A Sense of Style

I freely admit that I am about as far from a designer as one can get. When it comes to my home, organization is essential to me and I can do a good job at that. The aesthetic side of design, however, is not my thing. Which is actually funny, because apparently the woman who built our current house is completely enamored with design and good at it. In fact, I have been intimated by that knowledge. It has made for an odd situation as I try to claim the space as my own, yet feel somehow like I don't have the right to critique someone who obviously knows what they are doing far more than I do.

It has taken me a while to realize that just because she has good taste, doesn't mean I have to like everything she did and my choices can be equally valid. Since I reason best while writing, this is to help me sort out what I want to do. You're welcome to come along for the ride and I would love advice from all my friends with a great sense of style. There are pictures to help visualize. If you don't like HGTV, you should probably stop reading now.

Color is a big deal, mainly because I hate picking them. She had some great colors in the house and I will definitely keep a couple. The color in the main room is perfect since it accents all the great light that comes in through the windows. The amount of light in the house was one of the top three reasons we bought it so keeping this space nice and bright is a big priority. Given that the fireplace is this 2 story stone monstrosity (not something we would have picked at all), having a neutral color on the walls is also important.

My only pet peeve about the house is the crazy TV accoutrement on all the walls. First thing I did was set up a media room in the basement and that is the only location with a TV in the house. I love this as it is definitely out of sight, out of mind! As you can see, they had a TV in the living room and behind it there are cable hook-ups and what I assume are spots for surround sound. I had to find something big enough to hang there and cover it all. The front room (aka the formal living room) has the same thing. I suppose if you are a family with 7 TVs this is important, if you are not they are simply a pain in the butt.

A color I can appreciate but don't want to keep is in the dining room.

I like the chocolate, but it is too dark for me. Ideally, I'd keep the color below the chair rail and paint a lighter color above it but I'm not sure about finding a complimentary color without knowing what this one is called. We also need to paint all the trim since I'm sensing she painted in a hurry before it went on the market, most of the rooms are a pretty sloppy job. I am happy to report that the chandelier is gone, gone, gone. Neither Craig nor I like those fake candle lights (Craig particularly since they are apparently as far from Energy Star as you can get in a light bulb) and the putty color is not us. We put up the one from our old house, which is antique bronze, replaced the small lights in the halls and then I spray painted the lights in the foyer and over the kitchen table to match (so HGTV of me). Our dining room furniture is dark wood so I'd like something lighter, but haven't sorted out what yet. Anyone have a favorite color they'd like to share with me?

The front room is directly across from the dining room and fades into the background in comparison.

See? Completely lacking in character. I have to admit I also don't understand the furniture placement, the couch is actually facing the dining room table, which is across the foyer. I see this in a lot of houses, so I assume there must be a design principle I don't know behind it, but to me it simply seems to draw attention away from the room you're in and send it elsewhere. We put our sofa on the wall with the framed picture, so it is facing the windows and a set of chairs. Can't decide if I need a bolder color in here or not. We have some big furniture in this room now so it might be okay.

Two areas that must change color very quickly are the foyer and the kitchen. The foyer has this faux paint finish, not my thing in the first place, and then they patched the top of one wall and didn't replace the finish and put Spackle on some nail holes that makes the walls look diseased in places. I think I'm going to try and match the color of the living room for this area. The kitchen is a shade of blue that I don't get at all. (Warning: the color in the picture doesn't seem as off as it does in real life.)



Kitchen



Long View of Kitchen from Living Room

I do love the kitchen, especially that it does not have granite countertops, cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances. I am a white kitchen kind of girl and a light wood is the next best thing. There was the random stainless fridge, but I brought my awesome french door fridge from DC, which is white, and we bought a new white dishwasher. This fridge is now out in the garage, and it's great having a second fridge along with the freezer we brought with us. We did not replace the oven, mainly because I am hoping to figure out a way to put in a double oven with a separate cooktop without having to redo the entire kitchen. The color must go, however. The baby blue drives me crazy. I love yellow kitchens, but don't think it would go with the cabinets. Was actually thinking of a darker blue but it might be risky, we'll see. The light over the kitchen table, FYI, is the one I painted bronze. It was really easy and looks great.

Well, there you have it. I actually feel much better. I have admitted publicly that I don't like everything she did to the house and no one has shown up at the house to drag me away in cuffs. I am not a designer of any sort, but I don't have to be. I just have to know what I like and be willing to go boldly forth with it. I have often suspected that a sense of style was more about chutzpa than taste and if that's true then I'm set. Chutzpa I have in spades.

Assuming I find the time to actually fix all this, I'll post the after pictures and you can judge whether I make the house better, worse, or simply change it to a different style.