Help me make my piece of junk look nice! ..Please

Hello everyone. I just bought my first home less than a year ago and am looking for some pointers on what I can do to make it look nice. Note, that I'm 23 years old, married and am an IT consultant. Not really bringing in the big bucks but am doing the best I can.

Below you'll find some pictures of "still major work in progress" home. Please feel free to share criticism and ideas! I would GREATLY appreciate it.

Please, don't be too harsh! This home was built in 1902!

Floor Plan


Link to WebAlbum
Picasa Web Album


Top paint color is what were painting the whole house outside. White shutters...


Bathroom vanity (for wife lol) and sink are handmade by me

Kitchen need major work.

 

Hi snowspeeder, welcome to DIY

I will be glad to help, but first I need to know what type of help do you need
With the floorplan / layout? Furniture? decoration? colors? materials?

 

Layout, decoration. I could only do minor construction. Maybe open up a room by removing the wall into the dining room from the living room...

 

Hmmmm.... I see a problem with the bathroom and the new bedroom
Let me think a little about this

 

This is just an idea, and of course, you must check all the conditions with a local professional and the building dept in order to verify codes, safety, structure, etc



The storage space can be a storage + a laundry
One of the things that you should add is a powder room and a bathroom + closet for the bedroom
I think that you should order the links between the different rooms--> in the plan above the office is independent of the bedroom. Visitors have a separated room

Hope this helps

 

Hi! First, let me say I'm not a designer or a decorator, so whatever I'm telling you is strickly personal observations, but I do read lots of decorating magazines and buying a few would really help. You can get lots of ideas from them and it's a good place to start.

I am a curtainmaker pro however, so I'll start with them. The placement's are all wrong and the style's are dated. If you want to hang panels, invest in nice looking rods, and they should be mounted on the wall, above the window frame and extended out beyond the frame. Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Ikea, all have pretty nice panels (as far as readymades go). Just make sure they're long enough to touch the floor (or not more than 1/4" off the floor) and get them full, or they look very cheap and skimpy.
The pair in the dining area with the valance needs to go. Try some nice romans or wood blinds or just long panels on a nice rod (as mentioned above). The window frame should not be showing unless it's an inside mount treatment.
Buy a comforter set for the bed. The spread is too long on the sides and too short in the front and you need some nice shams that match or coordinate. The bed needs a headboard and the box spring should be covered with a bedskirt.
In the living room, the chair should not be right next to the loveeat like that. Maybe angle it or move it to another spot.
The cocktail table looks too small and you need some area rugs to warm up the room. And again, some nice panels on a nice rod at the window, higher up and farther out and loose the valance. The lamps are too small. The fireplace area with the tv looks too cluttered.
I'd paint the doors white to match the woodwork.
If you're keeping those two chairs in front of the window, consider having them slipcovered (or at least buy two readymades that match for now).
All the picture placements are not quite right. They need to be rearranged a bit.
p.s. go over to the BHG (Better Homes and Gardens) website and take a look at the Window Treatment section. Look under basics (for the basics and how-to's).
Window Treatments

 

I thought about removing the seperators between the dining room and the kitchen. But my wife would kill me if I changed the bathroom sizes! lol. Great layout though. We thought about moving the washer and dryer into that room.

I hate the idea of walking trough my bedroom to get into my office. But I also can change the layout of the bathroom "my life depends on it". So im kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place arnt I?

 

I agree with everything you said. But how would should I rearrange the pictures? Are you specifically targeting the office?

 

Hi snowspeeder,

I have two concerns regarding your plan
1 - As I stated, the links between the different rooms are not OK (for example bathroom/bedroom or living room/bedroom)
2 - The dimensions of the new bedroom... I don't think you can set a queen bed there

So in my opinion, you'll need to sacrifice one of the alternatives: or you choose the size of the bathroom or the link between the rooms or you switch the bedroom with the office (you can take a part of the office for a closet) or...

There are several options, but the first step is always the definition of the priorities (of course, yours and your wife's)

 

Placement of pictures is not my strong point so I can't help you there. Hopefully someone else will jump in to help you with that.
One tip I learned tho is to get some poster board or kraft paper and trace all the pics you want to hang. Then get some painters tape and start taping them on the wall in different positions until you see what looks most pleasing to the eye.

Also buy a few decorating magazines and look thru the pics. You'll find lots of things in them that will help you out.

 

It's a nice house you have there snow..
although you really need some renovation. hehe..
I also noticed that the place is very "cluttery"

over all it's very homie ambiance.. you just have to take out the things that you don't need.
Last.. you need an upgrade for interior design. Beer 4U2