We live in a 1908 Craftsman in Oakland.  It has clearly been remodeled a few times. Luckily we like most of the changes.  Our home has a more open floor plan than many.  The one feature that we miss is that many Craftsman homes of this era have built in cabinetry, which was likely removed from ours at some point.

Fireplace Before

The beautiful paneled walls, bricked fireplace and mantel and box beam ceiling of our dining room had been painted over a stark white at some point. While this choice was slightly redeemed by a lovely clay color chosen for the space above the paneling, The primer-like white was never going to feel cozy or warm.

After several years of home-ownership and with many other more dire improvement projects under my belt, I decided it was time to tackle this. I scoured the internet for suggestions specific to the paneling and fireplace, but found very little. Much of what is posted are photos of display homes of famous architects of the era.  Luckily, I was able to visit a few homes to get some ideas.

Fireplace after

I went down to Eco Home Improvement and looked at the Yolo color palettes.  The palette that I was considering was most like their Canyon palette, but it was a bit on the red side and the dark brown was a bit too dark.  I did choose Canyon 5 for the bricks, which matched our curtains perfectly and is reminiscent of, well…unfinished brick…  For the light trim pieces, I decided to go with Stone 1, which was clearly a contrast with the rich dark colors in the rest of the room, but much warmer, richer and darker than the white that we were moving away from.

The brown was not a Yolo color, but a custom color called “Raisin”.  It was the color that I was and am the least sure of.  It brings a business to the room that I am not thrilled with, but I really liked the idea of  paying tribute to the beautiful dark wood underneath the paint.

And no, I don’t expect that white trim around the door frame to last. Actually, I hope that eliminating that will be the final touch that gives the room the cohesiveness that it needs. And then on to the box beam ceiling, which I am excited about asthetically, but dreading because of the difficulty on the neck and shuolders that I imagine with painting detail on a ceiling.  How did Michael Angelo do it?