It sounds like you have it all planned out, already. It's a very specific style and almost thematic.

If you want to wood to look like stained wood, you will have to strip, sand, and stain it. There is no way around it. Painted wood will always look painted. That doesn't mean you can't do it that way, it just won't have the same feel.

Good luck!

Great house, good plan. Keep a range of white paint colors in mind. Once you get the saltillo tile installed and sealed, it will be easier to pick one. Stark white may be too stark, a creamy color may be more harmonious.

Lol. The refrigerator is any easy fix with plenty of counter depth options.

While I agree with most I would have never had those cabinets custom built for my home...this home is actually in a historically designated piece of Houston surrounded by a ton of midcentury moderns. The people who built this house in the 70's had actually built the most famous house in the neighborhood (featured in magazines throughout the years) and those same emblems can be found in that home as well. It's a very unique home in an already unique neighborhood. I'm committed to doing what I can to modernize while not destroy.

If you look closely a lot of the custom woodwork is even in the bathrooms and closet doors. It may not be to everyone's taste, mine included to a degree, but it's worth saving if I can modernize appropriately around it. Here is another photo of the living room where you can yet again see some of the custom woodwork that has survived almost 50 years now.

And no offense but if your suggestions revolve around ripping out all the unique qualities of the home, instead of aiming for ideas on how to update around them like I have I had requested, i's probably just not the type of reno for you.

I looked at the listing. Quite a house. Yes, the cabinets are not to most tastes, but sometimes historic houses are a mix of the wonderful, the outre, and the odd.

Counterdepth fridge for sure. Are the kitchen cabinets painted or stained wood? If you can track down the magazines where it was featured, it'd be good to have those as guidelines. All your excellent inspiration photos are in keeping with modernizing but respecting the style.

One of my favorite Instagram designers, Emily Henderson, recently renovated her own house that has similar details as yours. Here's her blog where she's gone over some of the renovation process with loads of photos. Here's some further inspiration for you, from her home:

Maybe flat white would work, but I'd go for a warm white or cream on the walls. The style of the cabinets looks Jacobean, which is generally a very dark-stained wood. I'm not keen on the current color, although it could be just the photo or the contrast with the dingy yellow walls. I think a dark stain would fit with your house and look really good. With plenty of windows and Texas sun, you wouldn't have to worry about making the kitchen too dark.

Thanks for the feedback so far! Yes, right now the kitchen counters have been painted an unfortunate color.

I'd love to strip all the painted wood and just stain dark, like it more than likely was originally, but in the kitchen and bathrooms this just wouldn't work because of the space. In the living room, on the right you'll see a built-in with the same cabinetry...this will be stripped and stained dark to offset the white walls and tie in with the dark beams and window trim. Both the kitchen and bathrooms are rather confined with limited natural light. Because of this, right now I'm leaning towards a modern white for the cabinetry in the kitchen and bathrooms to open it up more but taking the outer trim elements on the doors and the medallions and doing something interesting with them. Like maybe a flat, light grey for the outer trim and a little color for the medallions? I understand some think that trim should just be scrapped but that's just not an option. Like I said, there is some historical significance, plus they are very detailed and just add too much character. So I'd prefer suggestions in the way of how to paint these in regards to scheme and or possible colors.

I'd buy a small decorative wood doodad to attach to a piece of wood, then experiment with paint. Better to experiment on scraps than the real thing. Maybe a glaze would look good, maybe not. Have to avoid the grimy look. Glazes are not terribly fashionable now, but this is not a 2017 house.

This is an over the top kitchen with glazing that emphasizes the wood decorative pieces on the cabinets.

That's a great idea about the buying some scrap to paint and then taking in to model. The backsplash on the pictures I posted with the leathered granite is actually a dark blue and white. I don't know for sure I'll go with that exact color but maybe tying in the trim/medallions with whatever color I choose for the backsplash makes sense? Part of me thought it would be fun to use the same colors that are out on the porch for the medallions. It would help tie in and also lend a bit of color to an otherwise fairly simple palette for the home overall.

And I think that glazing just might do the trick especially in regards to all of the more detailed woodwork you can get a better picture of right above the sink, with the beading all the way around and little squares.

I am a little worried about how that glazing would look with a true, flat white on all the walls though. I definitely think I would need to look into some other whites at that point. I don't mind incorporating antique pieces with modern color schemes and paint but I don't think you can mix those styles in regards to paint alone.

So realistically, stripping the cabinetry and various ornate trim isn't feasible. I'm thinking the best options might be just to go with flat white walls and use either satin or a semi-gloss in the same color to make the woodwork standout. Almost all the wood except baseboards and window trim has already been painted and the cost/time to strip all that to stain isn't worth it.

In post #5 you can basically see the only items that won't be painted....the ceiling beams and the ornate entry banisters that have thankfully survived without being painted. I'll probably go with a satin finish for the cabinetry and highlight the trim and medallions in some way by painting to match the backsplash tile I'm leaning towards (the blue/grey tiles, middle row, second from left) -

[IMG]http://pyramidimportshouston.com/data/images/image1_samples.jpg[/IMG]

Grey for the cabinet door outer trim work and blue for the medallions? Maybe the painter will have an idea for glazing those medallions to make them standout a little more. This bit of blue should also match the small 4x4 tiles I plan on incorporating into the saltillo flooring.

Amazing house! Are you keeping the cabinets or replacing? It's not an easy decision. It sounds like you already have, but just another reminder do your research on the style, era,historical significance etc!!

We remodeled a historical house once and we opened up the floor plan. It was a big decision but in the end, we were so happy we did it.

Sorry for just now getting around to update. All saltillo tile is installed and everywhere there was carpet is now wood. Only two surfaces in home now, saltillo and wood. I am going to get some pictures this afternoon.

Getting some paint quotes this week but figured I'd run this past the forum quickly. The living room ceiling is vaulted (asymmetrically, you can see in one of the original pics I reattached below). There are wooden beams and 4 eyeball lights and 4 speakers (2 to each side which you can also see somewhat below). I originally planned to remove the eyeball lights and replace with some recessed, non-directional angled housings but after looking further into it, I decided to just take off the trim and fixture, spray gloss white and see how I like it. Because of the asymmetry of the ceiling, the directional lights are sort of needed. Plan on doing that this weekend.

I also had planned to remove the original custom wooden speaker boxes and paint similar to the other various cabinetry and wood trim in the home but after looking at their placement, I think that will make the ceiling look too busy. So now I've got two options, keep the original custom wood boxes (replacing the original speakers) and just paint a flat white to hope it blends in more or just remove altogether and actually recess the speakers with a flush grill like modern homes. Part of me desperately wants to keep all the original woodwork in place but sometimes you just have to make tough decisions. When they added the eyeball lights in the 90's I think it just made the ceiling too busy with the speakers beside them and one probably needs to go, lights win that round as I can't stand ceiling fan fixtures and the room is too big to light up adequately during the evening with just a few lamps. Pictures below -