Design Dilemma: Sprucing Up A Family Home

I received a wonderful series of emails from Troy, a firefighter from New Jersey who wants help with his home. He lives in this beautiful home with his wife, Sheila, and their four children. Troy Sheila are ready for some home improvements and want some advice on color, accessories and furniture.

The budget is a key factor. They’re raising have four children, so no need to say more. Like most of us, they spend much of their time in their family room – an addition with plenty of room. But the living and dining rooms have been neglected.

Troy told me that he could make a coffee table. That’s great, because what these rooms need is someone with carpentry and painting skills. Not having to hire someone will save lots of money and make this project possible. We’re going to start from the floor and move on up. Let’s get going.

Refinish the floors: Troy sent me a close-up of the floors. The finish has worn off, and since this is a heavy traffic area, the floors need to be sanded and coated with a polyurethane. You can rent sanders at Home Depot and do it yourself. It does take a bit of skill, but if my mother can do it (and she did) then anyone can. Here’s a how-to link. Use a satin finish to avoid a bowling alley look.

Finish the trim: The thing I love about this home is the beautiful trimwork around the doors and windows. It looks like the dining room ceiling is coffered, too. But the job needs to be finished. Add some matching trim around the French doors, and ceiling molding in the dining room. Take a photo to your local lumber store (not Home Depot – find a specialty shop). you can also make a template in order to match the existing trim.

Repair the walls: Before you can paint, you need to repair the plaster on the walls. This isn’t difficult as long as you have the right trowel. Here’s a how-to link. Remember, practice makes perfect.

Now let’s move on to the colors and furnishings. This is hard to do via the Internet because I don’t know Troy and Sheila. They did give me an idea about what they might like. So, with my fingers crossed, I came up with a couple of palettes.

Here are two images from Benjamin Moore‘s site. The first uses Rosemary Sprig as the living room color, with Hawthorne York for dining. The second features Alexandria Beige for living and Ladybug Red for dining. These hues can be mixed and matched – they all go together nicely.
I’d like to see the ceiling between the coffers in the dining room painted a color like the Ladybug Red. If the walls are red, then paint the ceiling the Beige. The contrast with the trim color will make the room more romantic and make the most of this extra feature.

Troy also asked me about curtains and furnishings. These rooms are small, so keep things simple. The window trim is so beautiful, why cover it up? I suggest a simple window treatment of gathered sheers using a natural fiber (no polyester – too shiny). Using 2-1/2 times the width of the window, create pocket rod curtains that rise to just higher than the middle of the window. I’ve chosen a sheer linen from Designer Fabrics Online. It’s inexpensive, can be made easily, and you don’t need to buy expensive rods.

Doing all the things, above, will give your rooms good bones. They’ll also add to the value of your home. Troy, aren’t you glad I’ve given you all these things to do? I know you were wondering what to do with your weekends.

There’s lots more I have to say, but I’ve run out of time. I’ll address the decoration in a separate post later today. In the meantime, why not give Troy and Sheila the benefit of your advice? How would you decorate these rooms? Who can choose a nice fabric for the dining room chairs?