New York Renovator

I’m STILL working on a schematic for the electrical and plumbing for our Kitchen Renovation, well, actually, I haven’t started it yet.. :-S … but I can’t help flipping through the home magazines and color swatches, trying to envision what color my kitchen will be.

I hate white. It WON’T be white!

When we moved here, everything was painted white– the siding, the exterior trim, the porches, the rails. And the inside was all white– the walls, the trim, the doors. It is so ugly! Why do people use boring old white on everything! I like color. I have a study that is sage green, and a dining room that is red. And it’s mighty pretty.

Red is very bold; done poorly it will look garish on plaster walls. But my dining room has four windows, six doors, and a stairwell– it’s a busy room! I needed a bold, solid color to reign in the chaos of it all, kind of like acne treatment for the bumpy plaster and confusing mass of doorways. The trim is a super-glossy white. I like it.

My Entry Hall is green, red, and beige, with acanthus leaves on the wallpaper border. The kids are standing in it, here:

Because my home is Greek Revival, I’d like to stick with a general “Greek” theme, or at least a more old-fashioned kind of scheme. I painted my Living Room beige after we renovated it. I’ve never been fond of beige, but I like the luminous, light-filled look for the room.

(I intend on replacing those old curtains with longer drapes in a brown/red pattern).

So I’m thinking of painting the kitchen red. My daughters are not keen on it– they think the room will be too dark with red. But the cabinets will be beige (like maple or a light oak color), and we’re going to add another window in the room… is red too unconventional for a kitchen? I don’t want green, and the cabinets are already beige….

Anyone have any ideas? What colors are your kitchens? Do you like them? If you could have your kitchen in ANY color, what would it be?

Whoa, fashions in wallpaper has gone funky! I found this “heat-activated” wallpaper at a design site recently. I’ve heard of heat-activated paint, but not the wallpaper until now. It’s pretty, but I can’t say that I’d really like it in my house. It’s wallpaper that sprouts pink flowers with a heat source. lol! Would you get this?

From Dornob.com.

I also found some very, very cool retro wallpaper; again the source is from Dornob.com, who links to Second Hand Rose, the largest vintage wallpaper collection in the world, “dating all the way back to the 1860s and featured in museums around the world. Their rolls range from two to four figures depending upon the design, rarity and its origins (including Frank Lloyd Wright originals).” Wow! I’d just like to browse through their wallpaper books– like a history/art lesson in interior fashion, eh?

Some wallpaper doesn’t deserve a rerun. This is the kind of stuff my mom had in her kitchen.

Ew. :-p Gone are the days– thankfully so– of polyester pantsuits and funky orange pool floats lounges with purple flowers. The 70s is an era best forgotten, IMHO.

Ooo, how about this? Surf’s UP, dude!

Ummm.

This is more my style. I like the Victorian stripes and roses, and flocked wallpaper. Mmm.

Check the site for more. Cool stuff there!