When Darlene approached me regarding making some changes to her house, I knew this might be a tough one to sell! She and John have lived there for many years and they were used to looking at dark walls and dark furniture. And guess what… their major complaint was that the house felt dark and dated.
Painting over wood panels?!
When Darlene approached me regarding making some changes to her house, I knew this might be a tough one to sell! She and John have lived there for many years and they were used to looking at dark walls and dark furniture. And guess what… their major complaint was that the house felt dark and dated.
As you may very well know, I try and work with what is in my client’s house. Not everyone has a full-blown budget for a total make-over and quite often, people just want to refresh and update, they do not want to get rid of everything and start all over again!
The lack of sufficient lighting was a major concern and although I absolutely love wood, I knew that the real answer to this dilemma, was to have the wood panels on the walls either removed or painted.
Yeah right, they said! No painting over the wood, he said… And I knew, WHITE it would be!
Needless to say, since they were both in their 60’s, the old-school belief was that painting over wood is not an option! Also, they were not up for the white and pale and gray trend, which was not even an option in my mind anyway.
This is what I started off with. May I just add, this is Miss JJ’s playground as well. Their gorgeous little kitty! That’s where all the paper and toys came from Miss JJ!
So here is what I changed by looking at the view from this angle.
The fan was replaced with an updated version that has clear glass shades
More recess lights were added to the ceiling. I also had scones added on both sides of the TV, which you can’t see in this pic.
The rug was moved to the bedroom and replaced with a smaller one. I found one that was not super expensive, had the same orange colors in it that you can see in the sofa, so that was my starting point for Color Inspiration. And as per Darlene’s request, I also kept the rug in the dining room, which had deep orange tones.
Wood panels were painted. Yep! I won that battle, woohoo! (As Darlene would say!)
Ceilings and the rest of the walls throughout the house were painted with Manchester Tan. It seemed like the perfect neutral to pair with the slate floors as well as the fireplace stone and furniture.
A new faux roman blind was made for the window in the living room, to repeat the orange and turquoise color palette.
We also changed out the old mantelpiece with a gorgeous Texas Mesquite wood mantel
New pillows, some of the accessories and artwork. I hung the large mirror behind the sofa in the dining room and hung a smaller one that I found somewhere in the house, behind the sofa.
Since this picture was taken, I had the oak side table also replaced. The recliner and lamp had to stay!
Quite the difference, right! But still using all of their furniture!
I also had the antique chair reupholstered and anyone that knows Darlene, knows how much she loves her animal print!
Notice how each room has a different percentage of the use of the same colors, and it all flows.
And for those of you who do not know Darlene…. Do yourself a favor and check her out! What a personality!
Photos taken by Greg Daily
