What can I do to lighten up a dark family room?
Related Discussions
Vinyl plank flooring vs pergo (laminate)
I currently have stinky dirty carpeting in my living room and I want to replace it with a durable flooring that can stand up to dogs and kids.
How to remove popcorn ceiling that has been painted?
Does having a paint over a popcorn ceiling change how I'd remove the popcorn ceiling?
How to apply peel and stick wallpaper?
I want to spruce up my walls with peel-and-stick wallpaper. Has anyone used this before and can advise me as to how to apply it properly?
How to stain wood floor?
I've heard staining is a good technique for updating floors. So how do I stain my wood floor?
My laundry room has plywood walls! What can i do to do a makeover?
I do not like the way the walls look but don't want to have to replace walls or just paint over them. O thought about using plaster on the walls and do texture art on... See more
We had panning and tried to update it. Decide if you want to hide the grain. Find a good primer for dark colors. I'm sure there are videos on YouTube about this. If it's rough paneling painting can catch it. We had to sand ours. Good luck.
I did this - I primed the wall paneling first, then painted it. It looks great! I have a brick fireplace, but decided against painting it. I know in a few years brick will be back in style and I can't remove the paint. Vinyl planking in a medium color will also brighten your room. I'd put a large area rug on top.
The ceiling? I have the same. I hate it, but am leaving it alone due to money constraints. I'd do the ceiling first due to the dust and dirt it will create. Just do one project at a time and you won't feel as overwhelmed. My best to you.
What you need is light accent colors. You could get nick knacks in light bright color & good lighting. Choose a pastel color that you like & go with it.
You could add floor to ceiling built in cabinets, painted white to lighten up the room. Another easy fix would be floor to ceiling curtains in a light color, hung on either side of the fireplace.
If you're going with light brown flooring, paint the paneling a lighter cream, but paint the fireplace bricks to match the flooring. Sal85902 is right about the ceiling, and I would paint the beams to match the ceiling. The beams are too heavy for the height of the room.
I would look to see if the beams can be removed easily. They look like an add-on they might be hollow. They had those years ago. Oops, I just dated myself! I would then work on the other parts of the ceiling it will be messy but the end will be awesome. The paneling now. A restaurant near me had rough siding throughout really dark. They took paint in white and added water to their desire and rolled it on. It looks beautiful kind of like whitewash much lighter but also let the wood grain show through. You would have to test how much water to add more water lighter coverage and so on. I sure hope this helps you. Believe I know the retirement part for sure. Happy days.
Light Sand the paneling and paint a few coatS of white or a cream white. It transformed my bedroom from dated to updated. Did it years ago and still love it!!
Marie, I moved to this house 3 years ago at 70 years old. I've repainted the inside of the whole house by myself - you can too.
Regarding the paneling: I primed then painted it, not whitewashed it. I used Cottage White, a creamy off white by Behr. It seems to subtly change color with the lighting and colors in the room. I like it, but you may want to get a sample paint chart and see what color looks good in your room. I'd say if the paneling is really rough, I'd sand first.
We had the same issue in this house, dark paneling, dark brick fireplaces, and old dingy carpet. We primed and painted the paneling, whitewashed the brick, and replaced the flooring with vinyl plank flooring. What a difference, it’s like a new home!