HipForum

Question: I am helping remodel a home and we are adding on to make a kitchen, dining and maybe a living area. I would like to know what we can do with the old kitchen area and old dining area. The old kitchen will be about 14 x 8 or so with doors on two sides. The old dining will be around 10 x 10 with doors on every side. I need help to figure out what to use these rooms for. Thank you.
First, thanks so much for your question. It is getting close to spring which means people will be starting up remodeling projects of every kind. I actually have a couple of neat suggestions for you that you might consider with the extra space. When designating space inside a home, there are several basic questions you need to ask yourself. How is the space situated in the home? What is the adjoining space used for and can the new space be used in conjunction? Answering these questions will give you some guidance as to how you can best optimize the area.
My suggestion for the kitchen area is to create a “walk-through” multipurpose room that holds a pantry area, a work area, and a storage area combination. The two door design gives the perfect flow of traffic through the room. The pantry area should contain sturdy wooden shelves for non-perishables, large glass containers, and similar food and staple items. A solid wooden four leg desk with chairs will make the perfect working space, perhaps for a computer or similar hobby. Finish the room off with some standing cabinets for simple tools, cleaning agents, or whatever needs to be stored in an enclosed container.
As far as the old dining area is concerned, I’ve always been partial to having a smaller eating area for informal meals or breakfast. The four door design must mean that the room is easily accessible from all points of the floor. The plan makes this area perfect for gathering, eating, and fellowship. Hope this helps.

Question: What are the color choices for the exterior walls of a Tudor style home?

Thanks for the question. First, I’ll give you a bit of background for those not familiar with this construction style. For all of you Southerners, the Tudor home is one of the classy jewels of English domestic architecture that is a mainstay in the northern part of the country. The Tudor home has a clean, traditional look about it that many people fall in love with. Often, the upper floor of the home juts out over the bottom floor, as building space was at a premium during the times the homes were built. Some of the other features of the home include solid oak support beams, the introduction of windows for natural light, and the presence of a hearty fireplace in the kitchen or living room area.

As far as color schemes for this particular house, or any for that matter, it is strictly a matter of taste. But my advice is to keep in line with the traditional color schemes. It has always been a traditional design, with the Tudor home, to go with a darker trim surrounding a soft, pale base color. For example, deep browns and blues have traditionally been a popular trim color depending on which part of the country you live in. I have even seen some extremely dark greens that work out well.

For the base color of the home, the range of color can go from stark white to an even cream tone. It is important to remember that a paint sample on a chip in the paint store has the possibility of looking entirely different on an entire home. You should consult the experts in the paint store for specific information. It might even be a good idea to bring them a picture of your home to ask their advice. Thanks for the question.

Question: We have bead board walls in my kitchen and they are pulling away from the wall at the seams. What do I use to affix them to the wall again? Also can I remove the paint from the bead board, or do I just paint over it?

Since you already have bead board installed in your home, then I do not have to spend a whole lot of time explaining the benefits of this versatile product. Bead board is an excellent material that serves a variety of purposes such as covering unsightly wall blemishes (such as cracked plaster or nicks and dings in your dry wall) or just spicing up the room with a new look. Bead board is very lightweight and super easy to work with. Bead board gives a fresh, new look to any room in your home. Let’s talk specifically about what to do to repair the sheets of bead board that are separating from the wall. I think you will find that it is quite easy t make these repairs yourself.

The best way to repair your bead board is to use the same materials that you used to install it in the first place. These materials include construction adhesive, a hammer and tapping block, finishing nails, and a nail set. First, examine the bead board for cracks and blemishes. If there are some evident you might want to install a replacement sheet. Place beads of construction adhesive on the back of the board. Press the board gently onto the wall, tapping it into place using a hammer and a tapping block. Then, pull the board away from the wall again and re-stick (which will improve the performance of the adhesive). Finally, secure the board with finishing nails and recess the heads with a nail set. Finish up by caulking all of the gaps and joints.

Concerning the part of your question about whether or not to strip the paint from your old bead board or simply paint over it, my suggestions to you is to simply paint over it to save yourself a great deal of trouble. One thing that will help is if you choose a paint hue darker than the original. Hope this helps!