Our major main floor makeover...

I am so thrilled to say we have finally completed our main floor makeover...it has been a long process that we started back in the spring....well actually it started last winter when we started to approach the local heritage committee as our house is a heritage protected property...we knew we wanted to make some changes to the wainscotting but we didn't know if we would be able to make these changes...but after meeting with the committee we realized how we all have the same goal and that is to preserve  and cherish this building.

 Painting the very damaged v-groove wainscotting was what we were hoping, this would allows us to conceal the damage and discolorations in the wood and in fact most buildings of this age would have had pine painted trim work...The wood work had been recently stripped by the previous owner.. they had stripped away a faux finish that was meant to remain...but it worked in our favour since this faux finish was removed there was no longer a reason to prevent us from painting the wood work...and painting is always revers able. We were also cleared to replace a pine flat stock trim with a more appropriate baseboard...we were ready to go...

I was so pleased to have Metrie on board to sponsor this major makeover....it was amazing the difference adding the right trim and a bright and light color made to this home. Metrie is a trim company with a real grasp of current trends and classic profiles...they truly have it all and this being my first experience using Metrie products, I think it is safe to say I am hooked...there is a huge difference in quality of design and materials...keep in mind I have been working with trim for 14 years so I have sampled many different types of trim...and I am thoroughly impressed with Metrie's products.

Even though our trim was going to be painted I felt it was important to use wood trim...adding MDF to 140 year old wainscotting wasn't a right option for me....I love working with poplar it actually stains beautifully and it paints so perfectly...during this project I made a switch to my mitre saw blade...what a difference switching to a proper trim blade makes...I switched to an 80 blade, there is a big difference, this blade cuts through trim like butter.

 this is the profile I chose, it is a 7.25" poplar Scene II from the  French curves collection

You can really see what I mean by irregularity, it was so blotchy....and there was a trim piece missing from under the chair rail...this needed replacing.

We were also preparing for our new custom windows at the same time...the clock was ticking...but just painting all this trim work was a huge undertaking...I caulked in between each and every v-groove board...my husband Todd helped out and painted a lot of the window trim and all of the baseboards...so grateful.

We felt that everything the same tone of orange was very overwhelming and not my favourite shade....you never like everything about a new house...right?

I think the wood floors look so much better now...I painted the risers white last minute, it is simply white...my husband thought I was crazy but it was 100% the right choice, it ties all the trim together and makes the room feel wider.

I knew I had to address the newly added half walls, they were stark fresh drywall and they felt jarring...I clad them with v-groove to help them blend in with the perimeter walls.

Filling in the gap beneath the chair rail with this classic panel moulding felt clean and completed the trim...

I also tweeked the kitchen during this renovation...I flipped the island top and finished the rough sawn side and stained it with a custom color...added open shelving and more tile, oh and I stained the grout grey to make the tile more prominent.

Each corner had a filler strip which made mitering the trim impossible so I used a baseboard corner, I love this detail, I am so glad I needed this solution. 

I wish I could thoroughly describe how happy this transformation makes me...beautiful trim makes my heart happy...

I clad the wall with v-groove panel moulding and a cap I custom made from flat stock 1x10"with routered edges...it turned out sublime....it is no longer a corner I hide...coffee corner is what I call this spot and now it looks like it has always been a part of this room.

 I also tackled the entry during this renovation, I opted to create an open concept closet...it works so much better than the sliding mirrored doors...I recently added two pieces of this panel moulding to the header of the closet casing...it makes a big difference, design is all about the details.

We also replaced the front door...this has been a big undertaking...

You can see why I just couldn't live with this wainscotting the way it was....

I primed and painted and painted some more...

We also extended the entry tile to create a larger more balanced space...

French curves scene II

 One last detail I cooked up were these reclaimed wood headers for the two doors on the main floor...I wanted something unique and that followed along with that old house feeling...it was a risk but I think it was a successful result....I upgraded the small flat stock with a much larger flat stock and installed these reclaimed pieces...so easy.

I think it is a cohesive mix...

It's actually quite amazing to look back at where we started...

I want to send a big thank you to Metrie for providing all the beautiful panel moulding and baseboard trim...you've got to check out their new line Option M....

*disclaimer this is a sponsored post but all the opinions are my own and are truthful...

our house love makeover with Metrie...nearing the finish line

We have been slowly but surly bringing in the fresh bright white....

If you have been a long time reader of this blog you will know I am a huge lover of trim...I have used trim in the last two of our houses to create a home full of character and interest...to get away from that plain builder basic home feel...in our new home it came with 140 years worth of charm...the renovations that were done prior to us improved things greatly but there was the last 20% or so to do

 to get this home to the finish line and to meet our standards and style...the floors are stripped original pine and all the original pine wainscoting was all stained a similar tone of honey pine...which is not our favourite at all...we got the go ahead to paint the wainscoting and trim throughout as our home, our home is heritage and protected by several by-laws...
I was fortunate to partner with Metrie to upgrade and and complete the trim makeover for our home...
this was a new experience for me, adding to an old home with existing trim work...how would it all blend, my goal was that it would be seamless and it truly is. Metrie has lots of great resources on their website to help you choose the look that suits you and your home.

So much orange...we were happy to lighten and brighten things up...having so much wood makes none of it stand out...after painting the white on the trim the floors became more of a feature.

We felt that the brand new pine flat stock that was used as the baseboards here was very under scaled and was not what would have been installed in 1877...this flat stock was all re purposed.

We added this applied moulding just under the chair rail, there would have been a piece there at some point but was missing when we got here, I think this piece looks like it was always here. It is the french curves scene II poplar panel moulding.

It has been an incredible transformation...I can't wait to do a complete after post once we get our new windows...so excited. An exciting and unexpected side effect of adding the trim and painting it all out white was that it made the floors look so much better, we were going to sand and white wash them but for now I am going to leave them sand them to smooth them out a bit more as they are rough and clear coat them...I think all the white and all the grey toned wood furniture I have added makes the flooring work just fine...lots of beautiful character it just needs a little fine tuning. 

As you can see here there were a lot of areas of concern with the wainscoting...gouges, burns and odd markings...non of which we loved or liked...I started this makeover by priming all the wood then caulking all the grooves...all those grooves...the we primed, sanded and painted the baseboards and I installed the painted baseboards...

We have a lot of uneven walls and floors as happens in a building of 140 years...I opted for the simplest option of notching out the baseboards which ended up being a nice clean option. 

as soon as I saw this profile this French curves scene II baseboard 7 1/4" I knew it would compliment our original wood work perfectly, Metrie has a great selection of classic to modern contemporary trim options in a range of materials, we chose poplar because it is a great wood to paint. I primed the trim with zinsser primer and then two coats of a melamine paint...I went with simply white.

My hubby chipped in to help with a lot of the painting because I hurt my wrist and arm...

The power of great trim and the right colors is truly amazing don't you think?

thank you Metrie.

        Disclaimer, I was supplied with trim courtesy of Metrie, this is an ad but my opinions are my own and 100% honest.