Does this house have potential?

[Deleted]

I'm kind of obsessed with this house. It's for sale by the original couple that built it and it's in great shape and it has solid bones, and it's on one acre. I think some paint (okay, a LOT of paint) and some updates could make it awesome. DH says I'm crazy.





The walls are cherry, but I can't take wood on the walls. The cabinets are suspended from the ceiling. They are in really great shape and would look fine with paint and new hardware.

Inspiration pictures I found:




painted brick



painted wood paneling before and after (obviously not that decor and all that jazz, but painted paneling isn't the end of the world, right?)





DH says painting all that wood paneling is stupid, because you shouldn't paint over solid cherry walls, but at the same time, he's says it's ugly, and we shouldn't even entertain the thought of buying this house. WTF? DH is wrong. Please agree with me.

[cahabalily]

I think the kitchen is hideous, and would rather paint over brick than cherry. I don't think I could do what needs to be done, knowing someone out there would appreciate it. If I'm gonna have to do that much work, I'd rather buy more of a fixer-upper.

[Deleted]

Sept 29, 2012 11:58:30 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

I think the kitchen is hideous, and would rather paint over brick than cherry. I don't think I could do what needs to be done, knowing someone out there would appreciate it. If I'm gonna have to do that much work, I'd rather buy more of a fixer-upper.

See, now you are agreeing with DH. You are banned from this post.

[hbomdiggity]

I'm with you - i do think it has potential. And while I can appreciate not wanting to paint the cherry, if it will loo better (which I think it will) then that outweighs the so called sacrilege of painting.

[Deleted]

I think it has a crazy cool mid century vibe. It would be an awesome project & then you could live in mad men.

[SusanBAnthony]

We looked at a house with a horrible 70's family room addition that was apparently wood paneled in maple from the owner's family farm. Nice wood, nice history, but it was BUTT UGLY.

I think painted wood would look nice. I agree that the cabinets are fine with a few updates.

[dexteroni]

Sept 29, 2012 11:53:46 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

DH says painting all that wood paneling is stupid, because you shouldn't paint over solid cherry walls

He's right. Painting over solid cherry is a crime. Let this house go to someone who will appreciate it as is.

[Deleted]

I like the transformation of the last two pictures. If you are willing to paint over the wood, I think the house has potential. I would probably look into hiring a designer who knew what they were doing though.

[Deleted]

Can anyone really appreciate solid cherry walls in 2012 though? My boss has some kind of Brazilian wood walls in her house and I always feel like I should be smoking a cigar and drinking fine bourbon in there. My cats would probably think it's one giant scratching post.

[krystee]

There are actually people in the world who would appreciate those walls? Team you. Paint away. (And I am someone who freaks when people paint beautiful antique furniture.)

[catbus]

Sept 29, 2012 12:15:04 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Sept 29, 2012 11:53:46 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

DH says painting all that wood paneling is stupid, because you shouldn't paint over solid cherry walls

He's right. Painting over solid cherry is a crime. Let this house go to someone who will appreciate it as is.

:Y: And I hope there is someone who would largely leave it alone, and simply update with decor/appliances. I think it's very cool, actually, and just needs to be lightened up with the right furniture and accents. The all-brown look in there now is a bit oppressive.

[Deleted]

I also think that if you don't like all that wood you should not buy the house. I think it's a super cool place & hopefully someone who likes the look will buy it. I am not for painting over all that.

[krystee]

I have no vision. I need to see a picture of a room with those kinds of walls that looks gorgeous and not dark and dated.

[magdala9]

Painting over that beautiful wood is a crime. Painting the old brick calming cream and adding colorful furnishings would make that beautiful wood stand out.

[rubytue]

Please don't paint over the solid cherry walls. Let someone who will love and cherish them. It's one thing to paint over cheesy 70s veneer paneling. But that gorgeous MCM place? Noooooo!

[vegas]

See, I don't mind the painting of the walls. It's the brick that gets me. I would never paint it! I really like original, older bricks in the brick red color, but maybe that's because I live in a brick free, stucco filled city.

[Deleted]

Sept 29, 2012 12:54:09 GMT -5 krystee said:

There are actually people in the world who would appreciate those walls? Team you. Paint away. (And I am someone who freaks when people paint beautiful antique furniture.)

lol... only on MM, as the house has been on the market a long time, like most houses around here that aren't über cheap and in cookie cutter subdivisions.

[Deleted]

I can see the potenial but I think it would take a while to get there.

[liveintheville]

The thing that sticks out to me is that your inspiration picture has considerably more square footage and tons of windows. Are you willing to change the layout and add windows? That's a ton of work but I think it's doable.

Oh, and you can refinish the cherry walls. They appear to be stained. If you sanded them down and just poly coated them they'd be much lighter.

[carfar]

Love the tall ceilings and think it has potential. Especially if you like the lay out and location.

[bunch]

I love it.

[bunch]

Oh and I would paint that shit in 2 seconds.

Eta: I can appreciate the style and all that jazz, but I'm a big fan of making a home exactly what you want. Then again I'm considering painting the walls of a log cabin, so take my opinion fwiw.

[theintended]

I think it's got tons of potential.

Forgive the crappy photochop, but I think you could do a lot with the cabinets and brick and leave the wood as is. I'd just choose really glossy, shiny, modern materials as a contrast to the lodge feel.

[noodleoo]

The high ceilings are beautiful, so that definitely has potential. However, I think it will be a lot of $$$ to redo everything to what you want it to be. Just painting alone will probably be like $5000, not to mentioned redoing the kitchen and whatever else it needs. I personally agree that it is probably not worth the amount of money you'd need to put into it to make it livable. Is it cheap enough that you can put a bunch of money into reno-ing it?

ETA: The suspended cabinets are hideous. You'd have to take those out and that would actually open it up quite a bit. But again, is it worth it?

[Deleted]

When I first looked at it I though NO WAY. However, after looking at your inspiration pictures I think it might have potential. If you are willing to put in the work go for it.

[Deleted]

That house has AMAZING potential. I love homes like that where a little elbow grease can make it into something really beautiful and not not like every other cookier cutter Pottery Barn inspired home.

The wood is dated. Paint that shit. Same with the brick. Just leave the wood ceilings alone, or at least the wood beam on the ceilings.

I also agree about ripping out those suspended cabinets to open up the space.

Nothing about this house looks like too huge of a project. We painted over solid pine paneling and our brick fireplace and it was no big deal, although we don't have those really high ceilings. Still, the work wouldn't intimidate me one bit. Painting might be time consuming, but it's easy - and you could always hire it out if you don't mind spending the money.

[UnderProtest]

I love the wood ceilings. I would buy it for that alone. I'm not generally one to paint wood, but that just seems like too much wood. I wonder if you did a glossy white on just the kitchen cabinets, would you need to paint the rest of the wood? I think the mantle needs to go. That would update the look of the house. Or you could whitewash the wood walls. As long as you like projects, I would buy it.

[krystee]

I agree with leaving the wood ceilings for sure. And if you can do what theintended created, I'd leave the walls, too. Time to make an offer!

[ellipses84]

I think it has potential and all the wood and brick is not "too beautiful" to paint over. I really like the look of off-white paneling. I can see how some people would think that would be terrible, and I suggest you only paint a portion of the existing. You could keep the cherry and brick, but replace the cabinets with a different color. You could hang large artwork or fabric panels on the brick or paneling so it is not so overwhelming.

[DarcyLongfellow]

My first thought was that those walls are really beautiful, and that you shouldn't buy the house because somewhere out there is a buyer who has the vision to turn that 70's monstrosity into a gorgeous modern house. I like the photoshop above that theintended posted -- I think that changing out those cabinets really lets the walls/ceilings shine.

But if it's been sitting on the market and you really do love the house otherwise, then I'm team you. I think all the pearl clutching at painting wood and brick and all that is a bit silly. If it's your house, you should be able to do what you want to to make it beautiful to YOU. Now, that doesn't mean that someday you won't be able to sell the place because people will think, "Ick. Painted brick," but I do believe you should be able to make your own house the way you want it!