a new home is so much fun - congrats! For the living room, I like the suggestions and layout that cdrdesign recommended although I think you could flank the fireplace w/loveseat and two chairs for variety, but as she suggested, pull them closer together than current photo. I like the chairs in the first Mtn Road living room photo in your idea book. For kitchen area, when you have time, remove wallpaper and paint both walls, trim, and ceiling.

leelee, nice furniture, I like the Moroccan/southwest feel of the rug. I get what everyone Is saying about pulling in the furniture closer to the fireplace. I have some questions though: 1) what do I do with the space flanking either side of the door? and for apple_pie and cgmgmn, you would advise removal of the wallpaper rather than painting over it? I was told that since the wallpaper is in good condition, I could simply paint over it to give the walls a nice texture and no one will be able to tell paper is underneath.

apple_pie, we haven't taken any new pics of the place since we've moved in. Camera is packed away somewhere. We literally have only had the place a few days. When I find the camera, I will take pics of the furniture we have and what we are working with. The dining rm looks the same as she left us the DR furniture

Do you plan on keeping the dining room set ? When you get a chance check to see if it says " American Drew " anywhere. My Mother had a set that looked just like that.

Yep we plan to keep the DR set for a while. Brings back nostalgic memories for me and hubby. I think most of us grew up with a similar set in our parents' house. I will check and get back to you, so far I don't see brand.

regarding wallpaper, I feel pretty strongly it is best 'practice' to remove the wall paper. It may be in good condition today, but some day, it will start to peel back at corners. Painting over is a shortcut that I would only expect on a flip or from a renter but not a committed home owner.

cgm, good point. I hear removing wallpaper can be messy.

Removing wallpaper is messy but well worth the effort. To me painting over wallpaper never looks good, seams show and if you paint over it the mess will be even worse when you do decide to remove it.

Definitely try to remove the wallpaper. If you must paint it, prime in oil to seal the wallpaper otherwise the moisture in the paint will migrate to the wallpaper paste and you will get bubbles. The most important part of the job is getting every last trace of wallpaper paste washed off the walls.

One advantage is the walls underneath the wallpaper are probably plaster. It's must easier to remove wallpaper from plaster as you don't have to worry as much about soaking the surface and pulling off the paper from the drywall.

Wall paper removal depends on the paper on the wall. My bedroom and bathroom paper came off really easy, but my kitchen required some work. I used that little hand thing with teeth on it. You swirl it around and it makes little holes and then sprayed DIF. I mixed the DIF in one of those gallon sprayers that you put weed killer in. Worked very well. As Linda wrote, it is important to get all the paste off. Wasn't that bad. My friend had a wall paper removing party. Did the entire room in one day.

Using a garden sprayer is a great suggestion. Use hot water, as hot as practical, for best results and be sure to have lots of rags around to sponge up excess water.

Love the wallpaper party idea...that sounds much better than a tupperware party to me

Can you please show pics of the wall with the door--the whole wall if possible?

We painted over wall paper because we were told it was applied directly to wall board. You can see seams and bubbles--not good. Remove it now while you have the chance. Learn from my mistake.

Hi

definitely remove wallpaper. I have tried many things. The most effective is hot water in a spray bottle. Heat and moisture is what really removes it.

remove carpet in dining room when you can. A good floor person will be able to weave the dr floor into the other wood floor and match the color.

living room…you don't need anything on the front door side.

fireplace: I would at the very least paint the fireplace surround an alternate color. So, the whole piece that surrounds the fireplace. Then, I would paint the ceiling the same color (not the beams). You could also go with an earthy blue.

You are going to think I am crazy, but I would choose a dark brown. This would be the only room in the house that is darker. Or, you could go with an earthy blue. Or mantle dark brown and ceiling gold

Then you could choose lighter love seats.

photo 1) benjamin moore branch port brown
photo 2) benj moore normandy
photo 3) benj moore stuart gold

[houzz=[houzz=][houzz=]

Is the kitchen tile or laminate?

wallpaper….as some have mentioned, sometimes easy sometimes hard.

I cannot stress enough that heat and water are what ultimately remove it. Then you need to get all of the glue off and sand. No painting over wallpaper.

Hi again all! Okay, We have unpacked most of the house and as I promised, I'm adding additional photos I took. I think it was Mark (?) who asked about the brand of the dining room set? The name stamped inside says "American Drew". I really do appreciate everyone's input and ideas, and I welcome more as this project continues. We are on a budget, so please keep that in mind when you share ideas. Also, please be aware FYI : Husband insisted on TV in Living room. Thanks!!

more pics

Okay, so we need to sort of start over in this room?

Tv is going on wall by bedrooms?

and more

cdrdesign, yes we can start in living room. I am also adding pics of dining room and kitchen today. So far what do you think?

and more still

Now the wall paper in the kitchen is all over the place, so it will take some time removing it all. The cabinets are good solid quality, but most of the doors and hinges are loose an some of the drawers don't open. The appliances as you can see are circa 1970's (?). They still work well but are sore on the eyes.

I removed the valances that draped the dining room windows. They were full of dust and offered no privacy anyway. You can see directly into the neighbors house next door from the dining room windows. Any ideas for inexpensive window coverings? I'm thinking cellular shades.This coming spring I plan to pull up the carpet and reupholster the chairs.

How about re-facing the kitchen cabinets? Oh I also gave the wrong information about the kitchen flooring. It's tile, NOT vinyl or laminate. I plan to remove the tiles since a great many of them are cracked and broken anyway. Also the kitchen counters need replacing. Granite? Concrete? Ideas?

You found the camera! Thanks for the photos and congratulations on unpacking most everything.

I see you have those convenient paper shades for now. They can be held up with those little bulldog clips; it'll work for a few months or so.

I would go ahead and remove the rest of the window treatments. If the off white ones in the living room are washable according to the tags, throw them in the wash. Don't put the swag valences back up, they are way out of fashion in many places. If you like the fabric, they can be made into pillows. Their formality might be better in the dining room than the living room. Swap the rods if necessary. The flowery ones that sort of go with the flowery wallpaper can simply be removed, washed and donated or thrown out if they are too worn.

Inexpensive panel curtains can be bought at Target, Macy's, or any large department store. Overstock.com has a lot. If you buy all the same color, you can use them in any room of the house. Add curtain weights to the hems to help them hang better.

Kitchen:

Cheap drapes can be bought at ikea or try tjmaxx.

My next thought on the kitchen is that it needs so much work that you may want to for now, remove the wallpaper, paint walls and cabinets

Also, for now-----very simple----move the chair that has its back to the kitchen to the backside. So, backside will have 2 chairs. Other 2 on ends.


Phase 2: call a kitchen expert, once you have some $ saved up.

Here is what I am thinking you might want to do, depending on your lifestyle. I would eliminate the kitchen table and enlarge the kitchen by putting in a sort of seating bar with cabinets (where the table is now)

So, something like the photo, with the chairs against the wall, facing out. There would be cabinets on the front side.

[houzz=]

Here are some ideas on how to rework drawers that are stuck. Getting them out of the cabinets usually means poking around from underneath and from the top. Remove all the other drawers first so you can get access. http://www.ronhazelton.com/tips/how_to_free_a_stuck_of_sticky_drawer

Living room:

-center the bookcases on the walls by the dining room
-I would choose one couch/not both. The one your husband is sitting on looks better.
-Then add a couple of chairs. Until you have some $ move the 2 dr chairs with arms and place them against the front wall.

What colors do you want? Do you want to keep that rug?

The floor is ceramic tile? And you want new countertops? Have you settled on a budget yet? Removing the wallpaper and painting is one thing, but new flooring, new countertops, new appliances (they are not going to last forever if they are 40 years old already) and possibly refacing the cabinets is a whole different level of work. For that, you will probably want to live with the kitchen for a few months while you decide what works for you in terms of the floor plan and work flow.

Any close up photos of the floor tile damage? Sometimes there are cosmetic fixes.

apple_pie, Yes! Finally seeing some progress with the unpacking. The 3 bedrooms are still cluttered with boxes and excess furniture but I have the salvation army coming Dec. 3rd to take the stuff we don't want or have room for. The swags and drapes in the living room windows are all one piece. The part that hangs and looks like curtain doesn't even close to cover the whole window, so I will take the whole thing down this week and leave the paper shades up until I decide on window covering.

cdr - the sofa that hubby is sitting on is the one brought from the other house. The other one was left by previous owner in one of the bedrooms. But yes, ours does look better. I like earth tones as far as color but not boring. Blues, browns, deep reds, burnt orange, tan and whites are colors I like.

OMFG, I think we had that exact wallpaper when we moved into our house. It was everywhere. Invest $50 in a steamer. It will cut down on your time dramatically when stripping the paper.

Apple - I will upload some close up pics of the damaged tile floor. I know the kitchen is going to be the biggest project in terms of time and cost, which is why I'm starting with areas of the house that are not as consuming. My plans for the kitchen are for the near future, not now. I was just trying to get some feedback for when the time came. Also, hubby has friends who are contractors and can do a lot of work for us on the cheap. Hubby is also quite handy, so we don't have to pay someone to do every little thing. More than likely no work will be started on the kitchen until summer/fall 2014

here is what I was talking about regarding the cracking of the kitchen tile:

I like your long term planning for the kitchen.

If you are really pressed on budget now, you could recycle the one-piece curtains with a little work. Up to you to decide if it is a great money saver or a colossal waste of time! You can rip the seam off that connects the swag with the panels on the old curtains. Then remove the gathering so that they are just plain panels again. They can be used anywhere. There's a lot to be said for a clean sweep to remove old window treatments, but the flip side is saving money on re-use and recycling curtains elsewhere temporarily. Your choice.

There are cans of spray "frosting" that washes off if you want to add some privacy to the front door windows. Check at a paint store or glass shop. You can also add top and bottom rods to shirr curtains for the windows.

It was kind of the sellers to let you choose furniture to keep or discard. Many sellers are generous. Now you can send what you don't want off to Salvation Army, as you planned.

The tile! Whoa, that is cracked all right. Is more than 10% of the floor tile damaged like that? Or just a few places?

Would definitely keep the rooms separate and play up the entrance with two interesting small decorative chairs flanking the fireplace. These chairs can be used as extra seating in the LR or Dr when needed. With all the wood color, keep your furniture tailored, (nothing big over stuffed) and all in neutral beiges, light blue, or blue/greys, or light muted greens and a light colored area rug for living room & dining side. Dining room, with your pretty table and chairs and what ever window treatments you choose keep the same in both rooms for continuity. (nothing fussy or infringing on these spaces). It is a challange but it can turn out lovely. Do not over load this space. The fireplace is the "star".

Wow. That tile is seriously damaged. I wonder if it is the original.

I would start on the living room as far as decor. I would keep the palette to lighter colors in there, since the room is dark.

Don't take this personally….I tell everyone this. You have a beautiful family, but family pictures are best kept to more personal rooms like bedrooms or offices.

Or, if you really want them in that room, buy a couple of long frames you can hang with several cutouts in the matt and you could find a place to hang them in the lr.

The bookcases should really be for books and some colorful vases. Let's see what you have.

Here's how to repair cracked tile with color matched oil-based paint. I would have the tile floors cleaned professionally first because they can do miracles. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/cracked-tile-repair-glue-paint-88004.html In my experience, a couple or three coats of oil based paint with a tiny paintbrush works very well on tile cracks and chips. That was an expensive ceramic floor installation way back when. Maybe there will be some extra tiles in the basement or garage that can be taken to the paint store for color matching.

Just looked at your kitchen. You can live for a while with the cracked tile but if you remove the wallpaper and paint out the green woodwork, it won't be so jaring.

I just thought of something----will those bookcases fit on either side of the tv console? They would look great there! Then you could hang some really awesome art on those walls with bookcases.

Yes the seller was an older woman who wanted to start from scratch someplace new. She was appreciative that she didn't have to worry about discarding it herself before she left. I'm going to look for that glass frosting spray tomorrow. And what a great idea to recycle curtain! I think I may just buy some decent quality blinds. We have a few thousand for housewares and necessities and a credit card we saved for when we move. Home Depot has nice shades and blinds. I'm going to check target too. Many online stores have discount shades available.

The tile damage is in just a few places, not more than 10% of the floor. Mostly where the stove, refrigerator and dishwasher/sink are located. cdr, no offense taken at all, that's why I'm here to consult the experts (and novices too). Everything can be rearranged. The TV console and the book cases actually came together as a set. I separated them when we got here because I wasn't sure if the wall with TV was big enough to hold all three pieces.

fos5 yea that's what I thought. Can't afford to do much else in kitchen now except remove wallpaper and paint.

I just read in your profile that you are a DIYer. In that case, I recommend spending some money on things that are hard to do yourself (like give that tile a good scrubbing with the professional equipment) and do the repairs yourself (touch up cracks with oil based paint). If that doesn't work, buy three matching throw rugs for the cracked tile areas and just cover them up for now.

I will offer a piece of advice on spending money on a new place: save your credit for unexpected repairs. If there is a good home warranty company in your area, it can be worth the few hundred dollars to avoid heavy duty expenses for broken furnaces, water heaters, dishwashers, etc. But read the fine print and check their reputation before buying.

For shining up laminate countertops, I recommend Gel Gloss which you can buy at HOme Depot last time I looked. Or paste car wax. You can use Clorox or an oxygen bleach if there are stains. Barkeepers Friend is a great way to remove rust stains. Pick up some trisodium phosphate (powder) for heavy cleaning for the repainting.

You might want to do some research on the kitchen floor. If it is the original tile in that house, it would be sort of cool to be able to keep it. Bottom line, I think you are smart to keep the kitchen as sort of your last project.

When yo do start on the kitchen, I would start a new thread. Kitchen design is an expertise in itself. You might get kitchen planners that will hop on your discussion.

What is very helpful to me is if after you move furniture, you post progress. Then we can continue to tweak.

PS: I love that red lamp. Definitely want to use that!!

Would a round table in between the front door and fireplace work? It'd be a good way of dividing the room.

So, you said the house was built in the 40's?

There weren't so many houses built in the 30's (depression) and 40's (WWII). Many more before and after that.

The house is very different. Are you familiar with Sears catalogue homes. I wonder if by chance it is one of those.