New here: Before and after projects

kennedyzdad

13 years ago

Here are some before and after projects that I've completed in the past two years. Tell me what you think.

Exterior before

Exterior after

Front door painted Cherry red

Front porch stained in grey

Dining Room before

Dining Room after Wainscoting

The burgandy or some what red exterior was nice when we first bought the house. It was a new build but after five years, the shutters began to fade alot. I removed them and painted them black with a vinyl spray paint. The little plastic barbs had all broken and caused some of the shutters to fall in heavy winds. I replaced all of them after drilling out the remaining pieces in the holes and then applied silicone into each hole to secure the shutters while reinstalling them with new barbs.I also applied three coats of paint on the shutters and allowed them to dry for four days before reinstalling.

The dining room was just blah in my opinion so I installed bead board around the entire wall. I didn't want to have to remove my baseboards so I got creative and was able to install the wainscoting on top of the base board then I attached lattice strips on top of it to cover the gaps. My base boards are made up of three pieces and the lattice actually makes the top even with the bottom so that it all looks like one piece. The chair rail is actually baseboard that I turn upside down and ripped a 1 inch seam on the back side of it with a table saw so it would fit down over the top of the beadboard.

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Comments (13)

TxMarti
13 years ago
Your house looks great, and it was nice to begin with. That was a lot of work on those shutters!

What kind of paneling did you use in the dining room? It looks really nice.
teresa_nc7
13 years ago
I like your new landscaping in the front! Nice job on all of it!

Teresa
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kennedyzdad
Original Author
13 years ago
Marti8a,

It's bead board that the local box stores carry. It come in 5 1/4 and 5 1/2 widths. There are 8 panels in a pack and it locks into the next piece. I used my brad nail gun and placed my nails in the grooves so that the next board will hide it when installed.

I also used contractors glue to adhere it to the wall just in case some nails would back out. If you angle all your nails downward, it will keep the board tight to the base boards.
User
13 years ago
Looking great there, and it doesn't look like you made even a tiny mess of any of it. I too like the larger foundation plants on the right side of the steps. You must take great pride in your house, I don't think a single blade of grass would dare intrude on your geometric perfection.

What sort of projects do you plan next?
Shades_of_idaho
13 years ago
Gorgeous inside and out. Love the black shutters. I did a raspberry trim on our last house and it also faded. Must be some thing about the red pigment.

Your dinning room is so pretty. Every time I see another application of wainscot it makes me want to do it here. Some where. Yours looks so crisp. I am wanting a brad nail gun.

As ML asked. Whats next?? So glad you posted pictures.

Chris
pjtexgirl
13 years ago
I like your red door and black shutters. I also like the warm,welcoming color of your dining room.
kennedyzdad
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm really wanting to replace the post on the front porch with bigger ones. The ones I have are 4 inch and I think that 10 inch ones would look better. I would then replace the top hand rail and posts with larger size ones.

I've been thinking of adding a red rocking chair between the two white ones on the front porch to accent the door but I'm not sure if the wife would like that or not.

There are other projects that I have completed and I'll be posting them as this thread continues to grow. I've painted my landscape edging black and have added black mulch as well. You can see the ugly brown edging in the second and third pic. I have also installed an LCD tv to my master bath and now can't get my 8 year old to take baths in her bathroom.

The kitchen has been painted green and I have painted an accent wall in the greatroom.
Shades_of_idaho
13 years ago
OH Goody. Lots of projects and pictures to look forward too.

Maybe a small red table between the chairs to set your drinks on.

LOL on the TV in the bath. I saw they also made them part of bathroom mirrors.
ivyelle4
13 years ago
Lovely! I personally think black shutters are way way better than red!
You did such a great job! Only thing I'd recommend is curtains for the dining windows to soften the look a bit :)
User
13 years ago
I like the heftier post idea, but 10 inch diameter might be out of scale with your porch size. Kicking the porch out a foot or so, to equal the depth of that gable adjacent to the front steps, would mean the roof gets a little "bill" on it, sort of like a Louisiana style Creole cottage. (Only a Creole cottage would not have the gables necessarily.) Out just that little bit more, you could beef up the posts, and also flare the brick steps and hand rails in a welcoming spread-arm embrace.

With the beefy posts, you would need to space them differently too.. There would be a corner post on the left, and then a second post on the far side of the window next to the door. The post to the right of the steps, if 10 inch diameter, would almost wipe out any space between it and the wall, but they have a way to deal with that. With just these three posts, I'd recommend a wider set of steps with the flare as it goes toward the ground. Really deep treads, and shallow risers to make it easy to walk up for old folks.

If you have Windows, even the Paint program will let you draw ideas on a copy of your house photos.

If you do something that is with 6 inch posts, that might give a heftier look without disturbing the present balance of your house front.
kennedyzdad
Original Author
13 years ago
Moccasinlanding,

You bring up some good points on the larger posts. I don't think I want to take it to that extreme.

You are very intelligent in what you kow and I appreciate that.
kennedyzdad
Original Author
13 years ago
Here is a closeup of the baseboard that I turned upside down and ripped a 1 inch seam along the backside to use as chair rail.

This is the Breakfast area of the kitchen that I painted.The accent wall is painted "Praline Cake" and the wall on the left is "Dry Leaf"

This is the other side of the kitchen
User
13 years ago
The upside down baseboard is beautifully done. It looks awesome. I also like the paint colors.....anything PRALINE gets my taste buds in a frenzy too. :) What brand of paint has the DRY LEAF color? I really like it.

The low cab or seat under the window in your kitchen seems like a great spot for the kids to sit and help the cook. I also have a little coffee maker like that, says 4 cups but makes only two for us....hate to drink old coffee, the acid can eat your stomach up. But when I get my gas range, I will use the little Bialetti pot.