I know that if we lived in a newer home in a newer neighborhood the home would be more our style, with white trim and non-popcorn ceilings. I dream about moving into such a home. Then I read a recent blog post by Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick - one of my absolute favorite bloggers (and I know I'm not alone). She said:
"And one day…maybe moving to a house that’s not in a neighborhood, one that’s older than ten years old, on some land with a creek in the back."
And it hit me, this is what we have. While we do live in a neighborhood, we all have lots of land and it's secluded. Creek in the back. 1983 home and lots of land and gorgeous gigantic trees. Instead of dreaming of a newer home (where I would possibly have to give up a lot of great features for the same price), I'm making peace with our home instead.
Even though our house needed a lot of upgrades (appliances, carpet, paint...) when we moved in 6 years ago, I am not interested in putting a lot more $$ into the house. We simply won't get it back whenever we do sell - which could be 10+ years from now. But I think there are a number of things we could do on a small budget to upgrade the look.
Oak - everwhere I look I see oak, oak, oak. This house is quite large and has an open floor plan. I am not going to change the trim throughout the entire house. I just don't have the energy for that. So I'm going to do what I can to minimize the eye going straight to the oak everywhere you look.
A curtain here?
And valances across the back?
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Won't that make a big difference and minimize all the oak trim? (Hello little 5 year old Brennan!)
And lots and lots more oak. I've got ideas for this room, but am not even sure where to start.
Popcorn Ceilings - I realize these are waaaayy out of date, but really, to replace/fix/whatever the entire ceiling of just this floor (2200 s.f.) would be a NIGHTMARE. So, I'm solving this problem by just not looking at them. I have a decorator friend who encouraged me to just leave them alone. I'm heeding her advice!
It's a lot of fun to dream about a newer house with more flexibility in the decorating options, but I'm making peace with the few things about our home that I would change if only I had a magic wand. Instead I'll spend that dreaming time on enhancing what we have.
All decorating suggestions welcome!
3 comments:
Why not paint the oak trim white to give that "builder new" feeling? I know it's real oak, which is pretty, but the white trim would be so fresh and new looking for just the cost of a few gallons of paint!
Another suggestion: if you bought new trim could you use the pretty oak for something else, like to build a piece of furniture? Then you don't have to recoup the cost when you sell, it's more like you're buying a new cabinet, or bead board, or whatever you do with it. :)
I think you should leave the oak trim as natural wood. I think it's sad when people paint over pretty wood. Your solution of a valence over the windows is right on, as your eye will go to the valence and you won't even notice the wood trim. Most people don't even notice your ceilings and I'll be if you asked a few friends what kind of ceiling you have, they probably wouldn't know. I don't blame you one bit for ignoring those ceilings. Who in their right mind would take on that kind of job?
I love the SPACE that you have in your home and I love the OPEN feeling!
your home looks so spacious, I love those big windows you have. I would not cover them up with curtains, but maybe some light color panels hung on the sides. My house is in a neighborhood and built in 1995, so I am very envious of your big yard, it is gorgeous!
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