Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 8, August 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.

DECORATING DILEMMAS:

By ROBIN DALY

That '70s house:

Nothing a good coat of paint can't fix!

Walking through the neighborhoods of Seattle, I'm struck with how interesting our various neighborhoods are, and ways we personalize them. Many of us have purchased homes that kindly are referred to as "delayed maintenance" and we work hard at turning them from Wreck Sweet Wreck into Home Sweet Home.

These neglected structures fall into two general categories: the 1900-1940s construction and the 1950-1970s houses. What were once basic blue-collar dwellings are now considered upper-middle class homes. Money is spent to restore them not just to their former glory, but to make them even better than originally designed.

I love this. It's great. Even better, I love it when we step off the safe path of "magazine perfect" and get a little creative! Show a little color! Add some personality. This is Seattle; a book-obsessed, coffee-swilling, nature-loving, individualistic town. So with respect to historical accuracy, I am encouraging us to let ourselves create homes that represent who we are!

Q: Dear Robin,

I have a 1970s house with little personality but a lot of work ahead of me to bring it into the new century. Where do I start? I don't really like harvest-gold tiles and lots of wood trim. Am I stuck in a Brady Bunch rerun or is there hope?

A: Repeat after me, "Wood can be painted and is not sacred"! One of the easiest updates you can achieve is to rip out the ugly, cheap wood trim in your 1970s dream house and replace it with better quality, beefier trim. Instant style! And paint it, please. Of course, every rule is made to be broken, but on this feature you are better off without that ugly wood detail.

If you are restoring an old Queen Anne mansion, then by all means, keep the varnished wood. But with disco-era construction, you can rip it out with a clear conscious. The benefits you will reap will be large; especially considering this is a cosmetic change.

While you are busy replacing baseboard trim, look at the trim around your windows. If this trim also falls into the wimpy category (that 1-inch-wide yucky cheap mahogany wood), replace it, too. Do not make the mistake of ginger-breading your home with an ornate trim as if it were a Victorian manse, just add a very clean-lined trim with more presence.

In most cases, I advise against adding cove molding where the walls and ceiling meet. It's not true to the nature of the architecture, and can visually break up the room and make it feel boxy. It can be done, but very carefully.

Good news on that harvest gold! Color use is cyclical, and those gold tiles can be accommodated quite easily with some of the latest new colors we are seeing on walls. Imaging a deep midnight blue, rich tortoise gold or a fabulous tomato red. Those tiles will look great and the walls will, too.

There are floor paints you can use to paint over the whole thing, but I caution people to only go in this direction if it is to be a short-term solution. If you want to eventually rip out the tiles and simply can't stand the gold, then floor paint may be another avenue to explore. This gives you endless color choices, so you are not locked into any particular scheme. Be aware that it will eventually start to lift, so that is why I would consider this a temporary solution.

By erasing some of the sins of the past, you will create a space that is open and new. My guess is that you can then enjoy your updated home for years to come and those images of dark paneling and shag carpet will quickly fade into the past.