90s Family Room Update

5 years ago

Hello! Help us update our 90s family room. We love the two double doors, builtins and fire place. How should we handle all of the golden oak? I think we need to paint some or all of it white. I’d also entertain the idea of keeping some wood but treat it with a new stain (maybe the doors or left side built ins). Can 90s oak be stained into something beautiful and updated? We don’t want to loose the warmth of the room. (A lot of of trim has already been finished in white.... kitchen, laundry room, dining room, living room.) I included a pic of our entryway as well because we hope to coordinate the look. We’d appreciate any ideas!

Featured Answer

arokes726

5 years ago

I know you don’t like the wood, but it’s adding A LOT of character to your room, and I think it looks classic. If it were mine, I would focus first on the floors - lose the carpet and the ceramic tile. Then get rid of the hanging light in the entry and find something pretty and less rustic, get a new table for the entry - again, something classic, maybe in a dark wood - something with presence, it’s a big space. But keep the table lamp, it’s lovely. Paint the brown walls, probably white, though if it were mine and I had a very large budget I would paper that entry with something fabulous.

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Comments (16)

aprilneverends
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
While I'm not a big fan of oak usually..and don't possess a lot of knowledge regarding wood species and how they're cut and all..yours is beautiful. And seems high quality. (doesn't seem golden either but maybe pictures look different on my monitor)

I don't know whether the initial design was yours, or previous owners', but whoever did that-he did a good job. The room reads very well balanced..good proportioned..elegant..warm.

And funnily-it is updated. If that worries you. That's the beginning of the new trend. Wood. and one of most popular stains-is light oak much like yours.

Obviously all these materials, the feeling about them is personal, with everyone. You don't have to love what others love, and vice versa.

But if it's not about strong feel of disliking the stain, the cut, the whatever,,if it's just about feeling it's somehow outdated..nah. It's not. You're ahead of things here.Things that are already happening.

Maybe examine what makes you feel like the room needs something new, something else..maybe it's not oak, after all. Maybe you want more color, maybe you're exploring new styles, I wouldn't know. But I'd think about all these things and consider different directions, before I'm touching that oak of yours.
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havingfun
5 years ago
i am with april. whenever you move you have to do something, everyone feels this way, but this is definitely not it.

i believe what you really need it not have the space so overwhelmed, the wall paint seems similar, you have matching window coverings. your paintings don't show anything out there.

I am going to check your ideabooks, be right back.
everdebz
5 years ago
Photoshop would help... don't want a disconnect - wondering if mantel is so good as wood stain, that above it could be drywall, and painted same as walls?
havingfun
5 years ago
funny you got exactly what you wanted. think about it, you probably wont like it in the reverse which you have even more pics of. how about you go for some white curtains hung over the blinds.

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giving you more white in keeping with your idea books, but ithink you will not be happy.
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arcy_gw
5 years ago
Is the white painted trim Oak? If you want a cohesive look why are you considering stain and not just painting it all? (NOT what I would want or vote for) I think painting cheapens your look. The wood is high end the white--well who knows what wood that is, could be MDF for all we know. To answer you, yes oak can be stripped, sanded and stained black as night if that is what you want. We moved into a home completely BLACK with stained oak. What a cave!! Oak is such a beautiful wood, we prefer it light or no stain at all. What is "updated" in your opinion? "Dating" at this point is really a crap shoot. People are really doing what they want from laminate, flat metal look to maple/oak/hickory. I would say right now ANYTHING goes. Just read the opinions here. "Get rid of the carpet"?!! Depending on where you live, wtow carpet can be a God send on COLD winter nights!! I love your fireplace too, but the gold tone trim is "dating" it, if you are desperate for a change.
Yayagal
5 years ago
I'm not a fan of oak but your room is gorgeous.
Marta
5 years ago
I don’t think the oak looks dated - in fact, it looks quite modern (to my untrained eye). If this were my room, I’d seriously consider putting in a wood floor.
mlprsteidl
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for all the comments and ideas. The wood is very high quality and nicely done. So, I am a bit hesitant to paint over all of it! White curtains is a good idea to add some freshness and texture to the space. I’m not sure how we’d do that over the woodwork. Wallpaper in the entry is also an interesting idea. That could pretty. We definitely need to change the entryway light fixture! I’ll consider some of those some of those rug options. We have three little kids, so white probably won’t work.
havingfun
5 years ago
don't forget changing out the artwork.
kjoy1
5 years ago
You are being silly...your room is beautiful:)
havingfun
5 years ago
oh yes, as i came back in, it dawned on me. you could do some changes to the fireplace mantel and right above it. to give a different look.
mlprsteidl
Original Author
4 years ago
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><md>Thanks again for everyone’s comments. We have referred back to these pictures and people’s thoughts. We ended up changing to white woodwork and the space feels brand new
mlprsteidl
Original Author
4 years ago
Photos
chocolatebunny123
4 years ago
Wow - that really does look great! I don't think I've seen painted oak look so nice. I like that you kept the doors the original wood color as it helps keep warmth in the space.
mlprsteidl
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks! We struggled to find inspiration online of oak rooms that we loved, so we made the change. People typically complain about seeing the grain when painting oak. If you get close you can see the grain, but hardly, and it doesn't bother us much as it's no secret that there is wood under the white. In all, really happy with the results. And, yes! We had planned to keep the doors as accents and maintaining multi-colored wood work in the house. :)