We are gearing up for our reveal of the living room on Monday, but the renovation and design process of the house was so overwhelming (in the typical fashion) that I captured photos/footage but often didn’t share/post as much as I should have about the design process. It’s like it happened both so slowly (over 3 years) and yet with so much happening at once I didn’t do the best job of rolling it in real time. So we are going to recap some of the spaces and deep dive/dissect some of the design elements before we reveal the rooms. Today is all about the living room (with of course a sneak peek at the end) and I have some more clarity around my conflicted feelings about our custom paneling. Settle in, folks. It’s a thing. Everything is a thing.
When we first toured the listing in 2018 this room had so much potential, clearly. You are greeted pretty immediately by this room (after the entry – did you see the reveal on Monday?) and she is big, architecturally interesting, and the problems and solutions were immediate and clear.
What We Wanted To Change:
- She was DARK. Both with a lack of light and dark in tone/color. Now after living in the PNW for two years, I can say that there is a case for the dark/cozy room for sure (blog post, maybe?). But our first reaction was to lighten it up – in every way possible – ceiling color, add more doors/windows, and paint the walls. Again, I also recognize this was my natural light-obsessed California brain talking, but I don’t regret anything that we did light-wise in here.
- The flooring was from the 90s and not the worst, but not original or special. We knew that since we were opening it up with the kitchen we’d likely need to replace it all.
- The electrical/hard lighting situation was not helping – there were only 4 small sconces and you could just tell that once we’d try to replace those we’d see a lot more electrical issues (we were right).
- It felt almost unusably large, almost like the lobby of a lodge. This room just took up so much square footage, with the kitchen being undersized for the house. How do you make this space usable for a family of four without adding a million pieces of furniture to fill out the space?
What We Loved And Wanted To Keep:
- The three diamond windows were so pretty, but we knew we wanted to open that wall to the backyard (and future porch). We salvaged them and used them upstairs and in the pantry. Now at first, we were just going to put one French door in between the two big windows (which could totally have worked although I love what we did).
- The ceiling architecture is so pretty – so many older homes have damaged low ceilings so these being 9′ before the beams was a real treat.
- The fireplace is great – super classic, inoffensive, and appropriately sized for the room. It had a stove insert probably for heat purposes and we wanted to make it either wood or gas (so you can see the flame for ambiance).
So We Gutted…
Now no one wants to gut a house, but once we got the inspection report back (which I’ll share more about in a future post) it was clear that literally everything needed to be done to make it safe to live in. EVERYTHING. She is 110 years old and needed more than a facial or a facelift and I am not a plastic surgeon or a miracle maker. ARCIFORM obviously played a huge part in restoring this lady and remodeling it from top to bottom – thank god for them.
The paint had lead, the electrical was dangerous, and there was likely no insulation – all the normal old house stuff. So after the demo, there was some hope of getting the room that we really wanted.
We knew that we wanted to have a door to the backyard and worked with Sierra Pacific on these gorgeous scenic doors that needed a HUGE opening. Then we flanked it with two large double-hung windows. Doing these changes is a real thing and requires proper engineering and permits as well as installing a large track for the doors (so you have to fur out your walls to be at least a foot thick, among other things). The day they cut that hole we could see our future, despite it still looking like a horror house. We were incredibly excited.
It felt like such progress and we were full of hope. The Soake pool is where that pile of dirt is now, a much much prettier view. We centered the doors on the fireplace which was the right thing to do (but did give us a competing focal point and created some flow questions/issues which are now resolved).
Here you can see what it looked like with drywall, white oak windows (from Sierra Pacific), and Zena white oak flooring. This was right before any of the trim or paneling went up and if I’m being totally honest I prefer this no-paneling look (more on that later). I even kinda like it without window trim. But is it weird to have a 100-year-old four-square craftsman and eliminate the window trim and baseboard? Literally everyone said, “YES, THAT IS SUPER WEIRD”. Also, we had the original vintage windows upstairs that we felt needed trim. I wasn’t pushing for this, but the point is I liked how clean and simple it was. Your eye went to the white oak and not a bunch of millwork. But when we were designing this we were living in our timeless white oak, Scandi mountain house and I have grown to prefer the no trim window look. I may be very wrong about this BTW – so many people who I respect disagree with me.
Ok, so here is where a hiccup came for me (many people don’t agree with me). We chose to do horizontal large beadboard paneling in here to add some architectural texture, but only up to the window sill. When we fell in love with this look it was at Anne’s cabin where she did it really high up and white-washed it so you could still see the knots and grain. We chose to instead paint it. Fine. How could that go wrong? It added a pretty wall element, of course, but it also made the room more formal – something I’ve been battling since we moved in. You’ll see…
I love the paneling when it was wood but it was poplar and not stain grade (same with the window trim). All the millwork was custom run, btw, which was extremely expensive (over $60k just for the materials for the whole house including the family room, out bedroom ceiling, mudroom, and the kitchen) – not including labor to install. Brian and I were ADAMANT that this was an architectural element we wanted so badly. This wasn’t something we were on the fence about – we were POSITIVE. I don’t consider any of this a mistake, it’s just looking back I don’t think we needed it for this room.
What Do I Wish We Had Done Instead?
Now, I want to be very clear that Jamie and the ARCIFORM team designed and executed this PERFECTLY. This was a design choice that Brian and I made. Now that the living room is done, I feel differently but many many times I wished we had done stain-grade white oak window and door casing to match the windows, with white baseboards and no paneling. I’m over it and I mostly love this room, but I have this pathological compulsion to expose myself to anyone that comes into my house or blog. (I’m like that dog who immediately rolls over and shows you her belly upon first meeting. I love so much about this house – which I will yell loud and proud, but I’ve struggled with the paneling in here SO MUCH. And it’s OK! This room is objectively SO PRETTY and I feel like I’m allowed to show and tell you all my regrets without people thinking that I’m complaining or that I don’t think that it’s so pretty. It is. Very rarely do you do something custom and expensive and realize later you not only didn’t need it but perhaps would have liked it better without doing that expensive thing. So if you’ve done that in any way before know that you aren’t alone.
But we had to keep moving… we were moving in in a matter of weeks.
When we walked in after the priming I had mixed feelings (accompanied by a pit in my stomach). I was so happy that the ceiling was bright and white, but I missed all the warmth of the wood and realized that painting the paneling and trim work was not going to be the look I had originally wanted. But when it was masked off like this you couldn’t see the wood flooring, wood windows, or wood cabinets. There was so much wood in here!!! Surely it was warm but we just couldn’t see it! But I just felt so disappointed in myself (these were all my decisions, BTW, not ARCIFORM – they were mostly here for the layout and weighing in on my choices, getting square footage and drawings, etc, but these design decisions came from us).
Ok, What’s The Biggest Challenge With The Paneling?
My biggest issue is that trim work can look more formal and fancy – but going too simple can look builder-grade. I love the profile that ARCIFORM designed for us (a 4″ with a tiny bead on both ends). Having the paneling only installed to wainscot height (we chose window sill) made it hard for me because painting them the same color as the walls would look like we just didn’t make a design decision – like we forgot to create a difference between the painted wood and drywall. And yet painting them two different tones or wallpapering would surely make the room look busier – so many doorways, so many lines, so much contrast. It just wasn’t what I had originally envisioned.
So on the two days before them finishing the paint job on, I pitched to Brian for them to paint the paneling a light tone of blue. We loved the color of our doors on the second floor (see here), so in UTTER HASTE, we were like, “Let’s just do that”. This was not my best moment, but likely relatable.
When we walked in after the first coat, both of our bodies and mouths screamed, “OH DEAR GOD, NO”. I think Brian made some sort of “Easter house” remark. Cool, cool, cool. We fully realized we were rushing it all and that is not the best head space to be in. But as you can see painting and repainting paneling is a THING.
I was starting to panic. Brian reminded me that our mountain house is 100% white and wood and we love it. Right! yes! White! Maybe it will be ok??? With literally ZERO time to make a different decision (without holding everyone up) we asked them to go back to the original plan and just paint it all white.
When we walked in on move-in day (the finished cleanup the day before) I loved so much about the house and this room. It was so transformed and I saw so much beauty. But it’s like my stomach knew before my eyes did and I got a pit immediately. So many people had worked so hard on this house, that for me to say anything negative out loud was not going to happen. But to me, the living room looked so unfinished. At the time the only solution was to build a time machine to go back and not put up the paneling and use white oak window and door trim to match the interiors of the window. In case you are wondering why we didn’t do that it’s because we just financially and mentally couldn’t go back into the construction phase. I couldn’t rip stuff off that we had just spent SO MUCH MONEY to custom-make and install. Ironically, it was a bit of a dark time for me because I kept it all inside besides the occasional breakdowns to Brian. I was just so disappointed in myself and full of regret, but nothing was so bad that it was a mistake that needed to be fixed. No pity here – FYI, I had opposite reactions to the kitchen, mudroom, sunroom, and our bathroom – all so beautiful I wanted to cry and can’t wait to show you the rest of them soon. But this room!! I really felt like I messed up on this room in a non-fixable way and yet I KNEW that it wasn’t a huge deal that was worth losing sleep over.
We Moved In… August 2021
Our rental lease was up, school was starting in eight days and I was DETERMINED to move in and get the kids settled before they started school. It had been a long, mentally rough year and in my mind moving in would solve all my woes. So without construction fully finished (ARCIFORM busted their asses to get us that close – THANK YOU), we moved in and decided to live with the furniture we had for a while, which was the best decision (and really we didn’t have a choice)… Once I got art up on the walls it was starting to feel more like our home. I liked being in the space a lot but the words “stark,” “cold” and “unfinished” always floated around.
A reader, Misty, reached out and offered to photoshop the living room with different paint/wallpaper options.
Now these colors I don’t think are very representative of the samples I had. Both of these were meant to be WAY more muted (or at least they seemed to be that way in person). But my reaction was so bad when I saw them photoshopped that I didn’t even want to consider pursuing or tweaking. But as you can see, for a while I thought about painting the walls a light color of the pink bedroom upstairs which I love SO MUCH. The photoshopping just made it a hard no.
Then I asked her to put the entry wallpaper in here (which wasn’t up yet, obviously). Sometimes I think it’s just the rendering and now that it’s in the entry I’m wondering if I should have done this paper instead in the living room, but the photoshopped photos did NOT convince me (and it would be very expensive so not something you just “try”).
I even asked Misty to do a different neutral on the walls and paneling/trimwork that was not yellow, but it sure looked like it was!
I almost gave up on doing anything until I found this soft blue/gray called ‘Mantra‘ which is really pretty. We left for a weekend and it was done in one day. Painting drywall isn’t a big deal, it’s the paneling that is (requires so much paint, sanding between coats, etc).
It does look pretty, for sure. And at this point, so many of the other elements make me so happy so I’ve stopped fixating on the paneling.
Shoot Approaching – Time For Furniture and Accessories
In case you missed it we customized our dream coffee table (that we are obsessed with) with two local makers (shout out to Purl and Billy). Read this post if you want to learn how we did it or how much it cost.
The Layout
Then we arranged and rearranged literally every piece of furniture to try to find the right combination… I wrote a post about my dream sofa and how we landed on this one.
We even produced a Youtube video with Michael Raines to walk you through the layout issues and show you where we landed.
Sneak Peek
The full reveal coming on Monday (if I get my act together to write it in time!). There are a few more elements that I need to walk you through that we’ll be deep diving into this week before the reveal. So for all of us design nerds, we’ll be diving into our fun window panels and art!
Geez, she is nothing if not wordy. This blog started out 14 years ago as a journal, so sometimes that’s what you still get. 🙂 Come back Monday!!
And a huge thanks to ARCIFORM for the architectural design and perfect execution of the carpentry in this house. Just because I don’t like every single of my own design decisions doesn’t mean that they didn’t do their part perfectly. Anne, Stephyn, and Jamie – THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF THIS LADY’S PROJECT 🙂
*The Pretty Photos by Kaitlin Green
Hi! Just my two cents and maybe it’s a cultural thing (I live in Europe) but I love the panneling and don’t think it makes the room formal at all: I actually thinks it gives it a more farmhouse vibe if that makes sense? Also, one of the first things I noticed when I first saw this room was precisely the white window and door casing paired with the wood windows: it’s so much more “clean” and airy as opposed to all oak.
In short, I think it looks great (as does the whole house) and can’t wait for the big reveal! Great job and thanks for sharing your journey.
Couldn’t agree more with this! I think part of what Emily is feeling may just be the inevitable second-guessing that comes with infinite design freedom, exacerbated by the pressure/anxiety of doing it all on such a big stage.
I agree 100% also! My childhood home is a 100+-year-old, rustic, New England farmhouse that had similar paneling. It’s a special, but not formal looking detail to me. I am loving the black-and-white photo “reveal”! I spy a set of tartan cafe-curtains! 😍
Agree. This pic from this article https://www.oldhouseonline.com/interiors-and-decor/paneling-wainscoting-old-houses/ is what I think of as “formal” paneling.
I agree about the paneling too- I love the pop of white oak on the windows, framed by the white trim- if the trim was white oak too it would feel like a cabin from the early 90s and the windows wouldn’t feel as special. And the simple plank paneling feels very functional/practical like a farmhouse should- like it’s there to protect the plaster walls from bumps and spills and muddy boots and dog tails.
Oh, Emily, the sneak peak is eye-popping! I think you more than pulled it off and all the decisions you made most likely turned out to be the right ones. Cannot wait until MONDAY!
I must admit I don’t really understand your paneling angst. It looks beautiful and seems to fit the house architecturally. Plus the more formal/traditional millwork is a perfect contrast to all of the modern pieces and art you like. It’s a yin yang thing that just works, at least for me.
P.S. It looks like you found a great spot for some of those incredible Japanese fabrics you bought — I spy cafe curtains in the b&W pic! Can’t wait to see that in color.
I truly love these posts And appreciate your candor with the entire process. I’m about to re paint my living room for the third time and it can feel defeating so seeing that I’m not the only one makes it less lonely 😊
Thanks for sharing this. Not sure why women in particular are so hard on ourselves but it helps to know I am not alone in this. Renovating and designing an interior compound while being a mother and running a blog is an incredible feat. And you continue to do it with grace and style.
Can’t wait for the reveal.
Love this post and the room and I really appreciate your willingness to share “mistakes.” I’m a recovering perfectionist, and it’s so helpful to be reminded of how we’re all human and sometimes we try a thing and we don’t love how it ends up. Hopefully we just keep trying things. Yay for being human!
Thank you for sharing so much! I have to wonder – are you familiar with the economic concept of “sunk cost” – I wonder if it would help with some of your decision making fatigue. It surely has helped me personally!
Emily, could you please elaborate on sunk cost? I googled the definition but would love to know how it relates to decision fatigue. Thanks!
Essentially it says you shouldn’t take into account previous $ or time spent on something when deciding for the future. No matter what your future decision, that cost ($ + time) is already spent. Therefore you should make your decision about future budget, wishes, etc. A lot of times people end up ‘doubling down’ and actually spend more money to keep going based upon previous time/money spent. In the long run, it actually can be beneficial to change course.
In this case, Emily H mentions a lot how she kept the paneling because of the time /investment already spent. I was wondering if she stopped using that as a factor in her decision, if she would still choose to keep it going forward?
So interesting and true. Thanks for sharing!
I have known about the concept of sunk costs in general but you have explained it really clearly and helpfully in regards to decorating. Thank you.
The sunk cost might relate to decluttering too. Essentially someone might think that throwing out 200 worth of stuff is too much and they don’t won’t to do it. Whereas we can also think of it as the cost of having a better space.
Thanks for pointing this out. That’s exactly how I feel when I try to declutter, I could use this shift in perspective!
I think you’re totally nailing it with this house. It’s such a great combination of quiet calm and personality. It’s quirky without screaming and something that I could live in long term and not get tired of. Classy quirk? Quietly interesting? I’ve got it! It feels like it’s got confidence. It knows who it is and doesn’t have to tell to get attention for its amazing details.
I love your honesty with your design process. Design is so HARD, especially when you’re doing your own space–that you have to look at every single day! I agree with you about the paneling and painted trim, but I also know that you’ll still make that room shine! That’s what we love about your blog–how you turn lemons into lemonade. (Also, I don’t think you need to keep pointing out how it’s not ARCIFORM’s fault. We get it.)
Thank you for this honest and thoughtful post.
I agree that panelling is very ‘farmhouse’ It’s great.
I don’t think the panelling is too formal – it’s farmhouse-y. Yes, a smidfen warmer paint colour would be cozier, but it’s totally fine and leads your eye to art, furniture and soft furnishing choices.
Kudos to you for speaking your gut-truths. They say that the gut is the “2nd brain” with all those nerve endings; so we should listen more to our gut.
I am in lurve with the green sofas and sooo wish I could have one just like that in my living room. Dreams.☁️
I spy the patchwork cafe curtains!
Hanging out for the living room reveal now…..⏰
Amen to listening more to our gut!
Yes! It’s the difference between “What do you think?” & “How does it feel?”
I know your natural light-obsessed California brain took over when designing this room, but watching you design this room for years now while I also was renovating, I just kept referencing your Design Mistake post on painting a dark room white! I think the living room wants to be dark and no amount of windows would change its mind lol. We all make mistakes and I appreciate you for admitting yours! Renovating is so hard and time consuming and mistakes get made. I think the shade of blue you picked for the walls definitely helps! Maybe a different shade of white would help too – I want to say it was said sometime on the blog, but I feel like the shade you picked was your favorite for baseboards, but when painted everywhere it is reminiscent of primer, adding to that unfinished look.
We need a poll on the paneling because I also actually really dig it and I seem not to be alone? There are a handful of beautiful features that scream “this is a farmhouse y’all” in a way that I think really pays honor to this homes unique history and the paneling is one of them (also the kitchen sink, and the kitchen island) and I love that. It’s such a fun piece of the unique mixture here. BUT I also feel you, and I love it when you bare your belly to us. I can’t wait to see those cafe curtains.
Add me to the list of paneling fans, and I usually don’t like a “traditional” aesthetic. IMO, you have plenty of wood. The only thing I hope is that you’re not using that blue rug LOL. Personal taste thing, I just don’t love a blue rug (with green or brown sofas) the way you do.
Just one, more addition of wood to the mantel would make all the difference.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and process! For what it’s worth, I am loving that sneak peak at the end. I could see no paneling and the entry wallpaper, or painting the upper wall a lower sheen finish of the same white from the trim. Both would bring a quiet, bright texture as a backdrop for your family life (and of course also your furniture and decor). I don’t see the paneling as formal at all—some styles of millwork can get formal, but this reads very farmhouse-appropriate to me. I am absolutely loving the sofas, coffee table, and the tease of art, pattern, and accessories layered over… It looks welcoming, layered, interesting, and so reflective of you and what we know of your family. So excited to see the reveal on Monday!
Your candor is one of my favorite things about you! The house we’re renovating is also 110 years old and we had to gut for the exact same reasons … only our walls and ceilings were insulated by bee hives and squirrel nests. It’s so overwhelming to always have this giant, never-ending project looming. Thank you for the reminder that even the pros have regrets and it’s okay to change your mind! Love you and your work!
Emily, I feel your pain. I have a teeny tiny house that I bought over 30 years ago and the living room has similar issues. In fact, before I read your story here about paneling, I didn’t realize that my issue with my living room is the paneling! Anyway, I love my house (I actually say “ILove this house” whenever I’m there) but the @#$@!% living room has never come together for me. Two focal points – check, dark – check. I’ve painted it so many times I think it’s actually smaller than when I bought it! I refuse to admit that there is no solution. Do you think sometimes there IS no solution? I’m still working on mine, can’t wait to see yours!
And, thank you, your honesty and putting it all out there is well-needed.
Haha, my dad always teases my mom that they’re losing square footage because of her fairly frequent repainting ; )
“But it’s like my stomach knew before my eyes did and I got a pit immediately.”
I really felt for you reading that sentence. Your gut just knows right, it knows and it’s visceral and there’s nothing you can do about it. And I felt for you. And also, in a project of this scale I reckon it’s probably unreasonable to think that everything will turn out as imagined (even with the best of planning and execution), and completely relatable to be bummed when that happens, especially given the financial and emotional investment involved. Maybe the latter increases expectation and when it’s not fully met, it hits harder.
I hope you love, or learn to love, your living room as much as you love the rest of your home. If the colours in the sneak peek are as I imagine them, then the reveal is going to be awesome!
Honestly, I’m not a fan of the paneling. I think it feels off in direct relation to the more minimal/modern window casings. Kinda like they are working against each other, rather than seamless or complimentary.
Not sure how many longtime readers remember the Curbly house but many of the farmhouse “before” pics remind me of it. The living room was an all time favorite of mine…you managed to lighten & brighten the space with paint while still keeping the original trim & stained wood on the fireplace. Obviously, it was a decade ago (& someone else’s home!) but I do wonder how that approach would’ve translated in this project.
Oh yeah, I remember that. Here’s a post with links to the room reveals: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/the-curbly-makeover-video.
Note: I couldn’t get the correct video to play.
I disagree. The paneling is a minimal take on farmhouse, and to me it’s the perfect counterpart to the simple trim and baseboard. It also lends a subtle but impactful sense of quality and substance to the room, and helps unify the large space.
I disagree. The paneling is a minimal take on farmhouse, and to me it’s the perfect counterpart to the simple trim and baseboard. It also lends a subtle but impactful sense of quality and substance to the room, and helps to unify the large space. It’s easy to imagine you’d prefer the absence of something once it’s already there, but I think the room would feel too scattered without it.
It’s the scale of the paneling that’s off and all the horizontal lines it introduced into the space. It’s the opposite of visual quiet. Maybe if the paneling went 3/4 up the walls and vertical??? I agree with Emily’s assessment that drywall was the way to go.
WOW!! I am utterly impressed you pulled that out from 2013! In my group of friends, I am the expert on pulling things out of the air when someone asks for an example or photo. I can always google my way to a post or website I remember from waayyyyyyy back, but you surpass my skills!! That’s amazing!!! And I do love that living room also!
I think you are so much more constrained than other designers because this is your family home. The idea of a “forever home” is so much pressure because you need something timeless and visually restful (since you plan to be there forever) but exciting enough for your viewers. Sounds like a total bind to me! The house I’d design for others and the one for myself would be very different.
Am I wrong for liking the yellow rendering? I love the warmth and it reminds me of the “before.” Of course, I respect the desire for calmness and the commitment to EHD color palette, but I’d love to see something fun and yellow a la wit and delight. 🤪
This is a great post. I love reading about the kind of agony that comes from being fully invested in a project. I am probably in the minority but I believe being critical and questioning things all the time is very important, even though it can be exhausting. I have high expectations for Emily Henderson projects because I know much effort and care goes into them. This look back will remind me about why the decisions were made the way they were whenever I find myself wanting to see a a bit more wood, a bit more craftsman, a little less shiplap in this space. No matter what the walls have on them, the house will always be compelling becausei is infused with so many personal elements that reflects the struggle to create a home that communicates who you are and what you love.
I spy a gorgeous little café curtain made out of your “ratty” plaid fabrics, haha, and it’s making my heart SING! Don’t be so hard on yourself. When something is expensive we want it to be perfect, perfect, perfect – but don’t let perfect be the enemy of great, because it is very much a GREAT room.
I really appreciate your honesty in this post. It’s pretty impossible to do a major renovation and have no regrets or wish something was different, but you do it for an audience, and that’s much harder.
I’m personally not a fan of the paneling, and not because I think it makes the room too formal. I think the room has a lot going on without it, and to my eye, it makes the room busier. There are multiple openings- windows, doors, archways, and they are all different. That’s in addition to the fireplace and the painted beams in the ceiling- it’s a lot when you have a room with no uninterrupted walls. I think the paneling looks best painted, so it recedes somewhat. I look forward to the reveal.
First of all, I have to say that this room is beautiful. It is challenging because of size and layout, and yet, you have managed to make it cozy and warm. I like the paneling and think it is a nice farmhouse touch. I wonder if you hadn’t done it, if you’d be saying now “if only we had added the paneling”. It’s just so hard when you can’t actually compare the two options. Also, I think I’ve said this before, but it is HARD to design a house in your imagination. I’ve lived in my house for 13 years and spent so much time sitting in rooms thinking of options. I considered them over time, tested paint colors on the walls, and made decisions I mostly liked. Then we renovated our house last year and literally no rooms were the same as the ones we’d been living in before. It was so challenging to design a house I’d never spent a day in. And one that was under construction when decisions were needed. I think you created the most amazing home, and I am in awe of your talent. It is just incredible with so much that is distinct/unique… Read more »
My thought is that in a few years, you’ll really love the paneling & the farmhouse charm it brings to the room. While we can’t see the full reveal in the B&W photo, we can get a slice of some of the decor choices, all which wouldn’t look good or appropriate in your mountain house, but look good in this setting. Different settings, different houses, different looks–but still both airy, eclectic, & lovely.
There is nothing ‘Builder-grade’ about this paneling and what it does to the room. Zero. Zilth. Nil.
I agree that the paneling isn’t my favorite decision! I don’t think it’s bad by any means, and I think the white paint is actually beautiful. It reads crisp but not cold, at least in the photos. I think it would feel saccharine and cliched if you had left the trim unpainted as well and/or if you’d added wallpaper. The more modern choices you went with lend an edge that helps tamp down the MODERN FARMHOUSE! Vibe the paneling could have imparted. I agree my preference would have been no paneling but instead oversized window trim as an architectural element.
THIS RIGHT HERE is what I come here for! Not what shorts to buy. I’m always amazed by your honesty and humility in your design decisions, Emily. And that of your team. We assume that pros have it all figured out and it’s so damn refreshing to know that even YOU have design dilemmas and regrets! Thank you, thank you for your candor!
I agree with you about the paneling not being necessary: maybe a taller paneling would have worked better but the short horizontal lines mess with the height proportions of the room. With all the added frames for the new windows and doors, it’s kind of one-too-many design elements. Looking at all the other stuff you layered on top of the lower portion of the walls — the banquette, the piano, the curtains, art etc. the paneling ends up fading into the background, which does de-emphasize it, but it’s still an architectural feature for the room. Taken as a whole I think it’ll be fine, but I can see your thinking now that the room is done. As for the layout, I’m not one for formality or tons of symmetry, but I liked the first layout with the matching green sofas and cream swivel chairs best: the chairs bring the light fireplace color over to the other side of the room, and tie in the walls and cream accents in the rug. The addition of accessories, textiles, plants etc is bringing in enough “quirk” to soften and relax the vibe. Two mis-matched chairs is a bit much. I’m curious to see… Read more »
I have a 10 year rule…if it still bothers me in 10 years, I fix it. I hit that milestone with some track lighting in our ski condo…it is officially on the list….thankfully with LEDs now being a thing, there’s been a big change in technology, and that softens the blow for the husband.
I’m not a fan of paneling in general. However, when it’s painted in the same or similar color as the drywall, it recedes and adds texture. Paneling works in the living room and is consistent with the rest of your choices. If you think it takes away from the otherwise perfect room then that’s even better. I think every perfect room looks better when there’s something weird in it or about it. It’s not as cold and looks a bit more approachable when it’s not all perfect.
I’m sure I’m in a minority here but actually my personal issue with the panelling is that it’s horizontal rather than vertical. This is possibly just because I’m English and I don’t think I’ve ever seen horizontal panelling on an older home here, so my reference point for it is all those ‘modern farmhouse’ Pinterest posts with the giant clocks and and the faux rustic vibe. I’m sure it’s actually very in tune with the area and era of the house! And I think the room is *so* pretty.
But visually I just much prefer the look of vertical panelling and I think it serves a purpose in drawing the eye up to the beautiful windows and views.
I think the ‘sunk cost’ concept referenced above is so helpful. That money is spent, it’s gone. So what would make you happy now? If you could see a clear path forward to a room you’d be 100% happy with, what would it look like?
Love this post, the honestly and I totally respect your agony.
If I may add in an option, I would like to suggest a tan yellow color on the paneling for a more woody effect. It will still ring true to farmhouse and is not in any way trying to replace a wood look. But, I have found it has this intense neutral warmth that functions in the same way wood does, and has the added benefit of be quite a historical hue.
When blues and greens are added to the general palette I think they cut through and shine even more. My suggestion would be around the tone straw or cats paw from F&B. Not for now, but if it still itches you in some time, maybe consider. 🙂