find it in the store, I find this nice old sales-lady, who tells me she's never seen that before & is sure they don't have it, it must be online. I told her I had checked that first & it wasn't. She said to give her a minute & she'd check the computer. While I was waiting I started moving boxes around in the place it should have been & found one (only one) shoved behind some other ones! At only 120 bucks I had to buy it & take it out of the box to have a look! Everything else I was looking at was much much more expensive. It is the only one I've seen that had a main large bulb in the middle (100 watt) & the smaller flood type that looked similar to a track light. A track light was what I had in mind, but really didn't want to spend that much moohlah.

 

[SplshMtn99]

All the new handles are on the cabinets. They look good.

Eventually I'll get around to taking off all the hinges, cleaning them well, & lightly spray painting them to match a bit better. I found an Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint at Home Depot. They are currently a very tarnished antiqued gold. The handles are ORB with a hint of antique gold peeking thru.

They are not quite as dark as the photo. Only $2.49.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I do have under-cabinet lighting in there already. It's probably fine, I'm gonna work with it a while, to see if I can get used to it. I've probably just adjusted to have that glaring flourescent light without the dingy plastic cover over it!

I came across that fixture at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago! I've been hunting on the net for months & couldn't find anything I thought would be right. ( Not a price my DH was willing to pay anyway.) They had it in a flyer in the paper, so I jumped in the car to go see it. I can't find it in the store, I find this nice old sales-lady, who tells me she's never seen that before & is sure they don't have it, it must be online. I told her I had checked that first & it wasn't. She said to give her a minute & she'd check the computer. While I was waiting I started moving boxes around in the place it should have been & found one (only one) shoved behind some other ones! At only 120 bucks I had to buy it & take it out of the box to have a look! Everything else I was looking at was much much more expensive. It is the only one I've seen that had a main large bulb in the middle (100 watt) & the smaller flood type that looked similar to a track light. A track light was what I had in mind, but really didn't want to spend that much moohlah.

So much for my bright idea!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

All the new handles are on the cabinets. They look good.

I like those! Nice, clean lines.

 

[shovan]

We've talked about ways to change the finish on metal several times. I mentioned I was going to attempt one cheapy technique I read about online with a spare kitchen pull. Putting the pull in a container with a cotton ball soaked with ammonia. DON'T TRY THIS METHOD!!!!

Yes it changed the color to a nice bronze finish, but it also pitted the finish & now it's turning green!

I think I'm going to order some of this, I can't seem to find any locally.

http://houseofantiquehardware.com/s.nl/sc.13/category.145/.f?gclid=CNaJpITy-o8CFQspFQod9imbKg

Since I put up the bronze light in the kitchen & put the bronze shower heads in the bath, I'd like to change everything in the house. Right now it's all antique brass. It sure would save a ton of money if I could find something that would actually change the finish instead of purchasing everything!

We are trying to figure out whether or not to put in a built in entertainment center on that closet wall in the den. Estimate on that was $9500. +! Or to spend the dollars sheetrocking the whole room, which would also mean we will need a new wet bar counter. And would force us to make a decision about changing our fireplace & ceiling beams. We have fake beams (wood plank boxing) on the ceiling that run smack into the middle of the fireplace. If we take the beams down the fireplace bricks will have to come out also! When does it ever end?????? We need to win the lottery!

I'll go see if I can get some decent pics of our dilemma, so y'all have some idea what I'm ranting about.

 

[MareQ]

Anyway here's a pic of the new fixture installed:

He patched the ceiling & painted the edge the same color as the wall we had changed months back.
Here's a pic of it lit up:

WHERE did you get this fixture? I need something over my new peninsula area! That would be perfect!

 

[shovan]

MareQ, Home Depot only $120! But it really isn't giving me the light I need. What is your ceiling height? I think if it was up higher it would work better, the spot lights wouldn't be so glaring & would have room to disperse the light better.

 

[shovan]

We are trying to figure out whether or not to put in a built in entertainment center on that closet wall in the den. Estimate on that was $9500. +! Or to spend the dollars sheetrocking the whole room, which would also mean we will need a new wet bar counter. And would force us to make a decision about changing our fireplace & ceiling beams. We have fake beams (wood plank boxing) on the ceiling that run smack into the middle of the fireplace. If we take the beams down the fireplace bricks will have to come out also! When does it ever end?????? We need to win the lottery!

I'll go see if I can get some decent pics of our dilemma, so y'all have some idea what I'm ranting about.

I sure could use some advice with this room!

Okay here's pics of the last ugly room in the house! (Once the bathroom vanity area is complete & the bedroom carpet is replaced with wood, that is.) Of course it's the biggest & thus will be the most expensive to redo! But it's also the room we use the most! We are being forced to push up the redo of this room, because of the closing in of the closet. Not that we haven't wanted to change this room for a very very long time, but because we knew it would be so expensive.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, we'd love to hear them. As you can see the whole room is paneling covered with white wall paper, so the whole room needs to have sheetrock floated. We would like to get rid of the beams, but it causes the further costly issue of whether or not to redo the fireplace.

Would y'all pull out the beams & thus the fireplace brick?

If we decide that's what we should do, we will probably go ahead with the built in entertainment wall unit on that closed up closet wall. Because the cost of sheetrocking the whole room, removing beams, redoing the fireplace & the wetbar is going to be phenomenal.

This wall where the closet was, we are considering a full length entertainment center wall unit. Or just sheetrocking the wall & buying a large freestanding entertainment unit.

Here:

The beams which are just planks in a box shape, we have never really liked. Not that we don't like beams but because these are obviously fake. One beam does run into the fireplace & for some reason that's not faked, it's not just placed on top of the brick but the brick mortar surrounds the beam.

See:

On the opposite side of the room from the fireplace is another expensive problem. The wet bar which now has a black formica counter-top. Minimally we would change the counter to granite, still expensive. Or we are also considering ripping the whole thing out & putting in a cabinet type bar in it's place.

Any suggestions or ideas? Don't feel shy about telling me, I know it's Uuugllyy!

 

[MareQ]

MareQ, Home Depot only $120! But it really isn't giving me the light I need. What is your ceiling height? I think if it was up higher it would work better, the spot lights wouldn't be so glaring & would have room to disperse the light better.

I only have 8- 8.5 feet there I think- but it's not my only light in the kitchen so I am thinking I may be ok. I have a light over my table, light over my island, light over my sink and 4 windows - I just need something over my peninsula as I have no recessed lights etc.

 

[shovan]

I only have 8- 8.5 feet there I think- but it's not my only light in the kitchen so I am thinking I may be ok. I have a light over my table, light over my island, light over my sink and 4 windows - I just need something over my peninsula as I have no recessed lights etc.

I think it would work well if you are trying to direct the light onto the counter surface. But I find the spotlights very strong & glaring, I ended up pointing them upwards, so I wouldn't be blinded.

 

[shovan]

[

All the new handles are on the cabinets. They look good.

Eventually I'll get around to taking off all the hinges, cleaning them well, & lightly spray painting them to match a bit better. I found an Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint at Home Depot. They are currently a very tarnished antiqued gold. The handles are ORB with a hint of antique gold peeking thru.

They are not quite as dark as the photo. Only $2.49.

I'll have to go look at those! Only $2.49?!!! Good deal & pretty!!!!

 

[mickeysgal]

Would y'all pull out the beams & thus the fireplace brick?

Have you had it checked whether the beams are supporting or purely decorative? I don't like messing with structural stuff and I'll avoid it pretty much at any cost.

I sort of like the beams. I would definitely do something with the walls, but I wouldn't mess with the fireplace or the beams. It gives it a rustic, cabin type of feel. Of course, if you don't like that look, you could always paint the beams a white to match the ceiling and have it blend it so that they're less noticeable.

I would opt for a freestanding plasma TV stand instead of built-ins. Then with all the money I saved by not pulling out the beams and tinkering with the fireplace, I'd buy a big 'ole plasma TV for the new stand.

 

[shelly3girls]

We have a similar problem with beams and a brick fireplace in our kitchen. We may get rid of them when we redo our kitchen but for the time being we painted them along with the paneling. It helped to brighten the room a great deal. Our room had a similar rustic feel. Since we have a 100 year old kitchen table we didn't mind the look. I think done properly it looks quite nice. The one mistake we made was painting the mantel white. I wanted to keep it the natural wood color but DH didn't get the message (even though I said it several times) and primed it along with everything else. Oh well, I hate the mantel anyway. It is not nearly as pretty as yours.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I like the beams. They have character & I think the ceiling would be boring without something up there. But on the other hand we wanted a log home once. Remember, DH & I are the wood lovers.

You could lighten the color of the beams if you feel its too heavy.

I would lose the bar personally.

Not loving the brick color. But I might like it better if I knew how it would fit into the new room. We had brick fireplace & changed it to stone-looking tile. I also wouldn't mind the brick if it was painted a better color or maybe just lighten the morter.

I do like the arch shape of the firebox & mantle. It breaks up all the straight lines.