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She Picks Up A Prybar And A Hammer And Then…UNBELIEVABLE!

Well, how’d I do on my first clickbait blog post title? 😀 Are y’all as tired as I am at seeing those? I feel like my Facebook wall is filled with things that are UNBELIEVABLE, and UNIMAGINABLE, and AWESOME, and UNEXPECTED, and on, and on. But this one came to me yesterday as I was working, and it made me laugh, so I had to. And somehow I felt it was fitting. 😀

I had already told y’all that the wall mural in the entryway didn’t make the cut with my “decorating reboot,” right? Well, what I didn’t tell you is that none of the decorative wall trim made the cut, either. So I spent the day yesterday removing it.

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I know y’all have come to expect do-overs from me, but I think this one’s probably a bit shocking, right? The thing is that all of this trim was kind of like my green kitchen. While I loved it, I just couldn’t get it to work.  Ever since I installed it, this room has felt so busy, with all of those lines and rectangles everywhere. And I’m just in a place right now where I need some calm.

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I originally thought that just removing the frames below the windows would be enough, but the more I looked at this room and tried to figure out what I wanted to do, the more I realized that the frames below the windows weren’t my only issue.

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All of it was an issue. So all of it had to go.

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I still love wainscoting and picture frame moulding. But one of the things that made it not work in this room is that this room is filled with doorways and windows, and wainscoting and picture frame moulding work better (in my opinion) in a room that has long expanses of uninterrupted wall space. This was just the wrong room for it.

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I wasn’t planning on jumping into this just yet. I thought this project might still be a few weeks out. While I knew I would remove the trim myself, I had planned on hiring out the mudding and sanding so that the finished walls look like new. So I called my drywall guy and asked if he’d come give me an estimate. I figured he’d be too busy to take on this project before Christmas, and was fully prepared to wait until January to get it done.

Well, he showed up early yesterday morning, gave me the estimate ($225, if you’re wondering), and then said, “Okay, well, we’ll be here tomorrow morning to get started.”

WHAT?! I was so shocked! I said, “TOMORROW?! Really?!” He said, “Oh, well…what were you planning? I mean, we can come whenever. Do you want to just call us when you’re ready for us to come?”

Well, I didn’t want to take the chance of putting it off and having them be in the middle of a big project when I was finally ready, so I said, “NO! Tomorrow is perfect! Let’s do tomorrow.” And then I changed my plans for the day and got busy removing wall trim. 😀

I’m really excited to have this done. I just want flat walls with a solid paint color floor to ceiling on these walls. I think that will allow some of the other things in this room, like my fireplace and my draperies, to really stand out a bit more and not compete with all of the rectangles all over the walls and the two-color walls.

The music room wainscoting is staying. I love how it turned in there. It’s just the entryway/living room where it’s being removed.

In other news, my grasscloth which has been on backorder (until December 7th, they told me) is still not available, and the backorder has been extended until February. 🙁 I’m going to cancel the order and choose something else. It’s very disappointing, but there’s no way I want to wait until February when even then there’s no guarantee.

 

 

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43 Comments

  1. Wow! When you make a change, you make a change! I’m sad to see all that beautiful trim go but I’m sure it’ll be used elsewhere and be just a wonderful. Go girl!!

  2. Yes, your click bait was irresistible! But then I’d read your blog no matter what. 🙂

    I completely understand the desire for simple and less busy. Our living room and dining room walls are original plaster from the 40’s with a stucco swirl finish. So much movement.

    I was thinking about colors for your walls- I think the iceberg blue was too light. Not enough contrast against the white. So if you have white trim and that lovely dark fireplace maybe try a medium blue for the walls so there are three distinct yet complementary colors. Like a lighter version of the navy leading edge on the drapes.

  3. Sad to see the trim go, it was beautiful – but I think you’ve made the right call! I can understand when something gets too busy looking, it’s just difficult to work with and get inspired. Sometimes less is more 🙂 As always, excited to see the finished result!

    1. Well said, Tegan, and I concur. Way to go, Kristi, for always being willing to make a change to create the home you and Matt will love. Cheers and Happy Holidays, Ardith

  4. I think you will be happy you took all that down. It already looks peaceful. Don’t get me wrong I have thought about putting molding up and I think it looked beautiful in your home but, after seeing that you took your down, I don’t think I would be happy with having it on my walls. Thank you, u have kept me from spending alot of money and work. I think I will just take the wallpaper down and paint. I love your new direction.

    1. Have you considered painting your wallpaper? I had wallpaper years ago that I talked to a wallpaper hanger to get a bid to remove, and she suggested that I just put joint compound on the seams and then paint the walls. I did this, and it looked great and lasted for years.

      1. Thank you for the link for wallpaper removal! I am excited to get started on that project and know it will not take months for me to get done. Now to find a neutral paint color that not white but, a cream but not tan. I have used Sherwin Williams Kiln Beige in most of our home. I am now finding its darker than I want. Do you have a suggestion for paint color and sheen for dining room? I have used Behr, Sherwin Williams,Glidden and now I want to try Benjamin Moore paint. I like all the brands I have used. I think I just want to find something different. We don’t have a store in my town so I have looked for a store and found one about 35 miles away. I alway enjoy your blog as I am always trying to do things myself.

    1. Wowie!! You really surprised me …. completely get your logic – an element of serenity is pleasing when dining. Looking forward to the new look ( that drywall quote was fantastic!

  5. LOL! You are so ME, Kristi! I try something, live with it for awhile, and if it doesn’t work, CHANGE IT! But then, once I do find that one particular way of doing it that I love, it stays that way for decades, lol. You are learning much about yourself and your own personal taste and style as you try new things, developing many of your myriad talents as you go, and teaching us lots of different techniques along the way. I was looking at your fake fireplace ‘bricks’ just the other day, and have plans to do something similar in my master bedroom as part of our flood recovery. That’s what makes life exciting! You go, girl!

  6. Click baits are so annoying! I sometimes wonder if some are there to try and get your info, because if I have clicked on some, I then seem to get some really weird junk mail. So now I try not to take the bait!
    Have to say, I’m glad you decided to remove all that trim work. I thought it was a bit too much for the size of the room. But what do I know? I liked it where the mural was, but it seemed to bug me most around the door. Such a shame you can’t pull that mural off and repurpose it. If you do another, I would suggest doing it on canvas, in case you need to move it in the future!
    It will be interesting to see what my daughter gets charged to mud and tape their basement bedroom and bath. The drywall should be done by the weekend, and hopefully this project of theirs can get done for her sisters arrival on the 26th!

  7. It seems I always start out filling up a space, live with it awhile, then I just have to go back to more simple. Then, of course, I change my mine about the color, the style, the look I’m going for….sound familiar?? But then it keeps us busy…even if I don’t have your talent.

    I bought the PW air compressor and finally figured out why it wouldn’t work when planking my living room wall – I had the brad nails in the finish nailer and vice-versa. Oh my. You should have heard my comments on that (since I bought it after looking at your site….and daring to try!!). All’s well that ends well, right? I LOVE my new wall and I have learned SO MUCH. Bedroom wall next and a much easier job now with a little experience. Lordy, hope I don’t ever want to take that stuff down!!

  8. Oh No!! Love those birds and butterfly wall paper, but i hope you will make use of the design someplace else.

    Love your blog and your drive to get just the right decor for your house. Regarding storage, i was thinking wont you want some storage space next to the garage and the main entrance instead of the hallway tree? I mean imagine if you need to put away a coat or put your keys or something won’t you want it next to the entrances (either the garage or main) instead of having to walk all the way to the hall tree? Maybe the space where you are planning on a hall tree can be used for storage for towels, etc or extra storage but you need storage space or hallway tree near either of the entrances IMHO.

    PS: Loved your green kitchen not sure about the upper cabinet colors as they are now, they blend in to your wall color. Hopefully with the trim it will stand out more.

  9. I am sad to see you get rid of the beautiful trim. To me, trim like that is just…timeless. And goes with any style. It’s all your choice however! 😉 But on a side note: I’m going HA! My first thought when you showed the pic of the mural again and you had such a wonderful “click bait” title, was that maybe you broke through the wall into your office?! Have you considered that at all? It would really open up your spaces! Just a random thought….carry on! 🙂

  10. So sad to see that beautiful trim go, but if it’s not for you, it’s for you. Where your able to remove it so the pieces can be used again? I hate to see all that mitered cutting work going to waste.

  11. Any chance you can clone your painter and send him to SW Florida? I like simplicity in rooms so I am in agreement about all that trim. But, I really loved the mural where it is. Maybe without all the other stuff, it will look better to you and it can stay.

  12. Mourning the loss of the beautiful mural and the trim that framed it.

    I love your make it right attitude! Can’t wait to see what you do next. 😎

  13. Boy, was I surprised when I read you’d taken off all that trim and were kiboshing that lovely mural! Like the others, I really loved the mural and trim. But when I read your reasons why it doesn’t work, it made a lot of sense. My only regret was that they weren’t painted on canvas so they could be preserved. No matter, I find your fearlessness as a designer/builder/decorator so motivational and inspiring! As an artist, I’ve found myself doing the same thing in my work to the surprise and/or dismay of others, too–but it’s rare that I end up regretting past decisions because I always learn something wonderful as a result. You are an awesome writer (LOVED that click bait!) and fearless designer…and I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog months ago! Thanks for being YOU!

  14. I love picture molding in what I consider to be the “right room”. To me it looks best in a very monochromatic setting, otherwise it’s just too busy for my taste.
    It’s always an adventure at Kristi and Matt’s house!

  15. I love the click-bait, but i don’t need it to read your blog. I was surprised to see the moulding gone, but i’m sure the living room will look fantastic when it’s done. 🙂

  16. I think you did the right thing, I actually thought it was busy when you had your new drapes up (which I think are gorgeous). A clean expanse of wall will look much nicer with the fireplace and windows. I actually liked the green wall color with the drapes but pure white or deep navy would be beautiful.

    This is a question from a previous post, but I also have the same dining chairs that you’re going to reupholster (Greyson), I also own matching barstools that I already reupholstered in a cream vinyl because they get heavy use and they were showing a lot of grime. My question is, are you planning on putting all the nail head trim back in? I did it on my stools and it was a job! Just wondering if you have a shortcut for all those nail heads if you do put them back in. I made a guide out of cardboard but still labor intensive (which I know you aren’t afraid of!).

  17. Maybe the cancellation of your grass-cloth order is fate. You were debating on whether to use it in the breakfast room or music room or to use the mural. I like the idea of the mural in the music room better than the breakfast room because there is more unbroken wall space, especially if you add the breakfast room built-ins. Or, one other possibility that occurred to me regarding the use of the mural. If you don’t mind waiting for it a bit, it would be perfect for your remodeled sunroom! Assuming you will have the wall space, it seems a natural for that type of room, and would be perfect. Then you won’t have to worry about your breakfast room feeling to “busy or cluttered.

  18. So, the idea above to open the wall to your office. I LOVE THAT! I’m guessing you don’t, or you would have thought of it by now, but I DO!

    I’m sad to see the trimwork go, but I’m guessing that the online pictures maybe showed differently that how it looked in person.

    Great work!

  19. Yup, your click bait worked! But I look forward to your posts, regardless. And your title was perfect for this post!

    I have to say that all that beautiful trim felt busy to me, too. Too many boxes. I love how you refuse to get stuck in the mud… you get a winch and pull yourself out. And we all learn along with you.

    Yay for a drywaller who could surprise you with good news… makes up for the wallpaper disappointment a little.

  20. I quite liked the basic room just as it was–moulding and birds and all. Guess I have zero taste and am a lazy fuck, right?

    But I am shaking my head at the wasteful, needless construction/destruction/construction/destruction cycle of what appear to be only 3 rooms.

    I used to envy your ability to do all this construction work. But more and more you seem to be a prisoner of your own talent. You have no need to stick to a plan, so you don’t. That’s not freedom, that’s compulsiveness.

    1. Zero taste and lazy? I may seem like a prisoner to you, but you seem a little mentally unstable to get personally offended and defensive about a decision that an internet stranger makes for her own home. Seems like you deal with a different kind of prison of your own making.

    2. Sue, Kristi is not recommending that we all go out and spend OUR $ trying out different molding configurations and painting OUR cabinets multiple colors. She’s showing us what happens when she does that in HER space. I take all of it in as valuable learning lessons for when I want to make changes to my home. She’s also written about her creative process several times. Lastly, not to get into Kristi’s business too much, but in other posts she has clearly laid out her monthly budget, how she and Matt will be repaying their mortgage on this home in a very short period of time (an amazing goal that probably 99% of America cannot achieve, myself included), and other aspects of her finances.

      Are you concerned about the money? Are you concerned about the environment? If you follow the blog at all, I’m not sure why these changes would be surprising or concerning to you. Anyway, I’m just curious about why the changes bother you.

      Also, why use foul language? Would you speak like that to Kristi’s face? Maybe so, if you’re close personal friends, but I generally don’t use foul language with strangers.

  21. I have to admit, I cringed a little bit to see the trim go. But I see your point and I’m sure it’ll be perfect when you pull the whole plan together.

    Funny, my husband saw the post and asked if you were just doing these changes for blog fodder — that was before I showed him your title 🙂 But rest assured a let him know you’re doing this as part of your creative journey, not for actual click bait!

  22. Kristi – I usually just follow in Bloglovin….but I had to tell you that your click bait was the funniest thing all week on the internet. Love it. And I love that you changed your mind. I do that CONSTANTLY.
    xo – kb

  23. I didn’t have time to read all the comments (it’s late in the day), but I know I’m agreeing with many about pulling the trim off. Thank Goodness!!! I have always thought it was too busy; but, then again, my whole house is too busy and I’m looking for calm now too. I never wanted to say anything because I know from nothing and didn’t want to be negative. But you are finally right on girl!!!

  24. Hi Kristi,
    I learned a new term today, “click-bait!” Yes, I am tired of all those, especially regarding the political news, as in “Obama drops a bombshell…”, etc and it is only some minor thing, etc. Reminds me of the “dancing babies” ads that used to be everywhere on the internet to get attention, ha, ha. Your click bait was funny and I loved it!
    I did like the trim myself, but, to tell the truth, perhaps it doesn’t really go with the architectural style of a Texas ranch house as with, for instance, a Georgian Colonial or whatever. Not that you have to let that limit you of course. You were thinking about shiplap around your overmantel at one point, but ship lap really didn’t go with all the more formal panel mold trim. Maybe now you could incorporate the ship lap.
    It is so perfectly ok to change your mind–so sorry that you received a nasty post criticizing you unfairly! this is America–we believe in freedom of decorating, ha, ha! So many of us have made design decisions that we aren’t exactly pleased with, but we don’t have the time or money or talent to change them, but would if we could. (My entire kitchen comes to mind, LOL. If I could, I would change out the granite countertop, the backsplash tile I spent over a year trying to decide on, and the cabinet color, LOL!) You are blessed to have a career that allows you to make changes more frequently. It certainly makes for an interesting blog that will never run out of projects to write about, LOL! AND, I might add, it reassures us, who have also made design “mistakes”, that even the pros don’t always get it perfect the first time around (not really mistakes, just decide we don’t like something as much as we thought we would.)
    Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

  25. Yay! There seemed for awhile to be a busy snowball that just kept rolling. I am glad to see it all pared down. Ahhhh

  26. You are a funny woman Kristi, you make me laugh. I agree with you, a lot of things going on there. What is it with these companies and these darn backorders. I have been dealing with several order problems today, what is it with these people? Do it or don’t, good grief!

  27. Bravo. Everything you do has style and class and I like that you change until you get things right! And less molding means less dirt-collecting spaces.

  28. In total sincere honesty, your click bait title didn’t pull me in….but my heart actually began to race when I saw the beautiful mural being ‘defaced’!! Seriously!! That was one project I never ever thought you’d change! I ought to know better by now, but wow!! You got me!! A true click bait reaction worthy of INCREDIBLE, AWESOME, UNBELIEVABLE!

  29. Kristi, I’ve been reading your blog for many months now and never commented until today. So I’m going to put it all out there, I love your blog and I’m anxious to read it every day. I love pretty much everything you do. I love the fact that you bravely put it all out there. I’ve learned so much from you. I’m hoping you do shiplap at some point because I know you would do it so beautifully and in “Kristi style”. One last thing, who cares about the mural? You painted it up, you take it down, you can do a hundred more just like it… It’s just paint and sharpies, etc…LOL! I admire your talent!!!

  30. Ha! I was just thinking the other day about how ridiculous all the ” and you won’t believe what happened next” posts are. They so annoying. But not yours.😊 My dad is a carpenter and December is his slow month because most people don’t want their houses ripped apart right before Christmas- so your drywallers are probably thankful for some work this month.😉 Love the direction you are going- Merry Christmas!!

  31. No matter how long I live, I will never understand the logic behind destroying that beautiful mural. It does not matter what you are doing in the rest of the room, it was a piece of art. You don’t match your art work to your room, you hang what you love and enjoy it. Well, it is gone now, so sad. I am getting ready to some cabinets in the kitchen, master bath vanities, main bath vanities and guest room vanity. Oh yeah also powder room vanity. I can see what my entire winter will be, but I cannot justify more than five thousand dollars just for the kitchen. I know by following all of your instructions, I can do this. I may never stand up straight again, or walk, but my house will be ready for sale in April. I love the color of your kitchen cabinets, but I am not crazy about the brass hardware. I know you paid a lot for it from PB but if you had just one you could take and spray brushed crome or some other flat crome color, I think you might like the results. The cabinets are cool colors and the brass is a warm color. I hope you can at least try it. Best of luck with all your projects. Have a Blessed Christmas and a happy new year.