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msrose

Lots of questions (and pictures) on making over my family room

msrose
10 years ago

This is my house when I first moved in. It was painted (by previous owner) Behr Antique White. I actually love the color in the smaller rooms (looks like vanilla ice cream), but in the larger areas it looked too white.

I ran into a problem when I decided to paint, because I realized I had to work around the tile in the house (kitchen backsplash, fireplace, floors) and I ended up going with Lenox Tan since it was the best match.

Lenox Tan

I decided I wanted to change the floors in the future, so I could pick a paint color I love. You know how one change leads to another change, which ten leads to another change? That's what's happening :)

Question #1 - I love the engineered Royal Oak Cabana Brown floors aktillery posted recently, but I can't find them in my area. They have the look of oil rubbed floors. I want as low of a shine as I can find and I love that raw wood look.

Royal Oak Cabana Brown

I found this floor online and I'm pretty sure I can get it locally, but I've never heard of it before. Is anyone familiar with LM flooring? Does anyone have it?

LM St Laurent Castellon European Oak

Question #2 - Would you run the wood floors right up to the doors and fireplace or would you keep tile in those areas? I'm thinking tile, but then that leads back to my original problem with the tile color influencing my paint choices. I'm open to replacing the tile also, but what, besides white, would let me be more flexible with my paint choices?

Comments (18)

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    10 years ago

    Around here, codes do not permit combustible materials (wood floors) to run right up to the firebox. You probably need a hearth of some sort, but it does not have to be tile. If that door is your main door (the one you always use), you may want to keep the tile, but I prefer wood right up to the door.

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Question #3 - I will need to replace the fireplace tile also. I originally thought about stone like in rtwilliams's house.

    When I was gathering samples for my backsplash, I found this mosaic. It actually coordinates with the backsplash tile I ended up choosing.

    This isn't the same tile, but it would give me a similar look, except lighter.

    Which do you like better?

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Question #4 - I won't paint until I actually have the wood floors, but I'm trying to figure out which paint color to try first. I want something quite a bit lighter than the Lenox Tan, but I'm worried about picking something too light and it looking like the previous color. I want a greige with more beige than gray. In looking at my fandeck I like BM Manchester Tan, Natural Cream, and Tapestry Beige, but would they be too light with my tall ceilings and open floorplan? I also like Bleeker Beige, but think it may be a little darker than what I want. Anything in between Bleeker Beige and Manchester Tan?

  • ILoveRed
    10 years ago

    The old picture makes it look as if the ceiling is flat. The new picture after painting gives the ceiling a much nicer look.

    Well done. Your room is lovely.

    It's hard to tell the real color and texture of the tile and grout color and if it really needs replaced.

    Can you post a close up?

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    This is the tile. I can't go with a greige paint color if I keep it.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    I actually like the warmth of the lenox tan though it does tend to suck a lot of light out of a room (we have it in a bedroom and it does tend to be dark). I love the glass tile for the fireplace surround. I would definitely go with glass tile or a marble. The wood floor looks lovely, esp that second one.

  • yayagal
    10 years ago

    How about Manchester tan, it would go with your floors, backsplash and the new tile for the hearth. It's light and warm and very pleasant.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Manchester tan

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    yayagal - I think Manchester Tan is the one I'm leaning towards right now, but I just wasn't sure if it would look too light with the tall ceilings and open floor plan. I'm hoping someone will chime in that has used it in a similar area.

    Annie - One think I'm worried about with the Lenox Tan is the light carpet keeps the room from being too dark, but if I bring in hardwoods it may be too much dark for me.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    I don't think it will be a problem, and most likely you'll end up with an area rug on top of the wood at least for the seating area so an opportunity to bring in more color if you want.

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, Annie!

    Back to having wood or tile at the doorways...I've never had a wood floors, but when I was house shopping, I looked at one that had wood up to the door and the wood was in awful shape. I couldn't help, but wonder if it got wet at one time. Has it ever been a problem for anyone? It would certainly solve my problem if I could eliminate all the tile.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    We have wood floors throughout most of our house, but usually an exterior door has a vestibule, and that has stone or tile. We have a lot of exterior doors, and there is one exception to that. No problem there, yet.

    But, we had french door to an uncovered deck at our lakehouse. We did get some water damage to the wood directly in front of those doors.

    So, I believe it depends on the type of door, the type of entry (covered or not), and your local weather.

    All that said, for both aesthetic and code reasons I think you need a hearth.

    I agree that the tile is too pink/peachy. The glass mosaic is a little trendy, but, OTOH, if you are just doing the fpl surround its a small amount of tile and not that costly to re do.

    PS love your floor choice!

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, mtnrdredux. I wondered about the trendiness of the mosaic. Do you think stone would be a less trendy choice? Like you said though, it wouldn't be an expensive project if I were to tire of it down the line.

    So, does anyone have a tile/stone floor that looks good with greige paint? It seems like I either see gray floors or tan/brown.

  • juddgirl2
    10 years ago

    I vote for keeping a tile hearth and using wood up to the front door. A mat or rug at the front door should prevent dirt and water from damaging the wood.

    Your backsplash turned out beautiful! I'm sure it looks great with your gorgeous counters and dark cabinets that I saw in an earlier thread. Do you have a picture that shows more of your kitchen with the backsplash installed?

    A mosaic or stone around the fireplace that picks up the golden tones in your backsplash would be perfect to replace the current peach/taupe tile there now.

    I like the wood floors you're considering and also your current Lenox Tan paint color, but it might look a bit monotone. Manchester Tan or Edgecomb Gray are two BM colors I'd like to try. They look great in pictures I've seen online. They might be a bit lighter than your wall color now, but still give you a nice contrast with the floors and ceiling.

  • yayagal
    10 years ago

    We enter through our side door for the most part and we have hardwood right up to the doors and no rug in front of the door. Never had a problem ever. It looks as good as the rest of the flooring.

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    juddgirl2 - I love every picture I've seen of Edgecomb Gray. Deep down, I think it's the one I would really like to use, but I'm worried about it being too gray in my house. I used Revere Pewter in my son's bathroom and I don't like it as much as the pictures I've seen. I think I need to use something with a little less gray.

    Here's a better picture of my backsplash (before I touched up the paint).

  • blackchamois
    10 years ago

    I just painted Edgecomb Gray in my dining living and hall. Love it. It's really more beige than gray but I guess it all depends on what you are comparing it to.

  • juddgirl2
    10 years ago

    Wow - your backsplash and counters are gorgeous! They look wonderful with your stained cabinets. You must be really happy about how well everything turned out.

    I've been considering remodeling my kitchen and looked at quartzites last week to get an idea of a possible budget. There are some really nice choices in the lighter quartzites. Taj Mahal is on my short list and I really like how it looks in your kitchen. It looks so similar to the crema marble that I'd love to have if I weren't concerned with durability.

    For paint, I think the Edgecomb gray - if it's a warm, putty color in your house - might look really nice with the warm and silver tones in your backsplash and with the almost grayish brown I see in the wood floors that you like. If it's too gray, Manchester Tan might be a good choice.

    If you're going to paint your walls anyway, can you paint a swatch of each on the wall so you can see how they look in your room during different times of the day? Or paint some sample boards and try those out. That's the only way I've been able to tell how a paint color might look in my own house.

  • msrose
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I probably will try a sample of Edgecomb Gray just in case! It makes me so mad BM doesn't sell the small samples jars anymore.

    BlackChamois - That's good to know it doesn't look too gray in your house. I pulled out my sample cards yesterday even though I'm not ready to paint yet and EG looked more gray during the day and definitely beige at night. Paint colors are so tough.