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brianne_seth

Help a newbe out!

12 years ago
I live in a small 1 story home little under 1,800 square feet. My husband and I are working on giving it a facelift. We want to replace the carpet with wood floors. Also give the kitchen a big facelift. We want to paint the walls ivory or country white and have the floors a pattern of some sort. Our children are very young so we’re planning on 1 project a summer to be completed in 3 or 4 years. Then selling for a bigger place. We like bold colors and deep color wood like cherry. I want to use 3 main colors threw the kitchen, family room and dining room because they are pretty much one large room taking up a little more than half the house. The colors are white, black, and deep gray (can’t think of color name). With bold bright colored décor. My furniture is ivory leather and cherry wood. my door frames are very light like maple I’m not sure what to do with them. My husband suggested removing and adding new. So now for my question. Are my colors to deep for my small house? Best way to give myself space in a very small space? Should I wait on wood floors if I’m planning on selling in 4-5 years?

Comments (38)

  • PRO
    12 years ago
    If you're in the area and would like some more advice from the pros or just get some overall information on updating your kitchen, come join us for breakfast and check out our free kitchen session every 2nd Saturday of the month: http://leichtnewyork.com/how-much-will-your-kitchen-cost-class-registration

    Best of luck with the major facelift! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
    Brianne Seth thanked LEICHT New York
  • 12 years ago
    Sadly I'm not in the area! How many shades lighter should I make the trim from the walls!
  • 12 years ago
    Common trim colors to use (no matter what the wall color is) would be white or a very light shade of beige/tan. I have included a few pictures to give you some examples. Can you post pictures of your living room? Or give me an ideal of what shade of paint you are considering applying on the walls? A great way to gather ideal and information would be by reading Houzz's articles that show what pictures were the most popular among viewers.
  • 12 years ago
    What about something like this??
  • 12 years ago
    Gorgeous choice. White cupboards are always a safe bet because they appeal to the largest group of buyers. The grey wall color provides a modern touch. Plus the contrast between the grey and white create a light, clean feeling!
    Brianne Seth thanked debdishong
  • 12 years ago
    I love the gray back splash/walls with the black appliances and white cabinets I hope it will make the space bigger
  • 12 years ago
    plus it has wood floors
  • 12 years ago
    Stay with warm grays and whites to go with the warmth of the cherry. Warm grays love jewel tones as do black and warm whites! Choose your black carefully too. Make sure it does not have a cool tone. Post pics as you get things done!
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    what do you mean by warm grays??
  • 12 years ago
    Grays that have a hint of beige to them. I don't know how dark you intend to go but here is an example. I used this color in my kitchen :)
    Contemporary Dining Room · More Info
    Revere Pewter HC-172 Paint · More Info
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    Honestly it would be safe to use a dark shade of grey in the kitchen. I would not go to light with the wall color. Because you have so much white going on with the cupboards you need something heavy to pull in some contrast. The Revere Pewter grey is pretty but I would suggest it as a living room color, not something to be used in the kitchen. Try a tone like Smoky Charcoal from Gliddens.
    Yes the tile is beautiful. I also believe that it may be in a shade of brown. Am I correct? When you choose a tile to recreate this look make sure you choose something reflective. This will help bounce the light around the room.
    Brianne Seth thanked debdishong
  • 12 years ago
    The gray will be in dinning room, living room, and kitchen BUT the back splash will be from counter to cabinet so barley any gray will be seen
  • 12 years ago
    I found an example of warm grey paint colors! Below is a link that will take you to BengaminMoore.com and show you their newest collection paint shades in warm shades of grey! http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/color-stories/shades-of-gray
    Brianne Seth thanked debdishong
  • 12 years ago
    Great link!
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    Cool ty! I was thinking this back splash or something like it
  • 12 years ago
    What does your countertop look like? :)
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    Right now tan/brown but I'm replacing that two! I was thinking light gray almost white
  • 12 years ago
    Wait on picking your backsplash until you've got your cabinets the color you want and the countertop material picked out. That way you will know how much warm or cool colors you'll want it to have in it. If the design in the countertop is busy I think you'll want a less busy backsplash. But it sounds like you don't have a busy pattern in mind, so that backsplash may be just right!
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    Cool
    Am I going to need to replace my cabinets I just want to repaint them white
  • 12 years ago
    I agree with happyasaclam on waiting to pick out the tile pattern/color. If your cabinets are in good condition you should be able to just sand, paint and varnish/polyurethane them. Be warned, the sanding will take a lot of work! I repainted my cabinets a few years back and while I loved the finish it took a lot of sweat to get there. You will also need to apply either a layer of varnish or polyurethane to keep the paint from chipping.
    Brianne Seth thanked debdishong
  • 12 years ago
    I think refinishing them will cost less than getting all new cabinets. You may just want to get new doors for a new look. If you plan to do the work yourself, you do have a job ahead of you, like debdishong said! Lots of elbow grease!
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    Like I said earlier this is a BIG project so I want to get it laid out before I can truly start! Painting is going to be this year! Next year is going to be back splash and counters! I have 4 very young children so I need to do this during the summer so I can take them somewhere for the day! I am going to have my house professionally painted but I'm doing the rest of the work!
  • 12 years ago
    last modified: 12 years ago
    ok I'm about to faint! I just got a quote of 3,500- 4,000 per room for a professional (first call) to paint my house! So it will be 20,000+ just to paint. Please tell me that that's a lot and I can go cheaper!
  • 12 years ago
    Call a local real estate agent and get references for painters. Or check the website of the most successful real estate agents in the area: they often post lists for service providers.
    Brianne Seth thanked apple_pie_order
  • 12 years ago
    If each room was 1800 sq. ft. $3,500.00 might be reasonable, but that is outrageous! Unless the ceilings are vaulted and you don't want to give painting them a try, then you can probably paint them yourself. We hired a painter to paint three rooms, a hall and a half bath, add crown moulding in two of the rooms, remove wallpaper in all of those rooms but one and we paid about $2,500.00. When it comes to painting our two vaulted rooms we will have to hire that out, but from now on we'll be painting ourselves. We've got the wallpaper out of the way and the crown moulding put up so we can handle the painting.
  • 12 years ago
    That price seems a bit expensive to me... I would call at least two other painting companies to compare prices. Beware of contractors taking advantage of you.

    I cant imagine how busy you must be with 4 kids but if you can find the time then think of the money you would save! Even if you only painted one room and had the rest professionally done! Hell, I will drive over to your house and paint if for half that!
  • 12 years ago
    LOL love it! It is a lot of work I have wall paper and then instead of sanding the creases they just put in molding! So in needs to be filled and sanded thats why I was going to go professional.
  • 12 years ago
    Keep calling other professionals if you are going that route. Have them come out and look to give you an estimate. Don't accept an estimate over the phone. :)
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    Ah yes, the sanding and wallpaper removal will result in a much higher pay out. Happyasaclam is right about getting an in-home estimate and most professional companies will provide one free of charge. Once a company representative sees the amount of labor that needs he/she should be able to estimate the cost more precisely. However, do not let the sales person pressure you into signing anything during the in-home inspection. Get a few opinions. FYI, if you let them know that they have competition you may be offered a better price. Just keep in mind that if they do reduce the price then chances are they were intentionally overcharging you to begin with so you may not want to do business with that company.
    Brianne Seth thanked debdishong
  • 12 years ago
    Th guy I talked to said it would be easier and cheaper to hang new drywall then fill in all the gaps! If that's the case my brother, hubs and I can do that they use to hang dry wall
  • PRO
    12 years ago
    "Adding" product is always cheaper/less labour intensive than tearing down/filling/repairing/covering up. The removal of the wall paper will double or triple your labour costs...thus driving the price way up.

    If you have experienced drywallers in the family/friend cirle, then drywalling and then painting is probably the way to go. Ask for quotes over new drywall vs. wall paper fix. You will find the quotes will drop tremendously in light of a a clean surface.
  • 12 years ago
    Will adding drywall change the "look" of the house at all other then the walls??
  • 12 years ago
    It will make it look more up to date and you will have a clean surface to paint over. Think about the texture you want on the wall. I'm not sure what most people are going with now. We went with a smoother knockdown that matched the rest of the house.
  • 12 years ago
    I want a nice smooth surface! My husband said something about the outlets if you add the 1/4 inch sheet of drywall then do I need to reset all the light switches and outlets.
  • PRO
    12 years ago
    If the painter does excellent prep work, finishes painting with sharp cut lines and keeps your space as clean as possible that is a very reasonable price.
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    You will have to reset all the outlets. That shouldn't be a problem unless the electrician did not leave much slack in the wire when he initially installed the outlets, but I doubt that would be the case. The only time I have heard of adding new surfacing has been to ceilings when popcorn texure was used at construction. It's much easier to resurface than to scrape the popcorn off. That is a horribly messy job. Get other bids in writing!
    Brianne Seth thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    How does resetting them work??