Decorating help.......

[Cathy]

Let me start by saying that I am not a decorator. I have seen things in people's homes that I really liked, but I've never had the time (or honestly much interest) for interior design in my home. I like functional, comfortable, clean, uncluttered space....preferably in neutral colors. LOL Just so you know where I'm coming from....................

We have made some pretty big changes since we bought this house last year. Now it all needs to be repainted, the kitchen needs some work (floor, appliances, walls--okay, a LOT of work). How do you choose all this stuff? The house is pretty open so it really needs to be coordinated. It's a ranch with an open stairway from the living room down to the family room. Dh has mentioned tile for the floor in the kitchen--I think it seems cold and I'm not sure it's practical.

The other thing is that we aren't going to do everything at once, so I have to get a plan together before we do anything I guess. I'm great at the little stuff, but I don't have the artistic eye that helps with the big picture.

I guess I want to know how and where you (or I) can learn all this stuff. I have looked at some of the home improvement stores, but most of that looks like no human family could ever really live there. We have 5 teenagers and an 11 year old. I need help!!!

[AnnW]

I think tile and/or slate is the only way to go in a kitchen..easy to clean up, wears well ect. If I had my way, I would have slate all through my house!
I have heard good things about laminate flooring like Pergo. I am not a fan of linoleum/vinyl flooring. I think they wear badly and tear easily.
If it were me starting out. I would write down EVERYTHING that needs to be done. I am visual, so having a list really helps. You can also prioritize it by cost, time, need. If I were re-doing my kitchen, I would probably pick the biggest item that you are changing first and build from there. (think of it as building an outfit). So for me, it would be what cabinet fronts am i getting, then picking out the counterops/backsplash, then the floor and then the appliances.
For other areas of the house, I like picking my fabrics first and then building around them. Since your house is all open, painting everything a warm but neutral color would be great and then bring in different fabrics and textures in accessories and/or upholstery. Our first house was totally open AND we had absolutely no furniture. We obviously couldn't afford to buy a whole house of furniture at one time so we decided on what furniture we wanted and then picked out all our fabrics and bought them in the yardage we needed. As our budget allowed, we would get a piece done.

[Cathy]

Thanks, Ann. I'm having trouble figuring out what "everything" is. I like my cabinets, and countertop. So I have a reference point. I'm going to try to list it as I see it. Then dh can add to the list. He really sees things that I miss, and he seems to get the steps of a project without much effort.

You like tile? It seems so institutional and cold, but maybe that's only a concern here in the North, where it's SNOWING, for crying out loud!!!

[BevJ]

Cathy, I like tile too and have it in my kitchen and bathroom. Keep in mind, both rooms are pretty small, but I love it. I would love tile throughout my house too.

[Melody]

I have ceramic tile in the kitchen/ dining area and the hallway. It's downstairs in the washroom and hallway and once I can get the upstairs bathroom done it will be too. I love it. It can be hard under feet if your on it a long time but I wear runners in the house. It's easy to clean though and you can get tile in so many colors now.
I know what you mean about the decorating though. For me it's always that I need to buy something else and never get to buy for the house. I never even think of the small stuff here, everything got packed when the boys got old enough to knock things over and break. Now those things are not my style so there isn't much out. We have the paint on the walls that we like but I can't find furniture I like to match except white. Trying to talk dh into letting me get white is hard. lol I refuse to change my paint color though, I love it too much. :goofy: Can you get samples from the hardware stores and bring them home? Sometimes they have scraps or you can buy tiles pretty cheap from piles and once you see them up against what you already have it helps. Have fun. :)

[AnnW]

Cathy, since you like your cabinets and counter tops, the next would be flooring (don't get cold looking tile! LOL) then appliances and paint. Just changing the hardware on your cabinets and give you a whole new look too.

Mel, what color are your walls that you can't find fabric/upholstery????

[Melody]

Ann, I am so picky that I end up with nothing. lol
I have a blue in the living room that is almost tiffany color at one time of day, darker blue at another and lighter still at other times. I love this color and how it changes through the day for different lighting from outside. I haven't looked that hard yet, guess I keep getting stuck on the white one I like at Ikea. The hallway next to it is yellow and the only reason I love it besides it being so bright is the shade hides fingerprints pretty good. :biglaugh: I think in the spring I will get something, maybe I have a commitment problem with furniture. lol

[AnnW]

You could go all sorts of things. French country is a pretty mix of blues, yellows, greens and reds.

http://www.calicocorners.com/fabrics_blueyellow.asp

http://www.calicocorners.com/fabrics_FQaudrey.asp

[AnnW]

Guess you didn't like my ideas, Mel :( :bigcry: :bigcry: :brow: :sillyface

[Melody]

Actually I love the fabrics. I just saw this post now, don't know why it didn't show as new before.
I love colors, the front hallway is yellow, blue in the living room. I love french provincial. I have a hard time tying it all together though. In the spring I am hoping to buy new furniture for the living room, if not sooner because now dh is talking about moving the furniture to the room downstairs which would leave me with nada. I definately want sofa's that I can use different covers. They have to be washable. Surefit is always in solids though I think. Thanks for the links.

[sweeets723]

i am with home interior drcorating and gifts if anyone would like ny help decorating please contact me!!

[imamama]

Cathy... just now seeing your post, sorry!! Have you made any progress since you first posted? You're lucky that you like your cabinets and countertops in the kitchen, like Ann said, that's a great reference point! I love the look of tile, too, maybe check into those heating units they put under tile floors. I have no idea of the cost, but by doing some checking around, you might be able to find a unit that's affordable. I would love to have heated floors!! I HATE wearing socks and only do so when it's absolutely freezing, but it would be awesome to have heated floors!!! I really like Pergo floors for the kitchen. My house is all hardwood floors, but they put down white linoleum in the kitchen and back hallway and laundry room. Not a smart choice! I hate my kitchen floor! We're going to put down Pergola after we get our tax returns. It's got a lot of pluses, mainly that it doesn't show every single thing!!!
Is there a certain style you like? If so, write down things you'd like to see in your house, it doesn't have to be specific, just a general idea. Then try going to Lowe's or Home Depot and getting samples. They have TONS!!! And it really helps to bring them in to your house and visualize. I had every single floor and countertop sample they had when I was going to build a house and it helped having so many to choose from. Believe me, I changed my mind every other day!! I love the beach cottage/nautical theme, so that's probably the extent of help I can offer! If you like that look, let me know!! I have a million ideas!!

[momof3]

I have totally redone the inside look of our house! We had not so pretty :bawling: linolum in our kitchen and followed into the bathroom. We put down Parkay flooring, the real light wood and wow! what a difference. It follows into our foyer. Our cabinets were dark and we wanted to lighten them so we painted over the wood and it turned out nice. It is funny because 6 years ago when we bought our house I stuck with white walls and was afraid of color and now I have color on my walls and have gotten addicted to the Home and Garden show so I get ideas off of that and have done things to my house. I learned how to paint stripes on a wall and did that in my sons room and daughters room. They say it adds height? I am pretty proud with the way of have come out of the box and tried different tips. I am looking for a way to redo my counter tops without spending alot of money....Any idea?
Thanks

Amy U :)

[momof3]

Our home is also a ranch style and the kitchen and living is all open. It really makes the house look bigger in my opinion because of the space. I love the tuscany feel, like the wines and the grapes so I decided to paint my kitchen a gray stone color and I know it sounds bad, but it looks great. I got my idea for my kitchen at the DG store where I live. There was a topiary of ivy with grapes in it and I bought it and at the time nothing went with it, I bought it because I liked it so much. The next think I knew I was redoing my whole kitchen to match the wine theme! It turned out great. I found at Walmart some black coasters with the soft look of wine and grapes and now I am using it as backsplash for my counter. It turned out really great. The black really sets off the gray. I was unsure of the color at first because I thought it would be too dark but we have alot of light (natural) that comes in all different directions so it works really well. We then added the cheap lighting (5.00) at Lowes, to the top of our cabinets where it lights a soft glow and acccents everything. It was actually a cheap redo for the kitchen. I also am known to find something I really like and if I like the look of it but not the color then I buy paint and just repaint it. I cannot tell you how many times I have done that! I buy alot of my stuff at the DG store and it is an amazing way to redo on a small budget. :roll:

[AnnW]

Great idea about the coasters!!!!!
As to your counter tops, ceramic tile is pretty easy to lay and not that expensive.

[homebasics]

Here's a post we wrote that gives some tips to give your place a summery look all year round.
Make Your Home Instantly More Summery (http://www.homebasics.ca/viewarticle.asp?articleid=4655)