Decorating & Renovating
3Girls3xsTheFun
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
How to keep an old farm house from looking too "country?" (PIP)
We were excited that the kitchen has been completly updated, but the rest of the house still looks rather country.
Any ideas what we can do with these 2 rooms -- we don't want to lose the character of the old house, but I'm not a fan of the color schemes (also, none of the stuff is ours, it goes with the seller - except the bookcase, it's built in)
This the current living/TV room -- not sure yet if we'll switch it around and use the 2nd room as the TV room -- any input appreciated!
A different view:
And this is the (current) formal living room, which leads to the dining room:
Re: How to keep an old farm house from looking too "country?" (PIP)
First suggestion, change the color of the trim and moulding to white. That will immediately modernize the rooms. Then, I would paint the rooms and the fireplaces. Having the fireplaces different colors will make them seem more outdated and country. Remove the candlestick sconces above the maroon fireplace and patch those holes up. Check the windows to see if the grids are actually permanent or if they are clip-ins. If they are clip-ins, taking them off will help you remove the country feel. Lastly, change out the light fixtures. Chandeliers like that will date the space. You can easily and inexpensively find replacements.
Looks like a great house and a fun project! Congratulations!
DIY & Home Decor Blog
There's a difference between country and traditional. IMO, an old farmhouse should be traditional*, so I wouldn't necessarily remove the elements PP suggested. I think you'll find once the seller has removed their shabby chic decor, the lines of the rooms are very classic. I think if you bought a farmhouse, you like classic and traditional styling at least to some degree, so I think it's just the sellers' kitschy decor that's throwing you off.
Like I happen to think that colonial chandelier - which has been in style for traditionalists for nearly 300 years - is classic and you can never go wrong. I do, however, think its shiny brass finish is dated. Distressing its finish to a dulled brass (very chic right now - it's the next big finish) or spray painting it ORB or pewter would be better. But if those chandeliers actually are brass and made by a good company like Baldwin, and not just a gold-colored knock-off, please don't tinker with them. Take them down and sell them and find other replacements.
You haven't described your style, so I can't say what I'd do to change anything. When the room's empty, you'll find almost any style of decor will work. If you post inspiration pics of rooms you do like, I can advise you on how to get there from here.
*unless you're going for that deconstructed contemporary farmhouse look, but that's a whole other thing that you haven't mentioned.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
I have know idea how to even answer that... this will be our 2nd home, but out first one had no style -- plain beige paint in every room. Super boring! We plan to work 1 room at a time to transfor this old farm house... all I know is that I need to brighten it up. The floors are dark wood and I want light paint... I've been looking at design blogs all day and I'm still clueless...
That house has wonderful "bones", so congrats on getting such a great house!
I agree with most of the above: once the seller removes all their country styled decor and furniture, you'll have a better mental image of what you are really starting with.
The house has a traditional interior which can be changed to fit a lot of different styles in a minimal way (ie cottage or traditional). It would be very difficult to change it to a modern style without major renovations to the woodwork.
For me, personally, I don't like dark wood. It's a pet peeve of mine and something that I've always felt keeps a large, great room from looking large. Having said that, the wood around the first fireplace is majestic and I'd have a hard time painting that. If I really wanted it white, off white, or some other color after having lived it for a while, I'd do it. But because it says so much about the home I'd wait at least a year before painting that, because once done it's a pain to un-do.
I know most people look at pictures of homes and say "I'd do this or that". But when you first move into it, when it's bare, you may have a knee jerk reaction, then change your mind. I lived in my home for a long time before I really decided how I wanted to decorate it. I had furniture that went with the general style, but over time, having kids grow up, I really changed a lot of what I like. Things can be changed, but some, like painting dark wood moldings which are classic, should wait until you are certain this is the style you all will love, and will love for a long while. As I said, I really don't like dark wood, but in the right home it goes so much with the style that changing it as one of the first things could cause regrets.
Enjoy your beautiful new home, with the 2 lovely fireplaces.
Are you on Pinterest? Create idea boards. (I'd do one board for the kitchen, one for baths as a group, one for living areas as a group, and bedrooms however meets your needs. If you do too many little boards, it's harder to see the similarities linking everything.) As you pin things, you'll notice you're drawn to the same type of images over and over again. Then once you see that pattern, it's a simple matter of breaking it down to get there from here.
And I'm curious - did you like the Sarah Richardson house? That'll tell me a lot.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
I'm afraid I do not... it's all a little too... fancy?
We have 3 young girls and I want a house that they feel like they can play in... I've been a Pinterest Resister so far, but I think I might have to finally give in! I have been reading YoungHouseLove and I like a lot of what they do and the colors they use, but I'm pretty plain over all. I'll see what I can find...
Ah, that's understandable.
YHL is a fair place for newbies to start. YHL's style is very accessible - you can go to Target or West Elm or Ikea and buy all of it in a day and be done, and that's what's nice about YHL. Just promise me you won't follow their lead on techniques! They cut so many corners and do so many things the wrong way that it hurts those of us with more knowledge to watch. If you feel like doing some DIY, just google some before you dive into a project to get an idea of how things should be done. Those of us with experience wish YHL came with a warning label: "Don't try this at home!"
So do you like their most recent house? With all the gray and the light pastels and brights? Or do you prefer their first house?
There's no reason to resist pinterest, especially when faced with the big project you have ahead of you! Think of it as an organizing tool to save your sanity! Back in the day, you would have clipped pics out of magazines and made a binder, well, now you use pinterest and save some trees
I've stopped reading blogs in favor of pinterest, otherwise I'd make some recs for you.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Completely agree. I think painting over some of that craftsmanship wouldn't do it justice.
To the op... What if instead of covering up some of the things that make it dark you highlighted them? I'm thinking if you had some nice white or brightly colored mantle decor and somehow installed some sort of spotlight/accent light to shine on the big dark mantle. I could totally make it a focal oint in a good way instead of pulling all the light out of the room.
i would start with painting walls but leaving the trim and wood word as is for a year. It's much easier to reprint a wall alter if you don't like the color than it is to strip and stain original woodwork to restore it back to its former state.
Add some simple straight ceiling to floor drapes for any windows in the rooms with the rods mounted so that they extend beyond the border of the windows, this way you can pull the eye upwards and make the windows feel bigger and making theroom feel bigger and brighter. Again something that is easily reversible if you don't like it later on.
I agree with the previous poster who recommended investigating your light fixtures to see what the quality/brand is. If high quality sell and replace with something more modern, and if not you may make it oil rubbed bronze, which I think would blend a modern style very nicely with a more traditional or even rustic farm style. I love ORB for that reason, it tends to span across various styles very well.
As far as furniture I'm thinking clean lines, no busy patterns or trim because busy to me says "country"...i think the lines in this home are clean and straight enough that with the right furnishings you can make it work.