Living/Dining Room Remodel

Salvaged built-in cabinets

We're picking up the pace of the living/dining room remodel project.  A few details have changed since we last talked about this project.  First, we've decided to go with a more open floor plan.  That means finding a new use for the room divider cabinets we picked up from a Tacoma salvage store.  We have since removed the glass front doors from the cabinets and deconstructed the cabinets.  We have carefully stowed the wood away for use in future projects, such as the library cabinets we are going to build in the future.

Fireplace mantle and bookshelves

The new plan is to install the cabinet doors on the fireplace mantle bookshelf surrounds.  At one time we have grand plans for rebuilding the mantle, but have since decided to keep it simple and refinish it as it exists today with some minor modifications to make the glass doors fit.  To make this a reality, we need to finish stripping the paint from the mantle, which is nearly 80% complete.  Next up is to cut the new bookshelf surround frame and install.  Then, we'll begin the work of sanding and staining the mantle.  I expect to be able to finish up the majority of the project before the end of the year.

But wait, there's more -- a lot more.  We're looking at different tile products to redo our fireplace, which is currently a 60's style brick.  We love much of the tile offered by Motawi Tileworks, and have set sites on the gorgeous field tile in the picture to the right.  We're making a trip to Seattle in the coming weeks to look over their tile products and get some ideas.  Our current thoughts are to use the same field tile in the kitchen and living room, but use different embedded art tiles to make the room unique.

We're also looking at drastically changing the color scheme in the living room.  When we first moved in the living room was a mustard color that had been sponged with a gray silver color.  YUCK!  One of the first things we did to the house was to paint the living room and dining room.  We picked a very dark and rich merlot color and painted the walls and ceiling.  It wasn't the best choice.  The colors are very dark, and the room swallows any hint of light.  We have a 300 watt bulb in our floor lamp, and yet it is still to dark to read.   The color makes the room feel much smaller than it is because it is so dark.  The plan is to paint three walls Leapfrog green (Sherwin Williams SW6431).  It is the color highlighted in the picture to the left between the two black lines on the color swatch.  It was picked by matching it to the color in the background of the wallpaper we're going to use on the back wall of the living/dining room.  The plan there is to build wood frame and panel wainscoting 5 feet up the wall with a plate rail.  Above that we are planning to use hand screen printed wallpaper we've selected from Bradbury & Bradbury.  The ceiling will be painted Roycroft Vellum (SW2833), which matches the ceiling color in our kitchen.  That should help to brighten the place up a bit, but still make it feel cozy.

The list goes on.  New light fixtures, box beams in the living room, new ceiling to cover the popcorn installed in the 60s, stained wood work, etc.  It's a long process, but I look forward to making progress on the project.

Living/dining room.  Left: Wall to be wainscoted.