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3/20/2012 10:17:48 AM

we just found out that our new chair from Room & Board will be delivered April 8th. Getting closer to finishing our living room.

Hopefully at some point this spring or summer I will get to start working on the built-in I planned to replace the little kitchen cart we bought for temporary extra storage last year. It's one of the biggest projects left for this room. One thing I have to keep in mind is that it will be on kind of a shared wall between the kitchen and the living room. Because of this, I'm building it as kind of a butler's pantry / extra bar or serving area / bookcase all in one. In other words I don't want it to look out of place if viewed as part of the kitchen or part of the living room independently.

This is the autocad sketch I did for it:


I think I'm going to paint the main structure white, go with a solid walnut counter top, stainless steel hardware, and paint the backs of the shelves a medium grey color. Eventually when we do the kitchen counters and backsplash, I might do the inside of the lowest shelf in the same backsplash as the kitchen to tie it together better.

[Edited on March 29, 2012 at 9:27 AM. Reason : ]

3/29/2012 9:24:27 AM

So I'm moving in to my new apartment this weekend. I really need to buckle down and make it look more adult and not a hodge-podge of left over college crap. Thinking I might drive over to my Ikea to start with

3/29/2012 9:26:48 AM

fun Also, if you have a Crate & Barrel near you, look for floor models with imperfections or simply just ask to buy the floor model. We got our coffee table from there for over 1/2 off the listed price because it had a scratch on the walnut top. They had it tagged at like 30% off because of the scratch but we made an offer even lower and they took it. And of course look at thrift stores around you as well.

[Edited on March 29, 2012 at 9:36 AM. Reason : ]

3/29/2012 9:28:45 AM

^That's a great idea. I didn't realize the Crate & Barrel would do that.

I like the design you have for your cabinet. How long does it usually take you to finish a piece like that?

3/29/2012 9:46:08 AM

oooo thanks for the tip!

3/29/2012 9:47:12 AM

^np

^^Thanks! I'll let you know when I finish I've never built anything like this before. I've just done trim like chair rail, doors, windows, a little crown, as well as doing a built in bookshelf that was just installing shelving inside of a wall cavity. This will be my first attempt at actually building something like this completely from scratch. I plan to have a friend or my father-in-law help me so I can do it correctly and learn along the way. I know some about building furniture and thus was very picky when choosing our new sofa and chairs etc. but I just haven't built stuff myself.

And as far as C&B goes, we live in SC so the Charlotte store is the only one of theirs that I have "in store" experience with instead of online. So different stores may vary...but the couple times I have been there, they had a few items scattered throughout that were tagged at floor model prices. I also know for a fact that someone bought a lamp that was a floor model that wasn't tagged while we were in there too. I'm not sure what their rules are on that (and it may vary store to store) but I just figured I would mention it as something to look into at least.

[Edited on March 29, 2012 at 10:19 AM. Reason : ]

3/29/2012 10:07:01 AM

JT3bucky: I'm guessing you didn't like the suggestions or it was a bigger change than you were planning (ie it involved obtaining new furniture which you might not have been open to). Any feedback? Did you figure something out? Do you want other suggestions from people here?

Don't worry, my feelings won't be hurt if you weren't feeling my suggestions

3/29/2012 4:04:20 PM

has anyone ever used an interior design consultant? for example, we found a couple of landscape architects who charge $75 for an hour's worth of evaluation/suggestions/whatever

we're looking for the same thing...more specifically, our house was built in the 60s and is more closed off than we'd like...i think we can actually knock out a wall (which houses our pantry and laundry area, so it's more than just your normal wall) between the kitchen/dining area and the living room, but we'd want someone who actually does interior design/reno to tell us that it's not a bad idea

4/16/2012 12:55:25 PM

a lot of "interior design" people won't be able to tell you that and will probably be pretty expensive for what you're looking for (maybe $90 an hour). They'll probably go out to their contractor to have them look or look at your house plans (depending on how they were done) to determine if walls are load bearing or not. And then if any are, they would be able to tell you what would need to be done to alternately support the structure after tearing a wall down and the associated cost.

Along with that of course, you always need to figure out what necessary piping, plumbing, and HVAC services are utilizing those walls.

[Edited on April 16, 2012 at 1:08 PM. Reason : ]

4/16/2012 1:07:17 PM

Yeah seems like a contractor would be the sort of person to call for that.

4/16/2012 1:08:17 PM

my dad's a contractor...i know i CAN do it...i want someone with vision to tell me i SHOULD do it

seriously, though, i recognize the things i like, but i can't visualize AT ALL...it looks good in my head, but i was thinking of someone to come in and be all like "yes, that will look amazing" or say "that might be okay, but what these other options which will offer advantages X, Y, and Z"

i guess i'd be paying for validation, but it's a bit more than that, too

4/16/2012 1:51:10 PM

gotcha. are you planning to redo the floors in those rooms?

4/16/2012 2:02:36 PM

...possibly

we like the floors we have, though they are some older pine that could stand to be refinished in the kitchen/dining area (the finish was shit and sunlight over time has dried it out)...if we were going to redo the floors, we'd probably tear up the wood in that area (personally, i don't like wood floors in a kitchen, anyway) and put in tile

let me go on record and state that this is a home of "starter" quality...we really do love it, but the finishes are far from high-end and we have little intention of trying to reno the place to make it super awesome

as the people before us quite obviously believed, this is a house you practice on before you move up to the next, nicer one

4/16/2012 2:52:39 PM

Personally I feel like anything that will open up the floor plan will help you down the road with resale. People no longer like old school closed-in floor plans.

4/16/2012 2:54:02 PM

^^ without actually seeing what is going on in your house, I was wondering what the flooring situation would be like. If that is an original wall and the floor was installed around it, or you had different flooring in the laundry or pantry areas, it might be a PITA to mesh the existing floors to a new floor you put down in the newly opened areas without some bigger changes (IE major flooring redo).

4/16/2012 3:07:56 PM

^^ agreed...this house was moved in 2000 to this neighborhood from a couple of miles away...at that time, the roof, electrical, and plumbing was all re-done and they added a "master" bedroom onto the end (in true 60s style, there were 3 bedrooms and one huge, full bath that connected to no individual room)

the new master is crap (huge space but with one tiny window, one tiny closet, and one tiny bathroom)...it's off the dining space and i'd love to move the pantry and laundry area to that wall, cutting into the master

we'd actually gain a more open concept by turning the existing wall between the living area and kitchen/dining into an island...this would more than double our storage space in the kitchen, i think

^ we thought of that, too...which is why i'd consider (probably prefer) just pulling up the wood and laying down tile in that space

[Edited on April 16, 2012 at 3:12 PM. Reason : once i clean up, perhaps i'll take pictures and post them so it makes more sense]

4/16/2012 3:11:36 PM

Quote :

"my dad's a contractor...i know i CAN do it...i want someone with vision to tell me i SHOULD do it "

If this is all you're looking for, there are some neat floorplan design websites, where you put in your measurements, and it'll show you what your room will look like without the wall, and whether it'll look good.

But, as has been said above, opening up a floorplan is attractive to buyers, and if your house CAN do it, there are very few reasons not to.

4/16/2012 3:13:03 PM

agreed. if you have the budget to do it, it is usually a plus for you living there and selling it down the road.

I wish our house was a little more open concept than it is. It's fairly open, in that there really aren't any walls I would knock down, but not as open as I would like if I had designed it. Also, the mish-mash of 3 different flooring materials and the places they chose to switch between them on the first floor visually "segregates" the floor in an awkward way. That's one of tne of the reasons we want to install hardwoods or laminate on the whole first floor to reduce that and make everything flow better together.

I have definitely seen some neat floor plan design tools. Also, Google Sketchup is very easy to learn and is quite a useful tool when doing floor plans like this. When we just redid our living room, I modeled the whole thing and it really helped plan the space and helped us when choosing the scale of furniture and the layout etc.

[Edited on April 16, 2012 at 3:43 PM. Reason : ]

4/16/2012 3:42:03 PM

BTTT Need inspiration

4/18/2012 12:41:32 PM

Just general inspiration to do something? Or a specific project?

4/18/2012 12:48:32 PM

General ideas for the specific project of furnishing an entire apartment from scratch. Ugh. Fun. I have never decorated before, so this should be interesting.

4/18/2012 12:52:29 PM

decided to renovate a full bath and do cosmetic changes to half bath/laundry room. fun.

4/18/2012 12:55:23 PM

What fixes are you making? Got pics?

4/18/2012 12:58:35 PM

^^good luck. I'm definitely glad we don't have a lot of stuff planned to do in any bathrooms right now. Our bathrooms are decent enough that I just plan to replace mirrors, paint, etc. All cosmetic stuff since I don't feel like getting into major renovations in this house (new kitchens counters might be the biggest "remodel" type project I do here).

^What kind of styles do you like or do you even know?

4/18/2012 1:17:00 PM

I don't have pics on the computer yet but we took some on the phone and made a floor plan of the existing room. It's pretty terrible, honestly. the room is around 8x12, Cheap white melamine cabinet and counter, hunter green tile floor and tiled around bath tub that is too short and narrow to be enjoyed regularly... but there's a tiled box at least a foot in each dimension around the tub. lovely. and an infernal tiny corner shower. Right now I'm for gutting it basically but leaving all of the fixtures where they are. I think we are going to replace the toilet right away and try to spend a little more time picking the rest of the fixtures.

I'm looking to replace the corner shower with a square glass frameless shower, the tub will go from sunken to a freestanding design, and maybe go for his n' hers vanities. I saw this collection in the store and liked it:





The cabinets had feet in the store, and i preferred that look.

The price is right and I like the lines, but it's generic enough to sell easily which we may do in a few months anyway (obviously hoping to get our money back in the sale). However, all the tile in that picture is gross, and nothing in my house is getting painted purple.

The toilet and tub (outside only) come in black too, and I'm really intrigued by it. I guess colored fixtures are chancy. what should I do to the walls and floor to set them off and not look too goth?

I was drawn to this wall tile in the green or red, though they also had a blue in the store which isn't shown here.

http://www.monoserra.com/tiles.html#/tiles/dunas

of course, this is ridiculously expensive and would probably be better as an accent tile, but i can kinda see that, black and white and one other color.

[Edited on April 18, 2012 at 1:35 PM. Reason : ]

4/18/2012 1:34:51 PM

Any place local to wake county where I can get blinds/shades like this? They pull from the top and bottom.

4/28/2012 6:14:11 PM

I forget the name of the place but there's a blinds place on Glenwood Avenue on furniture row that I've seen them before.

4/28/2012 6:35:37 PM

Thanks. Might have to check it out tomorrow.

Any place closer to Cary?

4/28/2012 7:35:33 PM

So, my wife and I ran across this piece at a consignment store near us this weekend. The picture doesn't really do it justice. It is much less "red" in person and more of a straight rich brown. The detail kind of leans mid-century like our overall design in the living room, but it doesn't scream over-the-top retro imo.

At first thought, I was interested in picking it up in place of building the butler's pantry type cabinet and shelving system I posted earlier: (because it would have been about half as expensive as building my own and involve no labor or borrowing tools etc.).




Unfortunately, I quickly realized the hutch portion was too short and the piece would have seemed rather squat in our space I feel like. The cabinet + hutch is only 5.5 feet tall and the built-in I was planning would go from floor to ceiling (9 ft). The store was older and the ceilings were probably only 7.5' so it was deceptive from across the room when we first saw it.

However, I am still considering buying it now and just not using the hutch. The plan would be to utilize the cabinet portion and then float 3-4 full width (of the cabinet) shelves above it in either a high-gloss white (possibly acrylic) or a wood stained to match the cabinet. This would be in place of the cabinet I designed in CAD. While I really like the built-in I designed and I think it would be a little more functional, it is hard to turn down something that would probably end up being 60% of the cost (at most) and involve no labor.

Thoughts?

[Edited on May 2, 2012 at 10:56 AM. Reason : ]

5/2/2012 10:54:28 AM

I like the piece as a whole. Having space between your hutch and the ceiling will allow you to add height through more decorative pieces.

5/2/2012 10:57:03 AM

That's true. I could just have some taller decorative objects on top to easily bring the height to 6.5-7ft and close the gap with crown eventually as well.

5/2/2012 10:58:06 AM

Gorgeous find. I really like the hutch; hate that you aren't going to use it but I understand why. I think I would do the stain to match. But depending on room color, the high gloss white would be really pretty.

5/2/2012 11:02:56 AM

You would be a fool not to use that entire piece...it's gorgeous

to break it up would be blasphemy

5/2/2012 11:03:57 AM

we're currently remodeling our bathroom - mostly because of builder negligence but we should have pictures of the finished room next week. we gutted the shower completely, removed all the flooring, putting new tile down and then replacing the counter top and cabinets

5/2/2012 11:04:52 AM

nice Be sure to take lots of "before" pictures. Somehow I always forget or always think I have decent before pics and then somehow once we are done I realize I never really do

I officially went and bought that cabinet and hutch today. We are going to bring it home tomorrow after work I think. (We don't have a way to transport these pieces so I'm having to rely on a friend).

Based on the comments I think we will try the hutch at first. I really agree and do love the hutch, I was just hesitant of the dimensions (4' wide by <6' tall) seeming a little weird with the 9ft ceilings. However, I really think it can look good if we use the top to put extra things as Beethoven mentioned.

5/2/2012 10:19:12 PM

you could try a shelf above it...

5/2/2012 11:38:15 PM

Very true. I'll see what it looks like when we get it home (hopefully today).

5/3/2012 10:25:51 AM

Depending on how large your room is, you could do these style shelves: http://www.younghouselove.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05web/gorgeous-small-dining-room-.jpg

To incorporate them with your hutch as a whole, I would have shorter length shelves on each side of the hutch, and extend them higher than your hutch. Then use the focal pieces on top of the hutch to draw your eyes to the height of the room. It will balance out your room, and shift the visual focus higher.

5/3/2012 10:40:15 AM

First off, my wife loves YHL

Second, that picture, even though the overall style is different than our room, is nearly identical colors split with a chair rail like our dining room. weird.

Anyway, while that is a good thought, in the space where this will go there isn't a lot of room on each side unfortunately. About two feet on the left-hand side is a window and about the same on the right-hand side is a sliding glass door.

If we get it home tonight and there is still decent lighting I will try and take a picture.

[Edited on May 3, 2012 at 12:47 PM. Reason : ]

5/3/2012 12:47:15 PM

Got the cabinet home tonight. Hard to take good pictures of it with the lighting available and the camera I have. I got a couple ok ones anyway though. We just threw a few things on it that were on a different bookshelf so that it wasn't bare. Can't wait to get some colorful items on it Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement when I was debating whether to buy it or not.



[Edited on May 3, 2012 at 10:11 PM. Reason : ]

5/3/2012 10:09:55 PM

Just purchased these last night. I will probably use a white frame or preferably an aluminum frame if I can find one in the right size. My wife and I had seen some other attempts at making retro Star Wars posters before that were pretty cool but still seemed a little to "movie-posterish." It's always a struggle when working with interior design to find stuff that is meaningful, speaks to you, or says something about you while still fulfilling the look you are going for. It's no fun to have an awesome looking room or house if everything was just bought with no meaning.

Anyway, I'm a sucker for retro stuff like this so I love the colors and the fact that they look like old sci-fi novel covers. The simple color palette makes it easy to fit in too.

5/24/2012 2:11:59 PM

the wood frame keeps with the retro look

you'll cheapen it with white or aluminum

5/24/2012 2:14:10 PM

^

5/24/2012 2:21:06 PM

hopefully our master bathroom renovation will be 100% complete by the end of next week. we've ordered the glass for the shower, the tile is done, the cabinet and countertop are in, and we're just waiting for our contractor to put down some shoe molding and also finish cutting out the space for our built in medicine cabinets and move the electrical box over because our idiot builder didn't line them up with the sinks.

5/24/2012 2:22:43 PM

^^^,^^

Well, I should have clarified that the prints come without the frames; they were just shown in the frames for the display picture.

However, I will definitely keep that in mind when we got to pick up some frames. I'll probably bring a few different frames home and try them out in the space before deciding on the ones I'll actually use.

[Edited on May 24, 2012 at 2:25 PM. Reason : ^s]

5/24/2012 2:24:56 PM

I completely knew the prints come without the frame....as most do

That still doesn't mean you shouldn't purchase wooden frames for these prints...clean lines and not any fancy molding cuts or anything

5/24/2012 2:27:20 PM

Sorry, I thought maybe I just misled you about the frames for some reason

I will definitely be looking for very simple and clean frames. I agree what they did with the frames looks great - I just wasn't sure how it would look in the spot they will probably go. I will definitely make sure to pick up some wooden frames to see what they look like though when we get the prints.

5/24/2012 8:22:22 PM

So, we've slowly started tackling our bedroom. We've done a lot of work downstairs over the past couple years, but we haven't really done anything to our bedroom besides get a new queen mattress (that is currently sitting on top of a boxspring...on the floor ). The other few items of furniture are still a mix and match of what she and I each had in college - two completely different nighstands, 2 completely different 3-drawer dressers and another 6 drawer vertical dresser.

I'm NOT a matchy-matchy person, so I don't care about things not matching but the stuff just doesn't work well together either.

I need to take a handful of "Before" pictures before we actually start doing much. Due to the budgets I set, it will take several months to actually procure everything we'd want but we are at least space planning and conceptualizing right now. The following is a rough sketch (pretty close but not actually completely to scale yet) of how I want to have the room laid out when we are finished.



Most stuff is labeled. The door at the bottom is off of the hallway and the door at the top on the right side is into the master bathroom. The item just to the right off the door as you come in from the hallway is planned to be a combination bookshelf/desk of the leaning/ladder variety. The idea is that this could serve as a little vanity as well as a place to use a laptop in our bedroom. The hidden-type box shown is ideally a little chair or stool that could be slid under. Imagine something like the middle piece in this (with a mirror in place of the bulletin board):



The other non-labeled item is just past the bathroom door and that would just be 2-3 wall-mounted shelves for extra storage (books probably).

The planned ideas I have right now for the labeled items are:

CHEST (3-Drawer Dresser) - Already purchased both of these.


DRESSER: (A 6-drawer dresser -something with a mid-century vibe)


WD (Wardrobe):
Either a medium-wood like the chests of drawers flanking it or some kind of lacquered white + a color to be utilized in the room. Possibly 1 of the doors could be mirror-fronted or a full-length mirror would be mounted on the front.
OR

BED: (Platform bed with storage underneath)


We plan to reuse our existing nightstands even though they are different. Right now the idea is to paint the bodies entirely a medium grey and use a paintable wallpaper on the drawers and paint them a gloss white then use the same stainless steel hardware for both. I am also going to try and make a headboard out of plywood (backing) and hardwood flooring for the face (reclaimed would be awesome but we'll see what we can find). We'll definitely big area rug to go under the area with the bed as well since I might put some laminate hardwood in the upstairs hallway and our bedroom at some point.

For the walls we are going to do board and batten with everything below the chair rail a gloss white and the walls above a matte light grey. The other main colors in the room would probably be some shades of bluish-grey-green? (something like the wardrobe I posted maybe) along with some yellows I think.

Anyway, that's the plan. No one else may care but I killed two birds with one stone by documenting it all here (tried to do it on a mood board and just wasn't feeling it today) and posting in this thread

[Edited on June 19, 2012 at 3:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/19/2012 2:57:22 PM

Just a head's up on those ladder bookshelves. A friend of mine bought one of those and it has scraped into the paint of the wall that it rests on. Not a good choice if you'll be walking by it a lot, taking things in and out of it frequently, and generally causing it to shift around apparently.

6/19/2012 3:05:27 PM