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The Makerista

I'm Gwen, a modern traditionalist who isn't afraid of color. Kansas City.

Our New Home: Main Level Befores Part I

On Thanksgiving, while others were feasting on turkey and pumpkin pie, I came to the new house and took several hundred pictures.  I made the mistake at our last house of not taking a single before photo, and this time I wasn’t going to let that happen.  I knew once the furniture got in the next day and the children took over I would be less likely to capture the house before we got our hands on it.

Some of you caught on to the fact that this is the house we put an offer on in the spring.  When we decided that building wasn’t the road we were supposed to be taking anymore, I remember thinking “it seems odd that the blue house is still for sale.”

So we went back to the people in the blue house, and this time they were ready to meet us where we felt comfortable.  And all of these months kind of began to make some sense.  Sometimes God allows you to go through a lot of uncertainty to get to what feels certain.  And that feels like this house. There is so much we want to do, so many projects to tackle, yet we feel complete joy being here just as it is.  It feels exciting and right.  It feels like home.

The house was built in the mid 80’s.  It’s funny, because I grew up in this neighborhood, and I can remember all of the different people that lived here, but I’d never been inside before. According to my parents the whole house used to be wallpapered, so luckily one of the past owners took care of that painstaking task.  Most of the rooms are neutral – easy to live with until I determine some paint colors.

I’ll definitely be replacing all the light fixtures throughout the house, but finding something special for the entry is on my list.  It’s not a huge space, so I would like the light to be really beautiful.  And it will have to compliment whatever we put in the living room straight ahead and then in the dining room to the right.
We haven’t been in long, but before we even took possession I started scheming the dining room. For some reason I knew right off the bat what I wanted to do in here.  I’ve already found several things for the space, and I’m really hoping I can make the chandelier that I bought for our build work.  It’s so heavy, I’m just praying there’s enough structure there to hold it!  
I love the bay windows in the front rooms, but I’m puzzled by the step up.  The kids spend a lot of time on them, calling them their “stages,” but I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just finish the floor into the alcove.  We’ve talked about possibly taking out the step in the dining room and doing a built-in bench with drawers or hinged lids.  
And let’s just take a minute to talk about the real elephant in the room.  Well, in every room: popcorn ceilings.  Why?  Why must they do this?  We’ve done a lot of consulting with different contractor friends and the general consensus is that they aren’t too bad to scrape off unless they’ve been painted.  Then they are impossible to scrape off.  And these have definitely been painted.  I’m still on the fence about what to do here.  The main level has 10′ ceilings and the distance makes them less noticeable, but I still don’t like it.  
On the other side of the entry is another living space.  For now it’s going to be the TV room.
The TV room?!  I know, I can hear you.  My husband needs a place to watch Sportcenter and play Call of Duty, and the basement isn’t going to work for that right now.  There are 3 potential living areas on the main level, but the other two aren’t really dark enough for TV watching.  I promise, this will be a really chic man space.  I’m promising myself that, because as the first thing you see when you crack the door, it has to be.  The TV is going on the wall you can’t see, and the wall you can see will eventually be pretty great (hint: I’ve been hoarding a library ladder for far too long).  
Through the TV room or entry is the living room.  
Yep, that’s a whole lotta wood.  
A few years ago I would have painted this all white by now, but for right now I’m just going to sit back and feel it out.  I wish it was less of that 80’s orangey oak, but I don’t think I want to paint it.  I hear my dad and Nicole Curtis in the back of my head and then I think about in 5-7 years…will I be glad I painted it then?  The room gets amazing light, so trying to brighten the space with paint isn’t an issue.  
See Part II here. 
Ok, I think we’ll call it at that for now (if you’re still reading, I’m impressed), but next week I’ll show you the rest of the main level.  Any thoughts or insight on the ceilings and bay window area is appreciated!
      
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Comments

  3. Sarah says

    We scraped the popcorn in our master recently – it wasn't too bad, but you do need to clear out the room so if you do it, do it now while there isn't much in the space! I can tell you that it significantly changes the acoustics in the room, so that is something to consider, especially with tall ceilings!

  8. Lauren says

    Gorgeous house!! I definitely would NOT paint the wood. Maybe try to refinish/restain it? Even if that proves to be too much work, I would leave it, "orange-iness" and all! I feel you on the popcorn ceilings… There are some things in our house that we have changed that only I would notice, but it has been totally worth it.

  11. ElevenGables says

    So excited for you and your family! We may make our plans, but the final outcome is in God's hands! As for the ceilings… since they can't be scraped, what about floating them out? xox, Emily

  13. Sheena says

    Gwen, I am so happy you found a place to call home! I'm am so excited to see what you do with it as my home is very similar (lots and lots of antique oak everywhere!)

    Here are my thoughts:

    Popcorn ceilings HAVE. TO. GO! Seriously dates a home.

    I like the step up on the bay window as i see you making a beautiful thick cushion to fit and topping of with lots of pillows to snuggle up on and read books with your Littles. Great way to soften all the structure of the wood.

    Lastly, I to, have struggled with what to do with all that wood. We have lived in our home for 7 years (which was also a 80's build) and we did in fact have to remove wallpaper from nearly every wall. Thank your lucky stars you didn't have to tackle that ugly battle! But back to the wood. We have builtins galore, beams everywhere and a den that has box beams and french doors. When you place furniture in the room it will really help. The general consensus seems to be anyone 40 and older says to keep the wood, 40 and under crowd seems to prefer a lighter feel. My opinion: keep the wood, it is far more interesting and exquisite than the white trim you see going in every new built out there.

    Hope this helps & good luck on your remodel adventures, so excited to follow your journey!

  14. kristine says

    Oh it's lovely! And the wood is amazing. I think you are being very mature and smart in thinking of the future with not painting it for now. Enjoy it! Accent it with modern and bold tones or tons of white to modernize the space..it has such a timeless feel though and can be so amazing to run with.. In sure you've considered dry walling the ceilings..is that an option? Best of luck!!
    kristineham

  16. Catherine Hansen Peart says

    I finally have a moment to come and ogle your new home! So, so happy for you!!! My gut reaction to the wood was exactly the same as yours and I am a HUGE lover of painting over it (seriously, people wouldn't want to put me in a Craftsman – paint all the way baby!). But in this space, I don't know, it just kind of looks amazing. I think it is very smart to live with it for awhile before you decide what to do. I would do anything to get rid of the popcorn though. Although, having said that, if it is going to be too much of a pain, most people won't even notice it once your gorgeous decorating is all in there! Just do what you can without stressing yourself out too much. Eeeeek, so excited to see what you are going to do with it!!!

  21. angela | the painted house says

    I'm so excited for you and this house! All the little design challenges shown just give you a chance to show off your design prowess. 🙂 I'm happy that you are keeping the wood paneled room to see how you like it. I think it could be really cool. I think I just heard the house sigh with relief and shiver with joy with the thought of you leading the transformation. All the best in the process!

  22. Kirsten Wareham says

    First off- love the paneled room. It's so special.

    Second, we're removed a ton of popcorn ceilings in our house. Some were painted and some were not. Each were cake. Promise. As soon as we first moved in, I sprayed a small corner of the ceiling with water, really saturate it, and then scraped it off with a putty knife. I had been freakkng out about the ceiling before buying the place so it put my mind at ease to do a test area ASAP…I then saw it was so easy but oh goodness is it messy.

  23. Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says

    Gwen, I can see so many amazing little details in this house! Can't wait to see you work your magic on it. Seems like everything that's wrong is just cosmetic, so with lots of thought and elbow grease I know you'll make it shine!

  24. Rachel Robinson says

    Very excited to see what changes you'll be making. Popcorn really is a piece of cake. It seems daunting but a cheap fertilizer sprayer from Home Depot/ lowes and a putty knife and drop cloths are all you really need. Mist and let sit. As you get more familiar you will get a feel of how much to spray. A friend of mine did a living room, two hallways and a dining room in a few hours! Good luck!

    • themakerista@gmail.com says

      When you say it was a piece of cake, after you scrapped did you have to do anything else? Were the ceilings totally smooth then, or just kind of textured? I keep hearing such conflicting things…some people saying it's the worst job ever, and others with quick results. Thanks for your thoughts!