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.
Painting hardwood floors...
Our new house has all old, dark, hardwood floors -- every room except the dining room. For some reason the current owners decided to cover these beautiful 150 year old floors with clay colored paint 
Here is the current dining room:
You can see the change in color from the living room to dining room floors. There is a set of double doors that seperates the two rooms, but I assume they will always stay open.
Our first thought was to just strip the paint - the problem is we don't plan on refinishing the floors in the rest of the house and I think it will look weird to have a super clean/finished floor in one room and not the rest.
So, then we thought of just re-painting it -- and I stumbeled upon this jem:
I am officially OBSESSED with this floor even if H thinks it's too much, haha.
My plan (in my head, anyway) is to do the yellow floor with white stencil, paint all the trim white and the corner built-in cabinet white as well. Ceilings will be white, too. I want to do white board & batten a little more than half way up the wall (the current chair rail will come down) and then paint the rest of the wall yellow -- not sure if I should use the exact floor color or do 2 part yellow, 1 part white to lighten it up a bit?
The owners are leaving the dining room table, chairs & matching hutch, so they will be staying in the room.
So... what do you think? Is yellow too much for a dining room? My plan for the other rooms on this floor are cornflower blue w/white board and batten in the family/TV room (which connects to the yellow dining room) and a maroon w/white board and batten for the formal living room. (I'll be posting more about those rooms later, I'm sure!)
I'm open for suggestions!
Re: Painting hardwood floors...
I wouldn't curse the previous owners too much. No doubt they did it because, as a dining room, the floors were particularly worn or stained. The design you've picked is darling. It'll serve as an "area rug" without the bother of one.
Personally, I would choose another color for it than yellow. Have you ever lived with a bright yellow before? Studies have been done that say it agitates people more than any other color; I had a yellow LR once and couldn't figure out why I was so anxious when I was in there. I think a sage green would be beautiful next to the cornflower family room. Or tone the yellow down a good bit so it's not so bright. And you didn't ask, but please don't paint the formal LR maroon - dated, dated, dated. A color scheme of blue, green, and tan/gray/lavender if you're daring, would be lovely for the whole house. (There's a pretty vintage lavender dining room in the paint bio in my siggy.)
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
I posted this before, but just to show you, THIS is why I feel tied to maroon in that room. It's a little intimidating to change... would you repaint it?
ohh, this is you! Ok, lovely to see you again
Yes, I'd paint it! Go for it! I'm surprised you were planning on keeping that with all your other changes.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Google "color and mood" - there are hundreds or thousands of articles.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Congrats on the new house. It looks lovely. I fear the transition from the dining room to your living room will feel too abrupt if you have such a bold color and pattern painted in the dining room. The two spaces appear fairly open, and this is an important consideration.
Reconsider having only the dining room floor refinished. A skilled professional can do a good job matching the existing color from adjoining rooms and also use a satin or matte sealant that will not result in a shiny finish.
Your taste will change and evolve over time and I fear one day you will find yourself repainting the dining room floor all over again.
And since the issue of your fireplace color was brought up, I would encourage you to repaint it. If you use the proper primer it should not be an overwhelming job. Since I am not able to see the entire space, I don't have a feel for how large the room is, but the fireplace seems to be very dominate. If you plan to add white batten around the living room, you need to carry the same white throughout - painting all trim, including the fireplace, the same. Having too many different colors will chop up the space and be jarring to the eye. Good luck and have fun!