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    • Feb 1, 2022
    • 5 min read

Inspiration For My Renovation

Happy February! A new week brings new ideas for my renovation. I did tell our project designer that I will close my eyes going forward (she was not convinced). I am very close to finalizing the design in terms of construction, materials, and finishes with the builders though. I will continue to tinker around with and fine tune the furniture placement, paint colors, window treatments and other decorative elements though - I won't be able to stop myself :-). There are some current pictures of the house in this post that I just took right now for context. Please do not judge them too harshly!


Replacing the stair balusters, newel posts and handrails is still up for discussion. This is what our stairs look like right now:


I mentioned in the last Inspiration For My Renovation post that I am considering keeping the stair parts as is and painting them to save a little money (I fear this will be the first of many money saving compromises as prices continue to rise). I am leaning towards painting them all white and adding a runner to the stairs, similar to the image below. I think once the walls are painted and the changes are made to the house (like new wood flooring) it will look great.


I am still considering a darker color though, although all white stairs are gaining favor by the day, so I also saved the next two images to add to my stair inspiration folder.


This blue is bold. I love bold.


In the photo of my stairs above you can see the back of the family room sofa. My current plan is to put my round copper topped table in the center of the space behind the sofa where the family room, circle room, and kitchen meet. In my opinion, there would be plenty of room to walk behind the sofa and into the space from the entry, the kitchen and the circle room. John is not so sure (he is the "form over function" police) so I have been thinking about decorating options (if the round table does not go there) that would prevent you from seeing the back of the sofa the second you walk in the house. This bench behind the sofa is an intriguing idea:


Also in that space, there is a ceiling fan centered in the family room. If I end up having the round table, I am wondering to myself if I would rather have a light centered over the table and not in the center of the room....again in the saving money department, could I live with a draped cord and not move the electric? I don't know. Something to think about though. This one sure looks good.


I have finalized having a china cabinet between a column refrigerator to the left of it and a column freezer to the right of it in the kitchen. It will be in this space. The angled part of the wall where the cased opening is on the left will be removed and the refrigerator, freezer and china cabinet will nestle between the dining room wall and a matching type divider on the left side.


The final look of the china cabinet needs to be decided upon and I really like the look of these:


I am also on the fence about having open storage for cutting boards in the island or a regular cabinet. I am leaning towards a closed storage cabinet that can house baking sheets and cutting boards together. This sure is pretty though. Trying to remember John's mantra of "form over function" in this case. How attractive is that gold framed, white matted painting on the blue wall? Gorgeous.


I want to have shades that are hung much higher than the top of the windows in my bedroom so that I can hang a shade to cover the arch on the large window in the sitting area space on the opposite side of the room.


These are the windows where the shades and curtains would be hung much higher to match the height of the shade on the opposite side of the room.


I want the shade and curtains on this window to be hung so that the top arch is completely covered.


These window treatments give an idea of the look I am going for. Much lovelier than the 1996 valences that we have yet to take down!


I want to make the best use of space in what will become the only master closet. Things can only go up form here!


I really like the look of the open shelving and hanging spaces in these next two images. I wish my closet were this big!


This is a little closer to the actual size of mine, still more spacious though.


Closed, curtained storage like this would be my first choice, I think our renovation budget can be put to better use elsewhere though. Nonetheless, I do love the idea of sneaking in a little place to sit.


I have mentioned before that we are going to put in two archways between the master bedroom and master bath - between the two are currently the his and her closets, one of which will become a laundry room. I have decided that I want to do French barn doors to close off the arch between the master bedroom and laundry/closet passageway to the master bathroom. The doorways to the master closet and laundry room will also have French barn doors.

To make sure there is enough room for the French barn doors to fully open and close, the arched opening will need to be thirty inches wide. The doorway is currently five feet wide and it has always bothered me that it provides a complete view into the bathroom from the bedroom and the upstairs hallway. The archway to the master bathroom from the closet/laundry hall will be forty-two inches wide (a foot wider than the bedroom arch). I was concerned about thirty inches looking a little too slight so I collected these images and I do not feel that way anymore. A tall and narrow arch looks great and a smaller opening leading to a larger opening will be very attractive, I feel.

photo source


The last inspiration image I saved is another one for the "do I paint the trim a color other than white?" folder. More and more my answer is leading towards yes. Plenty of time to figure that out though, so expect more pictures in this department!


photo source


Thank you for joining me while I brainstorm about my house - which obviously needs some attention!. See you tomorrow.


Kerry


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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kerry, a true lover of all things home design.  Thank you for stopping by to check in on the journey.  Please feel free to reach out to me, I love to talk design!

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