Ugh!
What to do???

This decorating thing is just not my forte!
:-/

Roxanne, if you want one more opinion you might call a realtor who will advise you on what upgrades are cost efficient.

Otherwise I think many on here have said the same thing. You don't really need to spend all that money.

Are you confused about the many different suggestions?

CDR Design,

To be honest, I've always wanted to warm up the space, and now an opportunity has suddenly happened upon us.

My husband has a friend that (owes us $ & can't afford to pay us back-this being a way to pay his debt) is a tile layer and we would only be paying for materials.

Those items weren't on my priority list right now. I was looking at replacing some Family Room Furniture.
But with this opportunity (or disappointment - lol) upon me suddenly, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed & a bit rushed.
(And the tile layer/friend is talking about selling his tool & going out of the business-hence the sudden panic-no job, no $)

And not being a decorator doesn't help any.
So this is the long & short of it; I know...TMI

Okay. Makes more sense. I would take it a step at a time. How about if you start with the living room mantle tile. I like the tile you chose for that. Next I would do the dining room. Does that help?

How about mixing a wood look tile with a lighter colored tile set on an angle. Your entry would be very striking!

Here is a better picture.

@Roxanpete You know, it's really not TMI!

It's so helpful to know why someone wants to do something in design! :)

It can be really overwhelming! I get overwhelmed and I have a design degree!

So, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to retile makes a lot of sense!

I guess, I'd recommend going ahead and doing the foyer. For some reason it looks dated to me, and the fireplace if you really want.

Out of your recent examples, I think I like the flooring in the pic with the grand piano, for my vote, for whatever it's worth :)

I wonder if a sisal-like wall to wall carpeting might look nice? Sometimes Berber has an informal/rec room feel. And maybe there is one that can look both formal and casual?

There is info in the comments on the brand I believe

Roxan, to sum it up, here is what I would do in this order to improve the house

-retile living room mantle area with the tile you selected
-wood floor in front hall
-dining room, I would really think about doing something that is a showstopper.

Thanks all for ideas.

:-)

CDR Design,

I like your input & ideas.
I absolutely love the mirrored look for built-in for dining room.

What do you think about (dining room) doing a mirror up above counter top/below cabinets in that little niche area & taking out side tile and painting white (to match cabinets) & leaving white marble tile on countertop.
Changing cabinets to something like the photo you posted.

Hope that made sense.

CDR Design,

Will replace fireplace tile in living room to the light marble tile I posted earlier. ( I think you agreed on that one)
I am going to put in the Berber, it's a sisal look.

And then hubby & I are going to discuss seeing if the entry tile can be re-finished & maybe get a big area rug.

I currently have a rug I put there ( will post pic) not sure if it's the right size for area.
I really wanted a rug in the dining room, but not sure what to do there.

That is another question mark for me.

The entry & dining room run parallel to each other; one is marble tile & the other is wood floor. (Will post pic/s)

What does one do in that situation?
Pick one room or the other to do to add the rug?
Or can you put a rug in both rooms?

And if you out a rug in both, do they match exactly or coordinate?

Can your tile guy put in a more modern front door? Something without the arch to match your windows better. Probably not, but that's what caught my eye. That and the fireplace. Definitely update the fireplace. Remember... A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. One step at a time. Good luck.

Hi. I think the dining room idea is good!

I definitely would replace the "backsplash" with a mirror.

Note that in the photo I posted, the glass in the cabinets are mirrors. So, you would not see what is in your cabinets. That is really a personal choice. In a way, it makes things easier.....you don't have to arrange things in the cabinet.

I would like to see a larger picture of the area.

Also, I like to be honest with people: note the simplicity of the dining room you like. The style today is larger, simple items. The cabinet area looks good. But not the counter area. An idea would be to set up the area as a true wine bar, if you think you would use it. Just one idea.

Below is example where they mirrored only the backsplash. Rather than changing the cabinets fronts, it might be more useful to make the area functional and add a wine rack as they did in the photo.

What are your thoughts?
[houzz=]

Will need to see pictures to comment on dining room/front hall situation. Thanks.

Seeing the front hall, it appear to be an "island" surrounded by wood floors. I would really like to see the front hall changed to wood.

Pics

Pics

Pics

Pics

Mote pics

Mote pics

Wow!!!!
Sorry about all those posts.
I think my iPad went a little nuts!
Lol

Wow. What a beautiful house with such great detail!!

Now that I see the dining room, I would

-add mirror to the backsplash only. I think the easiet thing to do would be to simply mirror over the backsplash, rather that try to remove the tile. I would mirror the sides of the "niche" also.

-paint the back of the cabinets either red or the same color as the walls.

-paint the vertical part of the tray ceiling the same color as the walls.

(this will be a very inexpensive thing to do, but add a lot to the room)

Also, sconces and chandelier are dated and would be worth replacing.

Front hall:

rug is too small. However, you could center it on the couch area only. Better, though, to have a larger rug. Rug in dining room could be solid red or solid gold color in front hall carpet.

Love the mirror above the settee in front hall!!

CDR Design,

I like the idea of the mirrored cabinet fronts, I would rather not show anything.

I like the wine bar idea!
I was trying to think about how to incorporate that in my kitchen, but liking the idea for dining are.

I toyed with an idea briefly about turning this space into a bar (pic below) but for resale probably not a good idea.

Right, for resale, people like a dining room (in most areas). You could ask a local real estate person.

I think adding the mirror and wine cubes gives people the idea that the room could have another function, but it is still a dining room. Best of both worlds.

I think having the whole thing mirrored will be stunning.

With the French Door there, I would not add the inset like in the photo I posted. I would just leave it solid mirror or make it look like the French Doors.

CDR Design,

Are the photos I'm not taking that I should that would be more helpful?

Also; I'm starting to see how bringing wood into entry would help unify the space. Didn't really see that before, pictures & others' ideas really help.
But with that said...
Can wood floors be installed in just the entry without disturbing the existing wood floors that surround it?
Or would they all need re-finished, again?!

They were real light blonde when we bought the place.
We darkened up the existing floors & re painted every room.

CDR Design,

I also like the idea to paint the vertical part of the tray ceiling the same color as the walls.

The fixtures throughout the house is dated, every room.
We would like to tackle that, but there again, a little intimidated, because I want the whole house to coordinate, not match exactly but to coordinate.

I would love ideas for that too, but one thing at a time, shelving that subject for later.

The floor people can "thread" the front hall floor into the adjacent rooms so that it looks like the front hall was always wood. Unfortunately, they may have to refinish the floors to get consistency in color.

I would check with a floor person to be sure.

I don't think it is horrible. See how the rug that is in your photo helps bring in the golden tones of the wood to the front hall?

If you buy a larger rug for the front hall, the tile will not be as noticeable. You might want to check on price of the wood for front hall. That may make your decision for you.

Photos you've taken are great.

Hi Roxannpete,
Sounds like CDr is giving you some great advice...I used the beige marble recently to redo my FP and love it. IMO--- It looks like the carpet you're choosing is too casual. It looks like it's more for a lower level.

Is the living room the only room on the first floor that is carpeted?

CDR Design,

I'm not sure as far as carpet goes, what to choose.

No, the living room is not the only room on first floor that has carpet.
We have an office downstairs & the family room & they have matching carpet, but way casual shag-like.
It's a frazee carpet, color:I think is called 'Leather'
Tuftex of California, Caliente.

Pics below:
First one is office (dwnstrs)
Next two: Family Room (dwnstrs)

Ignore the tile work around those two fireplaces, I am hoping to change those during the tile project also.
If any one has ideas for tile and/or photo inspirations for these two fireplaces I'm all ears.
:-)

You've been getting some great advice from CDR design! I have one idea that I don't think has been mentioned, for what its worth...(i agree that extending your wood in the foyer would be ideal) but what if your tile guy removed the black squares and inserted a med brown square that might tie in better with the surrounding wood? Or beige squares which might be less contrast and look more like your inspiration photos. Just a thought.

Reading back over the posts more slowing, seeing what I may have missed, and want to give a shout out and thank some other Houzzer's that posted with advice.

Thank you:

rocketjcat,
laurakaplan designs,
lyncyn81,
Ciazana,
printesa,
Houssaon

Jhx1,
Still looking for carpet ideas...

laurakaplan designs,
I know you commented on carpet too.
Any suggestions or photo inspirations?

CDR Design,

Just a couple other things
-FYI-
Entry: mirror that was there was a short term thing.
I like sunburst style mirrors, but that one was a bit small and didn't seem right for that space. (It's currently living in another room.)
Also; the settee is adorable, but at the time it was more to fill up the space for the time being.
I have just been trying to use existing pieces, & am tired of trying to move them from room to room just making do.
I would love to see a table/console with art/mirror & lamp or something in that area. (And maybe a coat rack behind door?)
Or should I leave it more open.

And as for the living room:
Would like to eventually have a whole new look in there.
That furniture will probably be our last to purchase.
Love the colors, just over the busy floral thing!

So just keeping that in mind when suggesting anything.

Even the artwork was borrowed from the office, just moving & trying different things, but yet it still hangs in the living room!
Lol

Carpet:

It is important to use consistent flooring throughout a house. Otherwise, it looks choppy and pieced together. Have you ever gone into someone's finished lower level and the carpet is decidedly different? It screams "you are entering the lesser quality basement".

So, one idea is to have hardwood all throughout. Second idea is to get price to change living room to hardwood. Then, you could keep the carpet in the other 2 rooms and change the living room to hardwood.

Honestly, I would wait a couple of years and change all the carpet out at once (unless you are ready to do that now). The key when selling is to choose something neutral. Some people don't like frieze or berber. Generally, a lower, pile carpet is the way to go. A berber also works, as long as it doesn't appear to have a pattern. Here is a picture of a carpet that would appeal to the masses.

houzz=]

I think you need to go room by room. You are trying to tackle too much at once. The dining room will be a good place to start, since you already have ideas for that and are partly there. How does that sound? Let us know if you want to start in a different room.

Actually, you could do the front hall and dining room at same time. Front hall is almost finished also.

I love the settee and small mirror there! Think "function". Your dining room and front hall look sterile now, because they serve no purpose. Make the rooms look lived in.

Roxanpete great pictures. What a lovely home! Re: carpet I agree with CDR and others who have suggested hardwood to match the rest of the first floor would be ideal, rather than any kind of carpet...

Though I realize a lot of this started because you had the "tile guy" who probably sent also a flooring guy!

If matching hardwoods are not in the budget, can you live with rugs layered over carpet, to go with the new furniture and design you are hoping to do in the livingroom?

Oh wait, maybe you said the carpet really needed changing...

If you can't do hardwood, I do still recommend the Daisy Sisal over the Berber. It can have a more sophisticated feel. IMO.


I actually like the bar in dining room inspiration picture. I think if you would use and enjoy that and not install the bar as permanent fixtures-I say why not? When you move it will still be a dining room!

As well, it would be sharp with the changes you talked about in there.

There s just one thing I disagree with CDR on, and that's taking things one thing at a time: at least in the design and planning stage, I believe making an overall plan is important. And saves regrets or expensive mistakes down the road.

Even if you don't do every project at once- I personally find planning the whole first much better. Than one project at a time, so that in the end people end up with a unified home.

:)

jhx1, thank you for mentioning the planning. Funny, after I typed that, I thought roxanne could misinterpret what I said. So, let me clarify.

I am with you that is is VERY important to have total vision and consider the entire house when making changes. After that is done, then work on one room at a time, still keeping in mind the whole picture.

Does that make more sense?

Also, I think rather than spend a lot of money, I think there are a ton of changes you can make without doing that. So, for example, even if you had hardwood in the front hall, I would recommend a rug there. So, I would buy rugs for the front hall and dining room. You may decide after that, you really don't need to change the tile in the front hall.

Also, for the carpet, to me it doesn't look horrible. Once you change the furniture, you may be okay with it. Maybe not. If you can wait, you will be able to add new carpet prior to moving and market "new carpeting".

ARE YOU KIDDING????? NO!!!!!!!!!!!! That entry is classically beautiful! What are you thinking?? Carpet is used in bedrooms... then, other areas when people CAN"T AFFORD what you already have! Yikes. If you want to change anything, change the door to a full glass to compliment the transom and sidelites....

Sustainable, you may have misread or not read the entire post. Roxann is not considering carpet in the front hall.

Lol
Thanks for all the advice this week.
I'm going to the beach to relax for the weekend.
I'll let some of this sink in and get back to you next week!
:-)

OpP

Please disregard the above. As we know, our iPads sometimes have a mind of their own, not to mention that mine knows zilch about decorating. The above was unintentional & certainly should not be interpreted as a negative comment. Whew! I feel better now.

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