Oh no, not another blog..

[parkview094]

Hi all,
Stumbled across this forum whilst looking for some inspiration. We moved into a 1910 (ish) house late last year and are about to embark on a bit of a labour of love to try and bring it up to modern standards whilst preserving as much as possible of the original fixtures and features.. Doubtless I shall be stopping by regularly to ask for thoughts and advice, but in case anyone's interested, we're also starting up (yet another) blog to chart our progress at: http://oakleigh.gowans.org
M

 

[plasticpigeon]

I must admit I do enjoy reading blogs on house renovation, but I can't understand how people have the time to write up and upload a blog, and still make DIY progress at twice the speed that I do.

It's a handsome place and I see why you liked the hall. There's a lot to do to make it what it once was!

 

[parkview094]

Haha the last house - a "3 year project" took 6 years to complete, so I don't envisage this one's going to be a lot quicker. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there seem to be a lot of jobs necessary on this one that are beyond my DIY skills, so we're going to need to call in the professionals which may hopefully hurry things along (money permitting).

We both thought the hall had a 'Christmas Feel' and envisaged a giant Christmas tree in the corner which really sold the house to us. We're both undecided with what to do with the hall though, although we are both agreed the wood panelling should be left untouched. I suspect I may sneak in a cast iron radiator instead of the fan heater thing, or maybe look at underfloor heating. Speaking of which, I'm dieing to know what's under the green carpet, but my 'sensible head' has kept me from peeling it back to take a look. ..I know if I do find something interesting underneath, it will become my all consuming obsession for a while and the hall flooring really should be waaaay down there on the list. Assuming it's boring floor-boards, I think we'll probably re-carpet in a lighter colour as it's a pretty dark room with only small windows. The beams are another point of contention currently. They're clearly decorative rather than structural, but seem to be original as far as we can tell to the house. They seem to be solid rather than box-sections - but black?! hmm decisions decisions..

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Lovely house, we love blogs and pictures! Good Luck with it all!

 

[parkview094]

Of all the important jobs that we need doing, decorating, for me at least, is waaaaaaay down the list. Unfortunately, for me, my wife is off work at the moment and with time on her hands at home has been coming up with a million ideas for decorating. What seems to be causing the most controvesy at the moment is the hall:

We've always been resolute that we don't want to paint the panelling, but doubt is beginning to creep in. With 3 tiny windows, it's a dark room at best. Curiosity got the better of me last night and I peeled back the carpet to see what was lurking underneath and to my surprise I found floorboards, seemingly painted black!

Does anyone have any opinions / thoughts on what we should do? Best contenders currently seem to be to not paint the panelling and to go for either a light carpet or a tiled floor of some form..

(P.S. - that's the old estate agent photo - not our furniture or nick-nack collection! :lol: )

 

[88v8]

Paint the panelling... that would be absolute vandalism (the most polite word I can find).

It's not dark, it's cosy. It's an evening room. Play to its strengths, don't try to make it what it's not and was never meant to be.

Deep red carpet, cream ceiling, I'd love a room like that. It's what I would have done in our library, had we not moved.

Ivor