...And the detail can make the room. I think there are two things that can transform a house from being ordinary to unique. The first is a great color scheme, and the second is unique detail in the woodwork, even if its a small effort.
We don't live in a custom built house so I am always motivated to do something unique in each space to make it feel unique and not like every other house on the block! And that's the stuff that makes you appreciate your house- the details you add, not what was in the package when you moved in.
With that said, this molding photo below was actually build this way in our house when we moved in:) However, I am showing it because if you have the skinny single piece crown molding at your ceiling, this is a inexpensive way to create the illusion that you have thick, custom woodwork!
So basically what you have here is the standard crown molding where the wall meets the ceiling. Then there is a space, which is just the wall painted in the gloss white to match the trim. Then you end with a skinny piece of trim and magically you have the illusion of a very thick piece of molding!!
If you are building a house or you have the budget to replace or add trim to your house, take the time to get on Pinterest or Houzz and search for unique trim ideas. There are tons of ideas and this type of detail can go a long way in making your house unique.
Below is a trim treatment you see on lots of homes. The ol' chairs and squares up the stairs and in entryways etc! Nice detail, but not all that unique...
Why not try this way more interesting treatment on the walls up the stairs instead. One of many trim treatments that can go modern or more traditional. And this is not a design that is impossible to attempt on your own if you have the equipment.
The thing I love about an applied molding design is that it allows for the use of subtle colors in decorating. It is the alternative to a bold accent color on a wall. It allows you to use crisp colors like white or a cool grey on the walls because the emphasis is in the texture and not the color! Love love love this!
If you are not interested in this scale of detail, start small. When we renovated our kitchen a few months ago I wanted to do something cool on the end walls of our island. The island walls were just painted drywall before. Rather than just paneling them with wood, I searched for a cool design I could apply to that small area. This is how it turned out! I love it because its different!
So the last thing I leave you with is ceiling detail....You always want what you can't have, right? We have the textured ceilings...BOO. Although they are "knocked down" and not the extreme textured popcorn ceiling, they are still ugly! We finished our basement ceilings smooth and I am excited to "finish" them the way I want soon! Dana, are you reading this?!? :) I think he thought we were done down there!
OK, well this next one isn't going to fit with our rustic modern basement style but I vow to fit it into our next house! There is no other word but "amozing" for this one!
Again, this next one, only for you lucky smooth ceiling people who need to stop missing your opportunity and do something with these bad boys! For me, do it for me!! You will see a lot of chevron in my house. This is perfect. I like that the color combo is subtle.... It would look heinous otherwise!
So what if you are thinking....but who is going to get up there and tape off those chevrons?? Don't cop out yet, you can still pay the attention you need to the ceiling! Paint it a color. In this case they used another color (yellow) on the wall. I would opt to do a more subtle color on all the walls and use the pop color on the ceiling only. Maybe instead, use your other accent color in your accessories and make sure to anchor that ceiling color on the floor, like in the rug. Btw, that would just be my rule... there may be a professional rule, but you also may have to pay for that:)
As I mentioned before, we finished our basement last year and it is rustic, modern. It is my favorite space and I will be showing it to you soon! We did a lot of wood paneling, barn wood, wood wallpaper mixed with very modern bar materials. The photo below uses the wood wallpaper on the ceiling. This is a great idea if you are trying to pull in wood ceiling material but you don't have high enough ceilings to support the look of beams or wood panels. This allows you to have that look without pulling down your ceiling.
This last one you may be seeing coming to my house very very soon. We had an upstairs toilet leak damage our ugly textured ceiling in our dining room below. Because of the ugly detail the drywaller is thinking he will have to sand and re texture the ceiling,!!What?!? If I have to pay someone it won't be to sand and re ugly it! But if we make it smooth, it may stand out from the other adjacent rooms. Soooo, make an intentional looking difference. This is grass cloth on the ceiling! This may work! Grass cloth is thick and may just be able to be applied to a slight texture! Stay tuned. I'm loving the idea...
OK last thing and then I will watch this Super Bowl (just kidding, I haven't looked up in an hour). The doors. Don't miss an opportunity with a cool door. New houses need not apply but if you have an old house or you are building a house and salvaging some doors, use them as decor. These images are great ways to dress up plain doors, especially if you have a wall of doors you are looking to hide. Or if you have some cool double doors that can be accented.
Since it is the Super Bowl, lets talk about jazzing up that obnoxiously large TV your husband has stealing good wall real estate! Box that baby in- mold it in:) I have no idea how to do this but it looks great and someday maybe I will try it. Right now I feel like the TVs are winning. Every time I think I might have a good way to disguise one, another one keeps popping up!
Ok, there you have it.... Hope you got some good ideas!
Enjoy & Cheers! {Laura}
Awesome ideas!
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