BUNGALOW DINING ROOM REVEAL

  “When first approaching a room design, don’t think about how you want it to look, think about how you want it to feel, what mood, and emotion do you want it to give off. How do You want to feel when you are at home – ask yourself that question first.” –Edyta Czajkowska

The Dining Room is one of my favorite rooms in this house! I like the simplicity and calmness it brings, and no matter where I am in the house, I always have a view of the dining room. My first goal in re-designing a room is to create some sort of inviting focal point to draw your attention to the room’s “character” with either architectural elements, accent color, lighting, or even art work, etc. These focal points help the eye move from room to room. For example, in the Living Room, the enormous fireplace with the new paneled surface catches the eye first, then the eye focuses in on the industrial metal light framed perfectly under the beautiful archway leading into the Dining Room.

Feels like this light was designed specifically for this space. J And the best part… I purchased it for under $100. BARGAIN!

“Light is the magical ingredient that makes or breaks a space; it’s one of the most important elements in all my interiors.”-Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz

The calming blue/gray paint color above the new board and batten walls acts as an accent color… also helping bring the eye from the oversized fireplace to across the room.  Using this color at the top of the paneled surface and not an overall paint color in this room makes the space appear much larger than what it actually is.  

I topped the room off with some neutral curtains (instead of blinds) so there will be natural sunlight pouring in all day long. The length and height of the curtains further helps accentuate the room’s nine foot ceilings.

Also, notice that the huge swinging door leading into the kitchen is gone… Kitchen reveal is up next!

FYI: The black table and chairs was passed down to me. I will be using the black table because it goes well with the black light fixture. I am in the search of looking for other chairs for this room…Thoughts?

Get the look:  Wall Paint Here

                       Trim Paint Here

                       Industrial Metal Light Here Similar look  Here & Here

                        
                         Curtain Rod Here

                       Curtains (Tuesday Morning) Similar look Here

                        

Thanks for following! Check out the Before and After pictures here!

REFINISHING HARDWOOD FLOORS

Before the kitchen reveal, I wanted to first touch base on refinishing the hard wood floors. If you have been following a long this renovation journey of mine, then you know that the wood floors are original from the 1930’s. Fortunately, the oak floors in the living and dining rooms, and the pine floors throughout the rest of the house, were in mint condition, and all they needed were a little spit shine. No sanding, just a new polished finish. As for the color of the floors, both the oak and pine had more of an orange shellac look to them, as I’m sure that was how most floors were finished at that time. With the color palette I chose, I wanted to see if the floors could be re-stained to a darker color, anything but orange.


I decided to use a flooring restoration company called Mr. Sandless to come and re-do my wood floors.  Instead of sanding the floors (which can be a very messy process), Mr. Sandless uses large abrasive pads to remove the floors’ finish. Surprisingly, the oak floors in the living and dining rooms had only the original orange wax finish on them (not shellac) and Mr. Sandless was able to expose the bare oak surface!

I chose a warm brown/grey tinted stain to complement the large exposed fireplace mantel and the wall color palette.

The hallway and bedrooms could not be re-stained and were just stripped and sealed (3 coats) with a satin finish. They did the whole house in only two days for a fraction of what it would have cost me to have the floors sanded, stained, and refinished...plus no dust!

Check out the Living Room and Dining Room reveals for more pictures of the refinished wood floors!

Kitchen reveal is up next!

BUNGALOW LIVING ROOM REVEAL

“Designing a home is about giving people spaces to LIVE and allowing them an outlet to express themselves.” –Tripp Haenisch

The day has come! The MOMENT we have all been waiting for… after late nights of tearing down wallpaper, several buckets of drywall mud, 23 recessed can lights installed, bathroom and kitchen demolition, all new plumbing, 7 different paint colors, and refinishing the 1930’s original hardwood floors (YES, you heard right..will touch on that later), the AFTER pictures are FINALLY being revealed. First, let’s start with the lovely Living Room.

Please ignore the furniture at this point… I am using a few of my parents hand-me-downs…well let’s just say whatever my older brothers didn’t want. I will eventually furnish and accessorize this beautiful place with some old and with some new. Love searching for those thrift finds! Just taking little steps at a time. J

I used a neutral color palette for the walls. Light colored walls can make a space seem even larger than what it really is. I then like to throw in punches of colors with furniture, accessories, rugs, and artwork. It is a lot easier to change out throw pillows or a piece of artwork than to paint the whole room over again. Plus, neutral walls can also bring more value to a house when selling it, since a “move-in ready” home is what most homebuyers typically gravitate towards.

Notice how the placement of the wood panels on the fireplace perfectly frames out the TV. Right on key! And a clear satin urethane finish on the mantel really brings out the richness of the natural maple. The red 6 x 6 fireplace tile I will eventually tear out and replace.

Get the Look: Wall Paint Here

                       Trim Paint Here

Hope you enjoyed! Check out the Before & After pictures here!