Our homes…. Interior and Exterior Remodeling Or Decorating

[Deleted]

I’d really enjoy a thread about how we furnish and decorate or remodel our homes.

I’ve seen posts where other posters have shared pictures of their homes, with questions about decor or just showing us what they’ve done inside their homes or outside, with landscaping and/or gardens.

I LOVE getting a glimpse into other people’s homes. And I love seeing how other people change and/or decorate their homes to suit them, inside and out.

I’d like it if we could consolidate all of that into one thread. It can be exteriors or interiors, I enjoy seeing it all. I look at what I call “house porn”, a lot. So why not get some of my “fix” from people I *know* so I can ask questions or just ooh and aah over what they’ve done?

And since it’s primarily a money board, I’d like the option to discuss the costs of what we do to improve or change things about our homes.

I’ll share pictures too, if someone tells me how…… and explains how to do it…….. like you would explain to, maybe a 5yo?

[empress of self-improvement]

Back in the day, when DH could drive, and was a whole being, we would spend nights driving around so I could look at people's windows. I liked to see how they did things in their homes. Now I have to get my jollies through magazines.
For current project, I am working on my kitchen and bathroom. Sort of. I demoed the upper cabinets off the walls and plunked a hutch and its corresponding cabinet in the kitchen to act as a divider for when I take the wall between the kitchen and living room down. I am decreasing the size of the kitchen but increasing the general space so it should even out. I have no idea how much doing the wall will cost me. It's a load-bearing one so need someone to install a beam and do some heating vent rejiggering. BIL said he'll help on the electrical since he has an electrician license.

[Deleted]

I’ll go first…..

My Mom bought her first house when I was in elementary school. She didn’t decorate it or the next house she bought, when I was in high school. Nor did she fix stuff when it broke.

So I grew up thinking it must cost a whole lot of money besides the mortgage payment, to own a house.

I bought my first house when I was 29yo anyway, because it was something I wanted to provide for my children, even if it cost a million dollars to maintain. I followed in my Mom’s footsteps as far as not decorating much, but I did maintain it and take care of necessary repairs, so I learned that that part of owning a house didn’t necessarily cost millions of dollars. “Millions” is my exaggerated way of describing what feels like a lot of money to me. But I still knew jackshit about decorating and making a house a home.

Some years later, along came HGTV, and I learned that even a house without a lot of architectural details could be decorated beautifully…… and a whole new world opened for me.

By then, my children were on their way to being young adults and I was thinking that the house that I had originally intended to be my starter home could be my forever home, if that would help me retire sooner rather than later. So, I started working on my little starter house with the intention of making it my forever home.

Then I met Mister and eventually fell in love with him, and put the plans I had for my house that I hadn’t executed yet, on hold because we were talking about forever. Because of logistics concerning his children, my house was not really suitable for us as a couple.

So we bought a house that was more suitable for his situation, because he had minor children, while mine were young adults by then. His requirements for a house were more simple than mine but we bought a house that had most of the things I wanted in a forever home, because that’s what he wanted to give me, a forever home.

By then, for better or worse, I’d watched a lot more HGTV  and I had many more ideas about what a “home” should/could be and what I wanted *my* home to feel and look like.

The house I share with Mister now, he’ll go along with whatever I want as far as function and aesthetics. But sometimes, I’m not sure myself of what I want and what works.

So that is most of the reason I look for inspiration on the things I’m not sure about.

I can’t be the only person on these boards that share the same dilemmas so I am hoping we can help each other out.  

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2021 20:01:03 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

Back in the day, when DH could drive, and was a whole being, we would spend nights driving around so I could look at people's windows. I liked to see how they did things in their homes. Now I have to get my jollies through magazines.
For current project, I am working on my kitchen and bathroom. Sort of. I demoed the upper cabinets off the walls and plunked a hutch and its corresponding cabinet in the kitchen to act as a divider for when I take the wall between the kitchen and living room down. I am decreasing the size of the kitchen but increasing the general space so it should even out. I have no idea how much doing the wall will cost me. It's a load-bearing one so need someone to install a beam and do some heating vent rejiggering. BIL said he'll help on the electrical since he has an electrician license.

That’s funny because just yesterday Mister and I were driving down the big street that runs through our neighborhood and I said something about all the houses that had curtains and/or blinds open, where you could see inside their homes.

I’ll open the curtains and blinds all over the house during the day, but at sunset I close everything! And turn in all the outdoor lights. I don’t like the idea of people outside being able to see inside my home, but I can’t see them. We and other Black people joke that that’s white people shit, having windows on their homes open so that people passing by can see into their homes.

My other house, the den, kitchen and dining area were pretty much open areas, where I could have company and still see and interact with company while I’m doing my thing in the kitchen. This house, the rooms are more closed off. There is a pocket door we can close between the den and the kitchen. Even if we don’t close the pocket door, I can see what’s going on in the den if I’m in the kitchen.

[empress of self-improvement]

In this house, kitchen and living room are completely separate and can't see diddly when in either room. Plus my kitchen has only a single west-facing window and doesn't get much light. Not that I WANT to see my dusty-ass kitchen but still... I used to watch HGTV religiously back when I had canle and they had actual shows that weren't the 18 versions of I cannot remember the NAME! HOUSE HUNTERS!!!!They see 3 houses and pick what they supposedly want. I had to Google.

[Cookies Galore]

Our house was built in 1911 and we have the original hardwood floors. I love them so much! I don't think we can refinish them at this point, but staining might be an option at some point, if I really want to move my entire first floor for the job. Upstairs floors are in much better shape, less foot traffic and all. But the area rugs are doing their job of perfectly hiding scratches and protecting the floors.
There is a mudroom off our kitchen that was probably added in the 50s or 60s; this is going to be our big reno project in a few years. I want to tear it down and rebuild a proper mudroom, add a half bath (we only have one), and bring the laundry upstairs from the basement.
Since I've been strictly working from home since March 2020 and spending more time at home, I've been slowly redoing some things and plan on spending the winter finally turning our spare room (smallest bedroom) into a proper office.

I did a lot of door knocking this fall for my council re-election, and I've been checking out a lot of the front porches in my Ward and making mental notes for cute things to do with ours. We currently have a bench and a couple of rocking chairs. We spend a lot of evenings on the porch when the weather is nice.

[nidena]

This used to be a bedroom closet.  Now it's shelves for my DVDs and stuff.

[Malarky]

I call our house our "new old house."  It was built in 1890.  We've been here nearly 28 years.  It's the first house we bought and it was with the intention of it being our forever home.  The people who built it lived here until they died. When they couldn't get up and down the stairs anymore, they made the dining room their bedroom and lived on the first floor.  The son and his wife then took over the house and did the same.  I'm one step ahead of them in that I have plans for a handicap ramp if it should ever become necessary. 

The day we took possession we ripped out all the plumbing except the pipe to the shower and replaced it.The shower waited many years before we did the entire (miniscule) bathroom. There was barely room for water to get through the gunk.

In all those years we've had the roof done twice, blown in insulation, updated the electricity, replaced the windows twice-they were gorgeous wavy old glass that fluttered in the breeze.  We froze that first winter.  Cheap Home Depot windows got us through until I finally got the expensive but worth it Pella windows.

The house thankfully is stained, not painted so peeling isn't an issue, although fading is.  It's been entirely restained once and spot stained where needed.  The trim has been repainted twice.

We completely gutted the kitchen which had no counters or cabinets to speak of except in a tiny butlers pantry.  The counters were as narrow as a toaster oven and being 5 feet tall, I could only reach the front of the first shelf of the few cabinets that reached the ceiling.  I literally used a ladder to reach things.

I now have a custom made, huge bay window to the back yard and a ton of counter space and cabinets for a house this old. The counters are a bone colored coronian with cherry cabinets in a warm nutmeg finish. The molding in the kitchen is as close a match to the more elaborate molding in the living room and dining room. It's not the white cabinets and huge island everyone seems to want these days but it's in keeping with age and style of the house and I still smile every time I walk in there even though I had it done about 15 years ago.  

It's a one bathroom house.  In the beginning, it had a tub, a toilet and a sink in a 6' x 6' space. Towels and toiletries were kept in a shallow closet in the kitchen.  Not exactly convenient. It also was gutted.  Everything was relocated.  Now I have a glass corner shower, a pedestal sink and a toilet.  Best of all, a linen closet that matches the kitchen cabinets.  No more streaking across the kitchen when you forget to bring a towel when you showered.  The plumbing is run to install an upstairs bathroom (all we have to do is open up the floor) but it never seems to be a priority for us.  

There used to be a wraparound porch which we've converted most of into a mudroom.  The washer and dryer are under a nice big counter (no longer in the basement where the spiders live) and there's a large coat closet.  As well as room for a bench and a bureau for hats and gloves.

Those are the new parts of the house.  All of this exceeds the original cost of the house.

Replacing the floors is our latest project.  They squeak really badly and if I tried to screw them down it would take a screw every two inches.  The floors and stairs were useful when the kids lived here and were sneaking out at night, now not so much. This time DH and some friends are doing the work and saving us a ton on labor.

With no kids living here, we ripped up the bedroom floors. And took down a wall that was a "closet".  Fourteen feet long and 20" deep.  And had a couple of the ceilings replastered.  And took out the useless closet in DD's old room.  (I forgot about the new heating system and a/c where the rocket scientists put the new duct work RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE CLOSET DOORWAYS IN THE DINING ROOM AND DD'S ROOM! rendering both closets useless.  Instead, we built in a set of drawers and shelves and that room became DH's office.  

Our old bedroom became the guest room/sewing room/exercise room.  

One of the bedrooms has another small, adjacent room.  Originally a nursery? Sewing room?  I really don't know.  Over the years it's been a dumping ground, a video game room, DD's art studio and a bedroom for some of the kids we took in over the years.  Currently it's a glorious walk in closet!  This is where the pipes for a second bathroom lead. I'd rather have the closet. And the vacations I spend the money on instead.  It allows us to have just a bed and my enormous bureau that doesn't fit anywhere else in our bedroom.

In the spring we'll be replacing the stairs and the hardwoods downstairs.  Upstairs took a year from start to finish and I'm done with sawdust for a while.

In terms of decorating, I'm pretty eclectic. I have antiques, vintage furniture and oriental rugs.  I like things old and sturdy.  I have texture everywhere.  My living room has an antique tufted sofa, leather recliners, a claw foot upholstered chair, an electric fireplace and a wood and iron coffee table and side table.  And a vintage corner cabinet that came out of a friend's house.  There are throw pillows and blankets.  I find it cosy, but not overly busy.  And of course the requisite giant tv over the fireplace.  Just sitting here, I can see 5 different kinds of wood.  Can you tell that I'm not all about things being matchy matchy?

I intentionally kept the kitchen fairly neutral. Depending on the time of year the display changes in the bay window.  There are always plants, but I also do seasonal items.  The table might be bare or have tablecloths or placemats or both. Or a lazy susan with napkins or decorations. I have cookie jars that cycle in or out depending on season or whim.  And tea towels for every occasion. Even my fruit bowl changes from time to time.  

The dining room is pretty classic.  Table and chairs.  Giant plant that I've had for over 25 years.  A curved glass and oak display cabinet and an antique bureau that stores tablecloths and the like. Also a very large corner cabinet that's been in DH's family a couple of generations. That is full of some family pieces and lots of serving dishes that I use fairly often.  I'm not "saving" any of the "good" pieces to just look at.  I have a collection of vintage Memory Lane dishes that I love and use whenever possible. I never wanted my kids to grow up seeing things they weren't allowed to touch or use.  

We started out with a different dining room set when we bought the house but as the kids grew and their needs changed I sold that and turned the dining room into a second living room/game room/homework station. When they were older I got rid of all the extra couches, gaming consoles and the like.  For a time, we ate dinner in there every night.  Now it's mostly used at holidays and I do jigsaw puzzles there.

I had the option of taking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room when we redid the kitchen.  I chose not to.  I like the separation.  There are double doors (which we keep permanently open between the living room and the dining room and that is enough open space for me.  Plus the kitchen and mudroom feed into each other.  If I wanted a more open plan, I would have bought a different house.  

Overall, my house if filled with color and texture in wood and fabric and tchotchkes. I've done lots of updates, but always trying to keep the original style and grace of the house in mind. I never understand people who buy old houses and modernize the character right out of them.  People who like clean lines and sleek surfaces would probably have an aneurism if they had to live here, but it suits me.   



 

[Malarky]

                       Sorry. I was on a roll and wrote a book.

[susana1954]

I keep a "house book" of all renovations, but a couple of years ago I started using Pinterest, too, for decor.  These are not "ideas" for my house but the actual items that I own with some pictures of the rooms themselves.  Many of them came from the trading sites.

I will PM you the Pinterest link.

[jerseygirl]

I should put together the house improvements or renovations and the costs. When selling can add these to base price to decrease capital gains made.
We added skylights to kitchen and one bath before we moved in. Really nice to have more sunlight. Added a second flooor with a bathroom. Added a laundry ‘closet’ to first floor

Don’t know if renovations count? We had to replace a deck but increased size. New floor length windows to replace 3 sliding doors. Gutted and changed layout for 2 first floor baths.
Replaced some windows but not size so this just a renovation

[resolution]

We bought an older home about a year ago. The interior is in good shape but the paint was peeling off of the exterior, and our homeowner's insurance gave us a year to get the house repainted or they would drop our coverage. It was a dark blue, which was pretty when the sun was out, but whenever the weather was gray the house looked dark and dull. Since we had to repaint it anyway, we decided to go for the whole painted lady look and brighten it up a bit.

I was worried that the neighbors might be upset at us changing the color, but so far all of the feedback has been very positive. The blue is before and the yellow is after.




If you look at the very top window, you can see that it isn't really a window, its a plywood frame with plastic sheeting stapled around it. My husband later popped out the other attic windows and did the same, so we have 10 not-windows that are made out of plywood and plastic sheeting. So far they have survived one really big storm. He has the real windows in his workshop in the back yard, and is restoring and reglazing them. Once they are done he will put them back in and pop out all the second floor windows the do the same. The house has around 50 windows, so it is a long project.  We were originally going to paint the frames white so they would match with storm windows, but now we are thinking of painting them the accent burgundy color and use interior storm windows instead.

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 11:08:35 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Our house was built in 1911 and we have the original hardwood floors. I love them so much! I don't think we can refinish them at this point, but staining might be an option at some point, if I really want to move my entire first floor for the job. Upstairs floors are in much better shape, less foot traffic and all. But the area rugs are doing their job of perfectly hiding scratches and protecting the floors.
There is a mudroom off our kitchen that was probably added in the 50s or 60s; this is going to be our big reno project in a few years. I want to tear it down and rebuild a proper mudroom, add a half bath (we only have one), and bring the laundry upstairs from the basement.
Since I've been strictly working from home since March 2020 and spending more time at home, I've been slowly redoing some things and plan on spending the winter finally turning our spare room (smallest bedroom) into a proper office.

I did a lot of door knocking this fall for my council re-election, and I've been checking out a lot of the front porches in my Ward and making mental notes for cute things to do with ours. We currently have a bench and a couple of rocking chairs. We spend a lot of evenings on the porch when the weather is nice.

I know what you mean about the hardwood floors. My house was built in 1964 and has the original hardwood floors. I love mine too!

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 13:39:17 GMT -5 nidena said:

This used to be a bedroom closet.  Now it's shelves for my DVDs and stuff.

That’s a neat idea! I like it.

[resolution]

Nov 26, 2021 19:28:25 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I’ll share pictures too, if someone tells me how…… and explains how to do it…….. like you would explain to, maybe a 5yo?

This video shows how to load pictures into Imgur and then post them to a forum. Its the process that I normally use. 

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 13:40:50 GMT -5 Malarky said:

                       Sorry. I was on a roll and wrote a book. [img src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png" alt="" class="smile"]

No apology necessary, I enjoyed reading about your house. I love old houses. I don’t think I have the courage to take one on though. My house was built in 1964 and it had more than enough “surprises” whenever I changed anything. 

Just changing a shower head meant I had to have a plumber replace the arm that comes out of the wall, stuff like that. I can’t imagine what surprises are lurking in an even older home. But I love looking at them, they have character.

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

Yay! I did it! Thanks resolution !

But why are they so big?! LOL!

Anyway, that’s my entryway before and after painting it.

ETA: Mister finally hung the picture on the wall…. This past Monday. I painted back in May, I think.

[Deleted]

The entryway is the only part of my house that I feel is “done”. And even with that, the only decor in the picture of above that I still like and don’t want to change is the painting. Mister would have a stroke if he knew that, especially that I don’t like the table anymore.

I’m kind of all over the place as far as having a “style”. But I do know now that the “style” I was going for at first, isn’t really me. I’m still learning.

[resolution]

Nov 27, 2021 17:56:39 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Yay! I did it! Thanks resolution !

But why are they so big?! LOL!

Anyway, that’s my entryway before and after painting it.

ETA: Mister finally hung the picture on the wall…. This past Monday. I painted back in May, I think.

To shrink them, click edit and then click the BBCode tab on the bottom left, and then look at the IMG code. There should be a 100, overwrite that to make it a 50 and it will cut the size in half. You can click back to the Visual tab to check out the size and just adjust that number on the BBCode until it looks the way you like.

You can do this on original posts too without clicking edit. I usually go back and forth between the two tabs to make sure I like the size. You just use edit to change things already posted.

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 18:38:43 GMT -5 resolution said:

Nov 27, 2021 17:56:39 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Yay! I did it! Thanks resolution !

But why are they so big?! LOL!

Anyway, that’s my entryway before and after painting it.

ETA: Mister finally hung the picture on the wall…. This past Monday. I painted back in May, I think.

To shrink them, click edit and then click the BBCode tab on the bottom left, and then look at the IMG code. There should be a 100, overwrite that to make it a 50 and it will cut the size in half. You can click back to the Visual tab to check out the size and just adjust that number on the BBCode until it looks the way you like.

You can do this on original posts too without clicking edit. I usually go back and forth between the two tabs to make sure I like the size. You just use edit to change things already posted.

Oooh Weee! I’m learning some shit tuh-day!

Thank you!!!

[resolution]

@pinkcshmere I really like your crown molding and your sideboard with the picture on it. It looks artistic and well thought out.

I am not good at interior decorating at all, so everything we have inside is pretty utilitarian at this point. Most of my decorations are just paintings on the walls. I am still shopping for the right living room furniture set. I want to find a Victorian settee with matching chairs but the only store I have found that carries them is like 3 hours away in Philadelphia.

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 18:48:56 GMT -5 resolution said:

@pinkcshmere I really like your crown molding and your sideboard with the picture on it. It looks artistic and well thought out.

I am not good at interior decorating at all, so everything we have inside is pretty utilitarian at this point. Most of my decorations are just paintings on the walls. I am still shopping for the right living room furniture set. I want to find a Victorian settee with matching chairs but the only store I have found that carries them is like 3 hours away in Philadelphia.

Thank you!

The crown molding is that stuff at the top of the walls, right?

Let the record show that I will NEVER paint that myself. I don’t have the patience to get in all those nooks and crannies. It’s in my dining room too. 

I’m not good at decorating either. Even some of the wall art I’ve bought, I wish I hadn’t. Unfortunately I didn’t come to that conclusion until it was too late to return it.  I guess it’s a learning process for me.

I have a wall of shelving in my den that kind of intimidates me. I’d never bought stuff strictly for decoration, without it serving a useful purpose, so I’ve struggled mightily with those shelves.

One thing I’ve learned, even before my struggles decorating this house, is that if there’s something I really, really want, it’s best (for me) to just go ahead and get that thing, instead of trying to make do with something else that I don’t like nearly as much. Even if I have to wait until I have the money to pay for it. Having said that, I’d probably make that 3 hour drive to check that furniture out if it’s what I really, really want. I truly feel like our homes should be filled with things we either really love, or are useful. I still miss the mark sometimes though. 

[Deleted]

These are the shelves. They are still a work in progress.

ETA: I’m not sure why one of the dogs’ bones is lurking on one of the shelves.

[susana1954]

Your taste is awesome, @pinkcshmere!

[happyhoix]

Nov 27, 2021 18:08:51 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

The entryway is the only part of my house that I feel is “done”. And even with that, the only decor in the picture of above that I still like and don’t want to change is the painting. Mister would have a stroke if he knew that, especially that I don’t like the table anymore.

I’m kind of all over the place as far as having a “style”. But I do know now that the “style” I was going for at first, isn’t really me. I’m still learning.

I don’t know that anyone other than interior designers do their entire house in a style. Most of us wing it.

Most of my house is somewhat craftsman style with an earthy color pallette but I fell in love with a gorgeous floor tile called New Orleans and my master bathroom just had to have that floor, and the whole room is somewhat French and all in black/grey/white. Doesn’t fit with the decor in the rest of the house but fuck it.

[resolution]

Your shelves look amazing! That looks totally polished and designed to me.

We have a shelf thing going too, only I just stuffed mine with books, and of course the cat treats on the third shelf because its the only place in the house that the cat can't climb to get them. My husband wants to rip out these bookshelves and replace them with gothic style library shelves, but that is years away after the window project and the dining room ceiling project.



I do need to drive out to that store and look for living room furniture. Right now I am embarrassed when we have people over to the house (and we have lots of guests because everyone wants to see the house). I have an empty living room and I feel like one of those stereotypes where people buy a fancy house and have no furniture because they really couldn't afford the house.

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 19:38:32 GMT -5 susana1954 said:

Your taste is awesome, @pinkcshmere !

Wow! Thank you!

You have no idea how much that means to me. Our close family members have pretty much been the only people that have been inside our house since we moved here because the stupid pandemic started less than a year after we moved.

My kids tell me they like what I’ve done if I ask, but they’re my kids, and I always think maybe they don’t want to hurt my feelings lol. So I’ve had almost no feedback, except for the few comments when I posted on FB while I was painting.

I know it shouldn’t matter what other people think if I like it, but your post still gave me the feels.

[happyhoix]

Here is the floor tile I had to have.

www.tilesdirect.net/nola-lafayette-8-x-8/

The patterns are purposely a little faded in spots to make it look old - I love it.

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2021 19:43:04 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Nov 27, 2021 18:08:51 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

The entryway is the only part of my house that I feel is “done”. And even with that, the only decor in the picture of above that I still like and don’t want to change is the painting. Mister would have a stroke if he knew that, especially that I don’t like the table anymore. [img src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png" alt="" class="smile"]

I’m kind of all over the place as far as having a “style”. But I do know now that the “style” I was going for at first, isn’t really me. I’m still learning.

I don’t know that anyone other than interior designers do their entire house in a style. Most of us wing it.

Most of my house is somewhat craftsman style with an earthy color pallette but I fell in love with a gorgeous floor tile called New Orleans and my master bathroom just had to have that floor, and the whole room is somewhat French and all in black/grey/white. Doesn’t fit with the decor in the rest of the house but fuck it.

I firmly believe that if you love it, that’s what matters. So I’m with you on the “fuck it” part.

The exterior of our house is what I’ve learned is a French countryside style. Ironically, it’s the exact same style of my other house. Like DD’s friend who lived across the street from my other house said when he came over with her, I bought the same house again, just bigger.

So, at first I thought I wanted to decorate here with a kind of French country vibe, but now I know I prefer a more “polished” or something like that, vibe. I can do a little “rustic” or whatever, but overall, I prefer something different.

I clearly don’t know what I’m doing.