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Keep the Green carpeting and paint Football Field hash marks on it. Paint a crowd scene on the paneling, and "STEELERS" on the long ends of the room. Immediately sell house to Football fan!
If you go with the pink kitchen, buy a FEW pieces of retro 50s Danish modern furniture for the living room. It would probably be best to keep to one theme or era in the house. Since the plan is to go Victorian by the end of the decade, there is no sense in loading up on furniture you can't take with you.
That paneling is so awful, please post a picture of it burning in the bonfire when you are done with this project.
Thanks to everyone who gave feedback! I appreciate all the tips.
Underneath the carpet is a very rustic-looking wood floor, probably not the kind you would re-finish, but it might look good painted. I think I'm just going to put some neutral carpet in.
I think I'm going to leave the paneling and paint it, because (1) I won't have to deal with re-trimming the room and (2) the plaster underneath, judging by the plaster in the rest of the house, is probably in poor condition (covered with 10 layers of wallpaper and painted over) and it would be another expense restoring it. Also, I discovered when lifting the ceiling tiles that underneath the paneling... is MORE paneling! There is actually real wood knotty pine paneling underneath the paneling that is up now, but only on one wall.
The original ceiling above the drop ceiling is plaster and it's in very good condition. I was originally going to put a new tin drop ceiling in, because of the gap above the paneling on the walls, but I like the idea of putting a crown moulding and shelving above the top perimeter of the room. It will give me space to display my Royal Doulton Victorian Lady china figurines, some books, and my antique radios, if it doesn't look ridiculous. lol
I hope you will keep us updated and post pics of your progress.
I think your current kitchen would work very well if you went pink, and doing that, along with painting the paneling and removing the dropped ceiling, will make a big difference for the amount you'll spend on it.
By the way, is there a dining room between the living room and kitchen, and if so, what condition is it in? More paneling? (Sorry - if I'm being too nosy just ignore it - but, I love looking at houses and rehab projects).
By the way, is there a dining room between the living room and kitchen, and if so, what condition is it in? More paneling? (Sorry - if I'm being too nosy just ignore it - but, I love looking at houses and rehab projects).
When you walk into the house you are in the living room (the paneled room), then there is a wall with a doorway (staircase behind the wall) separating the living room from the Kitchen. There is a bathroom addition behind the kitchen. There is no formal dining room. Upstairs there are two rooms (bedrooms) in the same layout as the first floor. It's basically four rooms: living room, kitchen, and two bedrooms. And a full basement and bathroom addition off the back.
One of the upstairs bedrooms has the original plaster walls and wood trim. The other bedroom was drywalled and re-trimmed at some point. They did a nice job, but I just wish the trim matched between the two rooms. Another issue I'm dealing with is the previous owner took out the original doors and put in those folding accordion style plastic doors. Yuck! The originals (there are two left in the house) were five panel (horizontal panel) wood doors with jet black knobs.
Thanks to everyone who gave feedback! I appreciate all the tips.
Underneath the carpet is a very rustic-looking wood floor, probably not the kind you would re-finish, but it might look good painted. I think I'm just going to put some neutral carpet in.
I think I'm going to leave the paneling and paint it, because (1) I won't have to deal with re-trimming the room and (2) the plaster underneath, judging by the plaster in the rest of the house, is probably in poor condition (covered with 10 layers of wallpaper and painted over) and it would be another expense restoring it. Also, I discovered when lifting the ceiling tiles that underneath the paneling... is MORE paneling! There is actually real wood knotty pine paneling underneath the paneling that is up now, but only on one wall.
The original ceiling above the drop ceiling is plaster and it's in very good condition. I was originally going to put a new tin drop ceiling in, because of the gap above the paneling on the walls, but I like the idea of putting a crown moulding and shelving above the top perimeter of the room. It will give me space to display my Royal Doulton Victorian Lady china figurines, some books, and my antique radios, if it doesn't look ridiculous. lol
Sounds like a good plan! I was afraid of what the plaster under the panelling would look like if you removed it... And why on earth people put up those hideous drop ceilings when there is nothing wrong with the plaster above it I will never understand!!!
When you walk into the house you are in the living room (the paneled room), then there is a wall with a doorway (staircase behind the wall) separating the living room from the Kitchen. There is a bathroom addition behind the kitchen. There is no formal dining room. Upstairs there are two rooms (bedrooms) in the same layout as the first floor. It's basically four rooms: living room, kitchen, and two bedrooms. And a full basement and bathroom addition off the back.
One of the upstairs bedrooms has the original plaster walls and wood trim. The other bedroom was drywalled and re-trimmed at some point. They did a nice job, but I just wish the trim matched between the two rooms. Another issue I'm dealing with is the previous owner took out the original doors and put in those folding accordion style plastic doors. Yuck! The originals (there are two left in the house) were five panel (horizontal panel) wood doors with jet black knobs.
Okay, thanks. Sounds exactly like my friend's rowhouse in London.
As for the upstairs: Fitting doors is my personal nightmare, but you've got to get rid of those accordion plastics! Too bad the originals weren't stashed away in the basement - I was lucky to find a couple when I was rehabbing a Victorian I bought here.
I'm looking forward to your updates; I'm imagining I'll be facing the same situation with whatever I end up buying in Pittsburgh at my price point. We had the same paneling/dropped ceiling phase in New York, but most of it has been resold and rehabbed already.
After 2 days here(the Pittsburgh forum), I'm moving the thread to where it should have been posted in the first place, namely the Home Interior Design and Decorating forum. After the local input I'm sure getting some advice from outside of the region could help too.
Yac.
Another choice for handling that paneling is to get a wall mural or any loose-print wallpaper you love and paste it up there, to cover the entire wall. Might have to tape the grooves. Then whatever a couple of the main colors are in the wall covering, that should be what you paint the kitchen, just keep the kitchen color a somewhat muted version. I very much like the idea of you exposing the floors, and glad the original ceiling is still there for you. If you just paint the paneling, at least put a big piece of art over it. Go wild with the fireplace, put some plants by the window and a mirror nearby to reflect light and greenery around.
If you're going to paint over the paneling, you need to use a deglossing product (liquid sandpaper) which will rough up the finish of the paneling so that the paint will adhere and stay on the paneling. Otherwise you'll wind up with paint that blisters and peels because of the type of finish that most wood paneling has.
I have painted paneling in my house and it does make it look much better. It gives it a sort of cottage look.
Good luck!
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