We finally have updates!!!!

Just a reminder of what we were working with here.

We showed you in our previous blogs “What goes up, must come down” and “Trimming out the foyer” the inspiration for the foyer as well as the mess of taking down all the old wallpaper(s).

First things first, we had to deal with the old vinyl tile floor throughout the foyer and dining room.  We knew underneath was the original hardwood floor, although we didn’t know what condition it was in.  What else we didn’t know was that under the tile was a thin piece of lauan which was attached to the hardwood with 3,000 stables that had to be yanked out by hand.

We celebrated our triumph over the staples, a task we never thought would end!  The floors were then refinished, then FINALLY we started to get the trim up on the walls.

On the second floor, we decided to paint the top 1/4 of the wall Anew Gray from Sherwin Williams.  We debated using grasscloth here, but to keep costs down we decided to paint because we can add grasscloth later if we want.

In case you didn’t know, there are approximately 100 million “whites” to chose from when searching for a paint color.  We knew we had to get it right because you see so much of it and it’s the first thing you see when you walk in the door.  We wanted something bright and crisp, but nothing florescent.  We chose “Snowbound” from Sherwin Williams.  This decision set the tone–if you will–for the rest of the trim throughout the whole house.

Lets fast forward past 14 tubes of caulk, a 4-hour sanding party, 2 layers of primer, and 4 coats of paint.  Here is the final result–as it would be, we trimmed it in white!  FUN FACT: There are 97 squares in the foyer!

You may notice the lack of hanging wall art.  We debated whether to hang art or not, but ultimately decided not to because we wanted to showcase the trim.

We found a carpet remnant from our friend Carrie at Carpet One that we had installed as the runner for the stairs.  We totally lucked into finding something that we loved so quickly, not to mention it was a great wool carpet that originally was expensive, but as carpet left over from a previous job was inexpensive.  What we didn’t think we were going to find so easily was a light fixture for the foyer.  Every night after caulking and painting, we would search the internet for the right fixture.  We weren’t having any luck as nothing seemed to fit the bill. Every one we seemed to like was at least $800 or was back-ordered.  So, just to move forward with a temporary fix, we decided to use a fixture that we had in a cardboard box for at least 7 years. It was a light that we had bought at a super clearance sale that was just to good to pass up, but had never had the right place to put it.  Much to our surprise after putting it up, we thought it was perfect and decided to keep it.  It was small and it actually fit the bill-not too ornate, and updated traditional.

All in all, the foyer wasn’t an inexpensive feat, but it has been worth every dime because it’s what everyone talks about when they first walk in, and we still LOVE IT!!!

Special thanks to our amazing photographer and realtor friend Shaun Ring for taking the awesome photos!

Unlike our last house, this house actually has a foyer.  Before, you walked directly into the kitchen, so we focused on trying to make that space welcoming–which often times with dirty dishes was an uphill battle.  This foyer–as bad as the wallpaper was–was already pretty welcoming, but we really wanted to make a bold statement, and how else did we do that but with trim!

Here was our inspiration…

When it comes to trim, both of us prefer shaker or simple flat panel styles.  Our overall taste is updated traditional, with the keyword being “updated”, meaning having traditional lines in updated refined finishes.  So when this crosses over to trim, less detail is more.  Here are the current in-progress photos of our foyer.

Up the stairs! The landing still has to be done.

You can see the old chair rail paint line going up the stairs

Through that door is the powder! You can see the board and batton trim happening in there!

Over the door! and Crown moulding!

We continued the trim-work throughout the foyer, up the stairs, and around the 2nd floor landing.  On the landing, we stopped the trim 3/4 of the way up the wall and added a ledge.  We will either paint an accent color or add grassclothe to the top.

There is still more work to do!  Nail holes have to be filled and sanded, the edges need to be caulked and primed, and then finally painted… WHITE!