Decorating with flair!

[Nyboy]

Red your set is Jacobean revival if you ever want to research it.

 

[Smart Red]

Any chance there is hardwood waiting to be unleashed under the old carpet? Nothing like a new floor to give a room a different feel.

That's a positive NO! There's no chance I would have put a hardwood floor down when we built this house only to cover it up right away. Nope! All the carpeted rooms have plywood underneath.

Remember, this isn't a house we purchased. We put in every nail, stud and rafter; we ran every heat duct, electrical wire and drainpipe; we mixed the mortar for every concrete block and every brick before we set them. No surprises here -- pleasant or otherwise.

Here's where we are right now.

The window wall is not painted. It is staying a white color into the living room. This alcove is painted.

Too pink! I fear another buying trip to town for a darker, less pink apricot shade. Oh, well. Somebody here mentioned paint is cheap compared to the effect it provides.

DH says he likes the pink. That it makes him feel relaxed and happy in that room. BULL! He doesn't want to take another trip to the store. DS is ready to cover this with a better color. This shade is a young girl's bedroom color, not a stunning dining room backdrop.

 

[Carol Dee]

The color looks o.k. in the top photo. The lighting may have something to do with it! But I do like the color combination you are working with. It is going to look great!

 

[NwMtGardener]

You work fast, Red! (And your DS!) i really like how the color looks in Pic #1, but I can see in Pic #2 with the different exposure the "little girl room" pink you're talking about. Maybe buy a quart of a different color and paint swatches on the walls before you commit to a whole gallon?

 

[baymule]

Red, if you strip and refinish your dining set you will ruin the value of it. I love to watch Antiques Roadshow and they will have this rare, fabulous piece of antique furniture that has been refinished-they give the "original" value, but since it has been altered, it is now worth ........ much less. Sometimes, the value lies in the patina of years of use.

If you must, to clean your beautiful dining set, go buy some Goop waterless hand cleaner. Get the non-grit kind. Rub some Goop in a small hidden spot to test the wood. Rub it in real good, then take a clean dry cloth and rub it off. The Goop will lift off years of grime and built up furniture wax. It won't harm the original finish and will make it shiny new again.

Please don't strip and refinish that beautiful furniture!

 

[Nyboy]

Sercet to red and pink paints is you have to use a grey tinted primer.

 

[Smart Red]

Red your set is Jacobean revival if you ever want to research it.

Old enough to be a grandma's valued heirloom?

"I remember Grandma saying I could have the set when I grew up. That was the day I first hit my head under her table. I was getting so big!" "I always loved that set." I used to play with my dolls under the table." "All the cousins wanted it, but she left it to me."

Come to think of it, I do have Grandmother's (Dad's Mom) buffet. It is in the basement. I took it out of my sister's house when she passed. It is in terrible shape after being with half a dozen inside cats. Since it is all laminated, I doubt it would be worth getting fixed, but it is family history and I am a hoarder of sorts.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I would paint the doors, but not the frames. You can install some thin trim to make the doors seem like 2 panel or 4 panel. That would liven up the space. I also would like to see a new light fixture. Check on Craigslist or your local Facebook buy and sell sites.

 

[Smart Red]

I would paint the doors, but not the frames. You can install some thin trim to make the doors seem like 2 panel or 4 panel. That would liven up the space. I also would like to see a new light fixture. Check on Craigslist or your local Facebook buy and sell sites.

There really are no doors in the dining room. What you see is in the kitchen. We did discuss panel doors at the time these went in. These are more in keeping with the ranch-style house -- and easier to keep clean.

DIL and I are going shopping through the resale stores in town. DS says she always gets great finds and I am certainly game for something easier to keep clean that the crystal drops.

* * My Gypsy just came home on the bus and looked at me and said in an exasperated voice. "PINK!?!" Blue would look much better and more sophisticated.

 

[thistlebloom]

The value of my old pieces is the pleasure I get from looking at them and using them. If refinishing them makes them more attractive to me, then I'm going to refinish it. What are the chances of anything I own being some valuable discovery at Antiques Roadshow anyway?
Just about the same as a snowball in the Hot Place. (And I'm not talking about Texas. )