I’m afraid merely painting the spindles will look like a cheap cover up job. Metal spindles will look more purposeful? With stained Newell posts and rail. Just beginning to demo. Somewhere in the mix of modern farm house. Even though o tried to steer clear of trends. Choosing one piece of artistic pop per room. Not much molding but would consider the panels.

Metal posts

Before pics of house.

Keeping cabinets. Tiles are grey and beige marble looking porcelain.

Floors will all be stained to look same (they are red oak)

No tile floors or carpet.

If you have metal balusters placed what is going to happen to your center newel post? It is very traditional and you will need to consider that. Having square metal balusters around a turned wood newel post will look off. Has the company you've been getting bids from proposed what they are going to do there?

"I’m afraid merely painting the spindles will look like a cheap cover up job. Metal spindles will look more purposeful? With stained Newell posts and rail."

If you did this I would paint both the balusters and the newel post so that only the handrail is stained. If they are painted professionally they wouldnt look like cheap cover up job. Painted balusters are classic. If done correctly no one should know they were originally not painted.

Like this

• No wood floor in your foyer. Replace with a muted large format stone as your backdrop
• Banish all HoneyOak from the house. Restain the treads and paint the risers.
• Paint the railing and balisters one color
• That will place your staircase as a piece of sculpture in the foyer.

If you insist on wood for the floor, no patterns like you see below

Ok Beverly, no floor design. But what about tiled powder room. Like the feel of floor and one tiled wall to ceiling. Something bold but not farmhouse flower tile.

Your beautiful grand entrance has nothing to do with "modern farmhouse". Remember, Joanna Gaines lives in Texas on an actual farm. Trying to force trends into architecture where is doesn't belong just muddies the waters. Embrace what you have. A gorgeous curved staircase. The honey oak flooring and staircase are dated but that can be made to look stunning as in Sylvia and DIS photos. Get rid of the honey oak and re do ALL the hardwood floors either light or dark. Re stain the handrail and stair treads to match. Paint the balusters and risers white. You can certainly add the chevron pattern on the floor or keep it plain. Either way you will have a spectacular transitional foyer that will look stunning for decades to come.

Agree with you. the staircase will be modern/transitional. The problem is the kitchen lends itself to farmhouse. Any ideas. We are fitting 4 bathrooms and floors

We are gutting 4 bathrooms, floors, and a septic tank, HVAC, backyard and pool. We have 2 young kids... no budget left for kitchen!

The kitchen actually doesn't look farmhouse to me at all. It's a simple white kitchen that reads a bit more traditional because of the raised panel doors. That being said, it does NOT clash in any way with what your staircase will become. I think getting rid of that floor will transform the kitchen. Changing out the white double ovens with stainless (when they die) will also help. I don't see a hood over the cooktop. Is it a downdraft? What is the hardware currently on the cabinets? A better light fixture over what I assume will be your dining table will also work wonders.

Yes to all of that. We do have a small budget for ovens, lights, and hardware. I’m glad you don’t think farmhouse. I will do gold tone lantern pendants over stone and new silver hardware (4 inches). Do you have any specific hardware in mind?

Your kitchen isnt modern farmhouse in the least. Traditional cabinets classic backsplash. If you are replacing HVAC I would have that air vent moved to the ceiling instead of the wall so that if and when you do the kitchen you can take your cabinets to the ceiling. Also plan on doing a shade of some type mounted even with the top of your cabinets to hide the fact that your window is stunted in height. I would invest more in the kitchen than the stairway. You can transform that stairway with paint at a reasonable cost.

Ok great - so new ovens, gold tone lanterns over the island and new hardware. Do you have a counter depth fridge? The space looks like a regular one may stick out but I can't tell the depth.

There is a lot of hardware out there at reasonable prices. You could go with nickel which is a bit warmer than chrome to mesh with the gold lanterns. I agree with DIS that mounting a roman /bamboo shade over the sink window would look great, mounting it at the upper cabinet height. I don't know if you're doing anything to the ceiling, but the 2 recessed lights above the sink looks "off" to me. Now, or later, I'd switch that out for ONE recessed or hanging fixture. I also agree that at some point placing the a/c vent in the ceiling will allow you to take the cabinets up to the ceiling. It's hard to tell if that vent is painted the wall color, but if not, do that to make it less visible.

Thank you both for your clear advice. I can def do a shade over sink. There actually is no fridge I will be buying it. Adding pendants. Worried about removing the 2 recessed lights as they are lighting the island much better than pendants will alone. I’m getting all recessed lights changed over to LED and new outlets, so I could add them else where. If you have an idea on placement. Vent is poorly placed. But is painted same as wall. Will see if they can move. And I like the idea of nickel as opposed to chrome. Thank you for clearing up my design schematic. This has been very helpful.

The a/c vent can really go anywhere on the kitchen ceiling. I'd just make sure that it comes out beyond the upper cabinets. Usually they put them somewhere in the center if it is the only one in that room. However, that means that the duct work needs to run to it, so it will mean adding some additional ducting to run to where they place it, and patching the hole in the wall. I think the pendants will be fine over the island. I'd try to keep them somewhat open so that cleaning is easy if they get any grease, etc from the cooktop. They will also add some visual interest to the space. If you are going to make changes in the ceiling, I'd also think about adding one pendent over the sink, instead of the two recessed. However, everything costs money, so you will need to spend your budget the best way for you. Glad we can be of help.

following

Not going to remove balusters. Will be painted professionally... thank you!! now if I don’t do a lot of molding in the house can I still do this paneling on staircase? And what type of base molding do you recommend (there will be no crown molding)

Moldings are really pretty, but if the front entrance is the only place you will be having that work done, I would hold off...it won’t be a particularly disruptive project later but it will be expensive, and it sounds like you have so much else going on....put that budget into the contingency fund!

The moldings are pretty but expensive and not necessary. I'm sure you can use your budget elsewhere.

dont waste the money changing out the recessed cans just swap the light bulbs. As long as your pendants are opaque and shine down they will provide plenty of working light.

So the ceilings are 10 ft and there are something like 38 recessed lights. We can’t be up on ladders changing them. Also they are old in person. I’m not so much a fan of LED more of a functional requirement. So over the oven I will have recessed and pendants (they may be more design than opaque). My kitchen is riding on them:).

Good reminder to hold off on trim work til the end. If I need I will add it if not better spent else where😜

Ummmm.. you put a handy man to that task, and LED bulbs last upwards of ten years so....IM just saying you could budget that cost into something with more wow factor. Also if and LED burns out in a solid state fixture the entire can needs to be replaced. food for thought is all

also, looking at your kitchen again, I would not put pendants over that island, they will break up the flow, the ceilings are lower in that space so hanging them higher could look strange as well... just another thought. the island is smack in the middle and also the range is there, idk, but my pendants still get grimy with out an oven in my island. Plus they wont really be centered to anything.

It's a beautiful house! I agree with the others re the balusters, floor etc.

For the kitchen--which I also think is lovely already--replacing the countertop would instantly, and pretty inexpensively, update it. Even if you leave the island as-is and replace the top on the perimeter cabs--a dark wood like the floor(? I think that's dark wood?) or dark soapstone or concrete, even. Get rid of those awful white ovens and replace with stainless or black stainless, and as others have said, move the air vent so you can place upper cabs there when your budget allows.

Of course you could do a much bigger re-do (I'd recommend having new cabinet door made if you want to update the cabinets, or of course you could paint the existing), but if your budget for the kitchen is limited, those are the things that I think will give you the most bang for your buck right away.

I love the house, though, and am sure whatever you do will look gorgeous, especially if you follow the other advice you've been given here.

Hello Designing Women, per your suggestions. I’m embracing the space... (and on a time crunch) choosing transitional design items. No crown molding... (not me and too pricey) so I went with a more decorative base molding to boost the design. Any thoughts and should I add a shoe molding with this? I know I’m about to get an earful! Let’s hear it! 😊

10 for ceilings, moldings are 7 3/4

Or less/cleaner lines, no shadows.

Ok - I just looked - my favorite is BB714 - The top one is too detailed and will really capture dust - I think the one just above is the one I selected.

Thank you!

Shoe moldings? With or without — Are they outdated?

Oh and you don't need shoe molding but you can use it if you want. - Sometimes depending on the floors you need to cover a space and that's where you'd use it. If you don't have to, I wouldn't.

Great. Thank you. They just told me that I needed it stat. And I panicked! Your clear and concise advice is much appreciated!

@Alicia U - Happy to help.

I agree the first moulding is a dust hotbed. DCB8 is a timeless and classic style. As far as show moulding it depends. If floors I going in new I have my guys install the baseboard after so we don't have to worry about it. That is somewhat of a unorthodox installation but I prefer those clean lines. If your floor goes in after the baseboard you almost always need a show moulding because its near impossible to get an even butt again the baseboard. Plus most wood floors are installed 1/8-1/4" off the wall to give room for the wood to contract and expand so if your wall isnt perfectly plumb (they never are) you could end up with an unsightly gap.

I had to look up DCB8, but yes, that's the one I have in my house. Seems almost the same as the second photo OP showed except 1 inch taller.

Didn't even look at the height LOL!

Ok i switched BB714. The other one would have taken 4 weeks. Otherwise I would have gone with the height. I also saved $550 Thanks!

It will look great.

Thanks🤓

Hey guys,

Having a tough time with light fixtures for entry and then vaulted eat in kitchen. Should they coordinate? Be the same color? That kitchen ceiling is very big. Need a light that reaches the space. Ideas on mixing or not mixing metals would help to! Pewter, Black, brads, silver.

Kitchen dilemma above island (problematic due to stovetop) or just a single pendant or sconce over sink

Ill go back to what I said before, its really not an island for pendants. put two recessed lights there, if you decide later you are dying for pendants, they can easily be converted.

About the breakfast nook/kitchen area. Do you have the table that goes there yet? if so what is the size of it, because that matters. they style of the table needs to match the style of the light

This fixture for example has an down light as well as up light in the shades, very great for lighting up a room and a surface.

https://www.overstock.com/Lighting-Ceiling-Fans/Livex-Lighting-Meridian-6-Light-Oatmeal-Drum-Shade-Pendant-Chandelier-24-dia.-x-24.5-54.5-adj.-h/25994116/product.html

maybe you could put a pendant over the sink.

I like the light over the table that RL Relocation has suggested. Will go with a multiple of styles and certainly goes with the kitchen. I like the pendant over the sink as well although I am not into black fixtures.

With the cooktop on the island, I would stick to a pendant over the sink. And depending on your ventilation efficiency and how much you cook, I might choose a wipeable shade option for the kitchen table! We do cook with grease at our house!

All Noted. Much appreciated. Thanks again!