family room under state of deconstruction
 

For those of you who may rememeber, a couple of months ago we had record rainfalls and a lot of had water problems. We were nothing like a lot of the midwest though. Thank you God. So we had a good bit of water in the lower level of our bilevel and had to have it waterproofed. What a mess and disaster.

We had our house built back in 1978 and 'finished' the family room in 1981. So you can imagine what it looked like until a couple of months ago. So since we had to tear out the dark paneling and shag carpeting anyway, we decided to do some major work. First of all my DH said he would do it. I knew he wouldn't, just had to wait for him to say it. I mean back in 1981 he put a ceiling up over half the ceiling and never finished the other half. We bought all the trim for baseboards and crown molding and it is still in our storage room. So I knew he wouldn't finish the room. Plus he told me how unimportant it was to make the seams straight and even on the drywalling. So when he said to get a contractor I jumped on that and started calling for estimates.

So today him and my daughter tore everything out. Oh the dust. So now the ceiling is off, all the paneling out, we now see the mold on some of the drywall. So it is estimate time now!!!!! The first guy that came out also said he would tear out our huge ugly pine tree. We have two more guys coming out tomorrow.

So now we have the huge task of picking out paint color, carpet, accesories and all new furniture. I am not a decorator!

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you.

Check out this "designer's portfolio" from HGTV: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/designers_portfolio_main

Thanks. I looked at that but didn't see any kind of room that we have. We live in a bi-level so the family room is downstairs and has 3 little windows up at the top of the room so doesn't get much light. Althgough that is exactly waht my husband likes. When he sits down there and watches his 51 inch TV he likes it like a theatre, nice and dark.

The last couple of years I have really lost my confidence in decorating anything. And since this is from the bare bones up I am really at a loss. I want two tones on the wall, then I want something else besides white on the ceiling. I don't know what color of carpeting or what kind of furniture. And I'm afraid if I have that attitiude when I go into a store they will try to sell me the moon. The only thing I know I want is two tone wall seperated by chair rail.

I feel your decorating pain! I'd never so much as painted a room when I bought my house 4.5 years ago, but I had to learn quick. Every room was one or more truly funky colors. I'm horrible at decorating and very indecisive, so I picked a family of colors that I liked and then started trying different shades on the wall. At one point, I had 18 swatches of brown on the wall!:eek: Eventually, I made it pretty nice. I don't have two tones on the same wall but in my kitchen and great room, I painted one wall a different color than the rest. I think it's nice, and now I finally get it. I managed to tie all three downstairs rooms together, just with color.

Moral of the story is, don't be afraid to try putting some paint on the wall. If you go to Benjamin Moore or someplace similar, you can buy small amounts that are perfect for swatches.

Good Luck!! atleast you have a start with the contractor coming in. With so many colors - schemes and prints out there I am not sure if I could pick one either....

I would suggest going to a "good" furniture store. They usually have free decorating help and you don't have to tell them you are not going to buy everything there. Often, the sale items are fairly reasonably priced. They will show you examples of rooms to help them get a feel for your taste (which you may not know yourself). They suggest paint, carpet, furniture etc.

y girlfriend did this and it worked out great. I also did it and told the man upfront I was middle class and would not be buying all my stuff from him. He told me most clients don't, but the good word of mouth on thier customer service helps sell enough that the companies find it is still profitable to keep them.

If all else fails, just wander around the local big discount furniture store and look at diplays - one or two will grab you. Then choose the paints and carpet from the furniture fabric.

Have fun!

Thanks guys. My sister and I are going out tomorrow. I think God is in this. She is the one having a mamstectome next week and I wanted to do this this week so she could help me. She has been fairly upbeat ever since she had the surgery scheduled but today she saw the surgeon and plastic surgeon and they marked all over her where both her breasts will be removed. So it hit her hard. So she really needs some siter time tomorrow and she's good at decorating. We will have to get some chocolate time in to.