Design Crew
Sat, 6 Aug 2011
Got a problem? Need some help? Just standing there shaking your head? Don't know what to do? You're not alone. Send us a link to photos of your design quandary and let the Desire to Inspire design crew help you .... that's you lot ... the readers! Here's a good one to sink your teeth into. Danica emailed about her beams.
I am looking for help with my design problem involving exposed beams. I have a 35 yr old Cape Cod that has exposed beams through out the main floor. They are in ceiling in the kitchen, dining room and living room. They are also in the hall and continue down the walls in all these rooms too. Some are stained a 70's chocolate brown and others are painted the same brown. At first I liked them as they lent a sort of chalet look to the place but now they are just too dark and dreary. They are large beams about a foot thick on all sides. I really don't want to paint them white and I can't even think about striping them. We have natural cedar walls everywhere too. I would like to brighten the kitchen by painting the cupboards(green) and the walls(white) in that area. I was also thinking of painting the ceiling a nice blue. But what to do with those beams? I also have a part wall of exposed brick.
I have been trying to come up with a practical solution to all of this for over five years now. So here are some pics of the kitchen/dining room and living room. Looking at them all I am thinking is "Yikes, that is a lot of wood!" We live out in the woods in East Coast Canada and have a eclectic style. I love the house but want it a little bit brighter.
Reader Comments (31)
This is just a suggestion! Before you paint anything, take everything, and I mean everything, even things in the cabinets, out of the room. Take the blinds off the window, the shelves down anything that can be removed, remove it! Then start cleaning....start at the ceiling and work your way down to the floor. Scrub the cabinets, the fireplace (I like the idea of putting a Sealer on the stone surround). Step back admire your hard work and fall in love with the room the way you did when you first saw the house...... Then and only then make a decision about paint. If you paint great you are ready to get started, but if you don't, and i am not sure you really need to... You are ready to reload the room. Be ruthless, if you don't use it donate it, if the plants don't look a hundred percent, get rid of it, please lose the twinkle lights. If it's not in a frame don't tack it on the wall put things like that in a scrapbook you will enjoy them more and those special things won't fade as fast as they would on the wall. The computer desk just does not work in this rustic room, can you use the console table that is in the kitchen? It is fabulous. Keep the cats but lose the blue plastic drawers.... Just put things back in the room that you love... I honestly think you will fall in love with this room again! Best of luck and send us an after photo! I think you have a diamond in the rough.
Sorry, total reno job is required here. Leave the beams and rip out all the old panelling and kitchen and yes, that stone around the fireplace has to go. De-clutter the area - keep only things that are useful or beautiful... of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder :)
Wow, I didn't realize there were trolls in the designing world too! I think some of you could probably find something a little more productive to do with your weekend than bash other people's homes. I only wanted to know about the paint and the beams, your negative comments about everything else really didn't do any good to anyone. I have two small children and we use the diningroom as a school room so the plastic drawers/pictures on the walls and twinkle lights are as I want them. I don't live in a museum.
I'd like to thank the people who actually took the time and answered my questions. I really appreciate all the appropriate comments and hope to tackle the beams soon.
I have come back to this post, and my initial reaction was to paint all the white stucco, ceiling and walls a burgundy color, vey similar to the low footstool and in the cat picture. I still think it would be a good fix for this room, would go well with your news green kitchen cupboards, and would be easier than painting the beams. If you prefer blue, choose a rich darker shade rather than a sky blue, but again, do the wall panels that are white the same colour. Cheers :)
Wow, I was thinking about this post and the whole "design crew" concept. I was wondering if people ever took the advice of the designers and if they might return with before/after pics. This post especially struck me because so many people took the time to give detailed advice, but the major piece of advice that most of the "crew" seems to be giving is pare down/de-clutter. Wouldn't even cost a single Loonie to do it.
And then Danica replied. "I only wanted to know about the paint and the beams, your negative comments about everything else really didn't do any good to anyone."
So Danica, why don't you just go to http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/personal-color-viewer load in the pic of your room and "virtually" paint till your heart is content? That way you don't have to be bothered by the "trolls" that have so vexed you.
Thanks for the suggestions Tony! I had looked at a dark red too.
Hellrazor, you do make some valid points. I have tried all those paint sites for years and keep putting it off as I can't seem to settle on the perfect colour scheme. All the colours I have tried just looked off. I was hoping some people would have some experience with large beams like that. I can't be changing my mind every couple of years as this project will be huge.
I'll gladly send in an after photo once this is all completed!