With the holidays and a bout of the flu, things have been running a little slow on the PrairieMod-ification of the little red house. However, this weekend, we we're back on track and we made some forward progress on the "model room."
The "model room" (for those who are wondering) is our attempt to put into practice the ideas for the entire house in one room to test them out. In this way, we can work out all the different color, trim, shelving and decorating ideas in a controlled environment to help stay focused and also to help control costs. When it is all done, the room will help us in solidifying our ideas and will serve as a "model" for the rest of the house. So what have we learned so far?
When we started, the room was royal blue with sports wall paper cut-outs affixed to it in a running border pattern. The ceiling was pretty scuffed up, all the trim and wooden beams were painted a beige color and the closet was bright blue and canary yellow. Not pretty. Here's some photos of the work in progress:
We removed the wall paper decals and patched the walls. Then, because the existing color scheme made the room seem really small, we chose a lighter, latte color to paint the walls and closet with. Next came a tough decision.
One of the biggest struggles I've had with the little red house has been with the painted woodwork. I love natural wood, and the use of its color and texture throughout a living space is one of the ways you can apply the PrairieMod Principle of "Think Natural." Unfortunately, someone had long ago painted over the once natural wood in our house. Trying to get it back has caused me much angst--do we use lots of chemicals, time and money to try and strip the old wood? Do we remove it and put new wood up? Do we try and cover it up with some new wood? These options all have costs involved that are undesirable for many different reasons.
After a lot of thought and "Considering the Cost" for all the different scenarios, we decided to try painting the beams white. Why? My sister had shown me some photos in an issue of Atomic Ranch with a white beamed ceiling interior in a house much like the little red house. It looked very clean, very modern and very bright. That got me thinking. Since the beams are already painted, painting them white is not as undesirable as painting natural wood would be. It also helps make the room seem much brighter and larger than before (and in a smaller and darker home, brighter is good!) The best part of all is that the original wood is kept intact and less money is spent. Sometimes, "Considering the Cost" also means considering an option that initially was not one.
We still plan to incorporate the beauty of natural wood in the trim and baseboard, thus enabling us to enjoy this aspect after all in the house. The hope is that when the "model room" is complete, we'll have a real world blue print to follow for the rest of the house. Check in the weeks to come to see the finished "model room" and what the next steps will be. As always, we'd love to hear any helpful feedback or thoughts. Until next week!
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