One Sixty: I think I'm Right

I think I'm Right

There is a debate that needs to be settled. Any maybe some of you house bloggers can help me out with this.

Ok - first off, my house is shaped like a barn with no dormers or anything. So the upstairs has slanted ceilings on both sides, a cathedral ceiling slant up, and a flat part at the very top of the ceiling.

The debate is in regards to painting - painting the room in dark color with a white ceiling.

First School of Thought: Paint the walls AND the cathedral slant up - only paint the flat part at the top of the ceiling white. This draws the eye up and makes the ceiling appear higher and the room, bigger. Painting the cathedral slant up white would bring the ceiling down and make the room feel small and short.

Second School of Thought: Paint only the walls. Painting the cathedral slant up and the flat part of the ceiling white will make the room appear larger because the lighter color will let more light into the room.

I learned of the first school of thought from HGTV - so I am of that mindset and believe that to be true. However, my neighbors are trying to convince me otherwise and it's pissing me off.

Also - I'm sick of everyone saying "dark colors make a room look smaller." It's absolutely ridiculous. People tell me that again and again because I happen to like dark colors. And I'm sick of it. Color is beautiful! I had to live in all white houses growing up and hated it. And now this ceiling thing. So settle the score for me, because I think I'm right.

Blog Story

My now husband Mike and I purchased this quaint home back in spring of 2004 - our first home - and, being the handy folks we are, expected to have the entire thing renovated in about a year or so.

And here we still are... renovating away.

This house needed a complete overhaul. Its plaster walls were uninsulated, its attic floor covered in 2" of bat guano, its basement - dirt and snakes, its exterior - asbestos siding, and lead paint windows in every room. The electric had not been updated and light sockets hung bare from the ceiling. Plumbing featured cast iron radiators - and only one for the entire upstairs.

We began by gutting almost the entire house from top to bottom. (sans bathroom - we needed to pee) We rebuilt the entire upstairs, with a new floor (not new carpet or wood - the once unstable framing underneath) and turned 3 small rooms into two. We reinvented the downstairs by turning a closet into a hallway and eliminating interior exterior windows and doors from old half-assed additions.

New insulation, windows, electrical wiring (including phone and CAT-5 internet), plumbing and baseboards, and drywall were all added.

We purchased kitchen cabinets from a yard sale. (None existed previously.) Our families helped us replace and purchase new appliances including the once also missing washer & dryer.

Then we had the entire house lifted - straight into the air - dug out the dirt, and had a real basement foundation poured. We updated our oil tank and burner and created heating zones.

Outside, we took down trees and planted grass. We dug out an awkward hill to create a 2nd part to the driveway and used the rocks our house once sat on as a retaining wall. We electrified and repainted the garage.

And of course, we spent many an hour on finish work like paint, trim, closet doors, lighting fixtures, hardwood floors, curtain rods, dimmer switches, and many other things everyone else takes for granted. We are still working to complete all this final finishing, but happy to report that we are FINALLY nearing completion of all little things in all rooms!

In 2008 we began overhauling the exterior by creating a new french door entryway and building a farmer's porch and garage addition. We replaced our roof and then stripped off our siding and replaced with new clapboards. We then planted two new flowering trees and a maple in the front yard - our first major landscape purchases. I'm happy to report that here in 2011, the porch is nearing completion and the back yard is on the road to recovery with some new loam and grass. More plantings soon to come!

In 2012 we plan to attack the last MAJOR (emphasis on major) job in the house - the dreaded BATHROOM! We plan to first add a second bathroom in the basement. Then, demolish our current bathroom and rebuild it, adding a second bathroom on top for the upstairs.

And that pretty much brings you up to date. The battle continues day to day as we try and complete everything.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: You do whatever you want. It's your house, unless your neighbors are suddenly living in it.; 1:39 PM
Anonymous said...: I agree with anon. Paint it the way you want it, if you don't like it you can always change it.; 7:25 PM
Anonymous said...: How about two complimentary shades? The walls at the bottom a dark color (or faux chair rail.. oh that sounds cool!!), a lighter shade of the same color on the slant, like an illusion that the slant really isn't a slant, and then a puffy cloud mural on the ceiling. If you get really creative, glow in the dark stars so when you shut off the lights, you feel as if you are outside in nature.

And all of this explains why after three (four?) years I've never painted beyond primer.; 10:02 PM
kitrainia said...: Nothing like the internet to cheer me up. Puffy clouds and glow in the dark star stickers - the classic. I love it.; 10:13 AM
Greg said...: A fan of colors myself, my experience thus far says to consider the WEIGHT of each color.. darker typically = heavier, and should be applied to smaller surfaces. Its 'weight' offset by a lighter color, tint or shade on larger surfaces... and do what you want with the ceilings in white. I think you'll be happy - not to mention, it's fun. To paint, although the edging where the two colors meet takes more time.

Good luck!

-g; 10:46 AM
LisaBe said...: so i'm making this same decision right now. what'd you end up doing?

lisabee.typepad.com/itsawonderfulhouse; 7:56 PM