Thursday, December 6, 2012

Dining Room and Foyer: Before and After Knotty Pine Paneling

My very first thought when we looked at the house, was that the Dining Room could be beautiful.  From the beginning, I could see the Pickwick Pine (aka knotty pine paneling) painted white, the walls opened up and a dramatic chandelier.  But not everyone shared my vision :-)  I heard lots of comments like "Seriously, you're going to leave that paneling?  Are you crazy?" So it took some convincing!

We didn't make huge changes to the room - but we did eliminate that weird closet at the bottom of the steps and its trap door to the basement.  Now there is a nice open landing, which provides a great focal point for artwork.

Dining Room Before - a sea of Pickwick Pine and Acoustic Tile Ceilings
Dining Room After - Light and Bright
Do you remember the pine built-in hutch?  It took more hours that I thought to fix it up.  But it was worth it.  It's a great vintage piece that provides nice storage and a place for display.  The glass shelves, interior light and frosted glass Restoration Hardware drawer pulls really dress it up.


















But probably more dramatic than the dining room is the addition of a foyer.  This was originally a porch, but once we knocked down the walls and added some built ins, it's a great addition to the house. And it gives you that open feeling from the minute you walk through the front door!
Original View Coming Through the Front Door

A Real Foyer with Closets and a Boot Bench
And finally, I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of the open floor plan.  It gives you an idea how different a house can look, when you take out a few walls.
View from Living Room - Before
View from Living Room - After

Open Floor Plan
We're always renovating tired little cottages and making them a great place for today's families.  Want to see more?  Like us on Facebook!


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50 comments:

  1. Fantastic!!!. Do you sell the furnished?

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    1. Ha, no, not at this point! We have 2 storage facilities full of furniture that I mix and match for staging. But we keep saying we should probably get rid of some of it, to at least pare down to one storage unit!

      Thanks so much for visiting the blog.

      Laurel

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  2. Still saying WOW.

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  3. you guys have done a fantastic job on that house! i love the before and afters! amazing work!

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    1. Thanks so much. We thought we could finish this place in 4 months, but it took a full 6 months to get it done. But worth every bit of effort!

      Laurel

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  4. I'm over from Better After, and this is STUNNING! Very well done! I love love love an open floor plan, and this has me drooling!

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  5. Saw this at before and after and had to come leave some love. What an AMAZING transformation!!!

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  6. Visiting from Better After....This is so amazing I just had to click over and see the rest. Beautifully done! And I'm so glad you kept the paneling and painted. Can't imagine a better look for the room. Fantastic job! Merry Christmas!

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  7. Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments!!! We loved this project and are thrilled with how well it came out. Thanks for visiting the blog and stay tuned as we start our next project!

    Laurel

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  8. Wow - amazing! This looks like something I'll be dreaming about.

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  9. stopping by from better after. i am currently looking at a house and one of the bedrooms is paneling just like you room above. i looked at my mom and said oh i can do SO much with this room!! she's like, you're crazy! any helpful tips you can pass on to me? email me please! jcwalter919@gmail.com thanks girl! and again - it all looks awesome!!

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  10. This is just beautiful! Great job. I'm wondering what color you painted the walls. It is the perfect color.

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  11. What paint color is used in this room?

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  12. The walls are a Benjamin Moore color called Early Morning Mist. And the pine paneling and trim is all painted White Dove. We wanted a very neutral color palette that would allow you to introduce color with accents. Glad to hear you like it! And thanks for visiting the blog!

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  13. Loving the transformation!! What is the light fixture in the foyer?

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    1. Isn't the cage fixture great with the Edison light bulb in it? It's from Restoration Hardware. Thanks for reading the blog!

      Laurel

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  14. Hi, I just saw your transformation on Better After. It's right up my alley since I have the cottage feel going on in my home too! I love the after's and the dining room light fixture is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Holy cow! I love what you've done with this home! You have amazing vision. I so enjoyed my visit to your blog.

    Warmly, Michelle

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  16. boring! boring! boring! horribly dull color pallate, God forbid anything resemble wood, you ruined the house. Sterile bland white and pukey taupe. Dreadful dining room.

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    1. That is so rude, I think this place looks fantastic! Light bright airy and cheerful...unlike yourself, which is why you liked the before photos!

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    2. Thanks for coming to my defense!! Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion :-) And I think the dining room looks much nicer now!!!

      Laurel @ SoPo Cottage

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    3. I'm not for painting knotty pine, but it didn't look good with laminate flooring & it looks much bigger & nicer. Great job.

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    4. I also painted a dining room in our house that had had the dark plastic laminate wood paneling and it made such a difference. You couldn't see the furniture for the dark wood, we put in wood crown molding at top and bottom before, and it just FEELS so much better to me. Your remodel looks fantastic.

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    5. It sounds like your paint job made a world of difference! Plus the additional molding must make it look much more sophisticated. Congrats!!

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  17. Can you tell me what you did prior to painting? Did you sand and/or use primer? I'm planning to do my bedroom & kitchen and yours looks beautiful so any info would be great

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    1. I should warn you that it's a lot of work! We sanded the walls down first. Then we applied a coat of oil based primer (we used a sprayer and back brushed to get into all the grooves. Also needed serious respiratory protection!). In a couple of places we still had some 'bleed', so we ended up hand painting primer over those spots. Then we applied two coats of latex. It really looked fabulous when we were done!

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  18. The orb chandelier is amazing! Where did you pick up that simple beauty?

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    Replies
    1. Isn't it gorgeous? I ordered it from Ballard Design.

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  19. It's very nice, but i can't believe you painted that gorgeous wood paneling in that room! You kinda lost the cozy feel. Plus now it looks just like every newer home out there. Don't get me wrong, i do like it, but its too nice a material to have painted. :'(

    i absolutely LOVE your light fixture!! and your tile is very nice too

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  20. fantastic results! we are painting all of the wood-paneling in our fixer upper as well! What kind of tile did you use in the foyer?

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    1. It is a product made in the US that mimics travertine. But it's ceramic, so it doesn't need any special care! I wish I could remember the name of it.....but my memory isn't quite that good! Sorry. But check your local tile dealer. This type of product has become very popular and I'm sure you can find some good options.

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  21. I hope this isn't too intrusive, but what was the price range on this project, with wall removal? Also, did you have a specialized contractor or engineer for the wall removal? Did you save or use some sort of improvement loan? We're liking to do similar, so any feedback is appreciated.

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    1. I really can't share costs.....because they differ so wildly from one location to another, it just wouldn't be helpful. For wall removal, I always have an engineer spec the engineered beams that are required to carry the load. This is also required for getting permits. And we work with our local bank with a line of credit, which allows us to withdraw the money as we need it. Hope that helps and good luck!

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  22. What did you use to paint your pine paneling? I have some in my living room I really would like to paint vs replacing with new drywall and would love some tips on what you used!

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    1. Please take a look at the comments above, with the instructions. The key is to use an oil based primer. In my case I used a Sherwin Williams product, but I think another brand would be fine. If you see any bleed through with knots, you can go over it with BIN primer. Good luck!

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  23. Thank you for this inspiring post! My whole main floor of my home is knotty pine and I plan to sell in the next 12 months. So stumped on whether to rip it all out and sheetrock or leave as-is. Now your post has thrown a 3rd option into the ring! Looks so beautiful

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    1. My vote is paint it! It's a big job, but provides a great textural backdrop for your room. So much more interesting than drywall!

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  24. When you sanded, did you just scuff up the old finish or remove all of it. Tackling a very similiar project in next week. And did you you start with a heavy grit sandpaper and go back over with finer ones? Thanks.

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    1. We just scuffed up the old finish, so the new paint would adhere. The biggest key to success is using an oil based primer. You may find on some of the knots, you need 2-3 coats! They tend to keep bleeding through.

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  25. Do you have any advice for painting wood paneling? I have a wood paneled living room/dining room with white carpet and we were going to replace it, but then I saw this post.
    My husband is worried about insulation too with wood paneling.

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    1. I should warn you that it's a lot of work! We sanded the walls down first. Then we applied a coat of oil based primer (we used a sprayer and back brushed to get into all the grooves. Also needed serious respiratory protection!). In a couple of places we still had some 'bleed', so we ended up hand painting primer over those spots. Then we applied two coats of latex. It really looked fabulous when we were done!

      Regarding insulation - there is usually drywall/plaster behind paneling. So unless you're planning on gutting the walls, it would still be a challenge to insulate behind the paneling.

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  26. I've been considering painting the knotty pine in my very small kitchen. The walls and cabinets are all knotty pine and you feel very closed in. This remodel gave me some much needed inspiration. Beautiful job.

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  27. I just came across your blog while looking for suggestions on refreshing the wood walls in our living room. I noticed that you took the wood off one of the walls - was that hard to do? Did you have to replace the sheet rock underneath?

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  28. The paneling came off pretty easily, but the plaster behind it was a mess (and the wall was smaller due to opening up the doorway to the living room), so we just put up new sheetrock!

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  29. What finish did you use on the painted paneling? Eggshell? I’m about to paint my knotty pine and can’t seem to get an answer. Your photo inspired me.

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    1. I always use a satin finish on woodwork. Particularly in an old house, it doesn't highlight any flaws!!!

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  30. As nice as it is. I love wood and would leave the wood and use trim and other items to brighten it.

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