Monday, August 13, 2007

bloody knuckles


This is the "sitting room" in our new house, a room which we are confused about in terms of how to manage the space.

To start with, it has a wood burning fireplace, something almost unheard of in this part of the world anymore. In fact, it is illegal to build new houses with these, though I am unsure as to whether this is because of safety issues or whether it has to do with pollution.

In any case, our house has a "grandfather" clause which allows us to use this fireplace in spite of the bylaw, because it was built prior to the bylaw's inception. I can't help but wonder if the people who lived here ever used this fireplace at all. It seems impossible to me to use a wood burning fireplace in a room with carpet. But maybe I'm just insane.

The cedar ceiling is mysterious and unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm torn between finding it absolutely beautiful and wondering how to prevent this part of the house from seeming dark and cavernous. Shawn's stepmother suggests sanding it and refinishing it with a lighter stain, which sounds promising apart from the fact that the job itself sounds like hell on earth.

Personally, I don't really care for the three feet of useless railing to the left that is supposed to help, I suppose, make the room feel more divided from the dining room on the other side. Something almost exactly like this existed in my first house, and I tore it out to make the room more open, and loved it that way. Maybe I'll do that here too.

The kitchen has a few really nice features, and a few horrendous features. The cedar ceiling is continued over the eating area, which also has a small skylight (what fun!). The kitchen is quite large and has an island (not shown) and lots of windows.

This kitchen also has the same appliances that were installed with it when it was built (in 1987, I think) and they're looking pretty rough. Of course this is Shawn's specialty and he has already ordered replacements.

In my opinion, the biggest drawback of this kitchen is the huge overhead fluorescent light box, which looks identical to the one in the house in which I grew up (in 1987, also). I'm not sure how difficult it's going to be to get rid of that thing, but I'm worried it's going to be a nightmare. The linoleum is also rather revolting but I think that's a much easier fix and I might even tile it myself if Shawn will stop worrying and trust me.

I think that's all the house-dreaming I'll do for now, though I want to go through it all room by room, because I'm supposed to be inventing test questions for the safety course I'm working on. Heh. Back to it.


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

*gasp* Beautiful cedar ceiling! I vote you keep it and repaint the room itself some funky warm color.

mischief said...

I agree! Warm it must be... but what colour? I need your artist's eye.

Anonymous said...

I tend toward very autumny colors for walls, personally. A soft red or orange might do very nicely with that ceiling. Or possibly a peach with a fair bit of orange in it.

If you'd prefer something less dramatic, go for a shade of cream or beige. I think leaving the wall white actually makes it look darker.

mischief said...

I think we're on the same wavelength. Last time I was wall painting, our colours were quite autumny. Orange entryway, yellowy/mustard kitchen, and a warm brownish/green most other places. I loved it! Then we messed it up by trying to do some cooler colours in the bedrooms and it really screwed up the whole "flow" of the place.

(Maybe I'll bring paint chips with me when we go for not-corn-dogs.)