Seeking Inspiration for painted wood & cement steps

[Wackyshack]

I promised myself I would do more than paint the exterior that needs touch up this year. One is decorating based and the other might be a maintenance issue.


The first one shows my parlor before wallpaper when the white painted wood (previous owner) made sense. I since have papered and now the baseboards and doorways jump out and distract the overall theme of the room.

Looking for ideas... I was thinking of brown gel stain and trying to faux grain it. but don't want the look to be phony bologna.

Screen Shot 2016-06-27 at 11.51.13 AM.png (1.06 MiB) Viewed 769 times

Screen Shot 2016-06-27 at 11.50.55 AM.png (682.15 KiB) Viewed 764 times

Second problem. This is an old photo showing an old problem that is getting worse. Cement Chipping and a hollow sound on one of the steps.
My husband was tapping the steps with a metal tool and his a hollow sound in one spot on the steps on both staircases. I am not sure if there was an air pocket that has formed when it cured, or if this is something else of which I have no idea. The cement has been sound and there are no cracks in it.

Screen Shot 2016-06-27 at 11.51.13 AM.png (1.06 MiB) Viewed 769 times

Screen Shot 2016-06-27 at 11.50.55 AM.png (682.15 KiB) Viewed 764 times

sorry for the garbled order the computer has posted the photos twice although I only have one attachment each on the preview and I am no longer going to fight a fight I can't win...

[Powermuffin]

So if I am reading this correctly, you think the trim is not working with the wallpaper? If so, why not just paint the trim a creamy color instead of stark white? Or even a light beige.
Diane

[CS in Low Hud]

Your steps ARE probobly hollow - or filled with rubble under the concrete. That's usually how they make them, unless it's a pre-cast unit.

I had a similar issue with the concrete disintegrating, and replaced mine with wood.



Chris

[Wackyshack]

Screen Shot 2016-06-29 at 9.24.54 PM.png (1.96 MiB) Viewed 709 times

Diane, thanks for that idea... my mind is empty when I just look at the room I wanted to get everything to match or play better with the dark wood in the parlour set and the pocket doors that are in one of the entrances to the room. That is why I was leaning toward a fake wood grain. The white was fine when the house flipper had it matching the insane asylum white interior.

I should have included a shot of the pocket doors. You can see a piece of them in the foreground.
Off in the distance is another project that is on hiatus.

[Wackyshack]

Chris, I am not sure how the steps were made but the long time family who lived on the property were rather concrete happy... they did the entire basement floor and did these raised areas for storing things because I was told the basement flooded frequently until they went on city sewer.

I would love to go wooden steps, but my husband thinks he can brick over them. This is something he has promised to do for 6 years and the crumbly parts are getting worse and worse. The place is more work than he will admit to.

[Kashka-Kat]

What kind of wood is that ? In a previous house I stripped off paint on doors, windows & door & window trim -heat gun worked well because there was still enough shellac under the paint. If yours is similar situation I think it might be less effort really than the faux grain route plus be more harmonious with your existing wood. I just painted baseboards same color as walls & didn't bother stripping them ( too much work/ intricate surfaces & generally more banged up with paint deep into the wood).

[mkiehn20]

they did the entire basement floor and did these raised areas for storing things because I was told the basement flooded frequently until they went on city sewer.

Are the "raised areas" around the perimeter of the basement? If so, that's how many old basements are, including my own. I was told that it's a sort of retaining wall for a basement that was dug after the home was already built. It does make a nice storage area!

[Wackyshack]

Screen Shot 2016-06-30 at 12.53.34 PM.png (755.34 KiB) Viewed 683 times

mkiehn20
Mine are bit more off beat... I made a chart... is this normal??? (not too much about our house is. For example we have a water line that leaves the house and no one knows where it goes to. We have turned it on to see if somewhere in the yard gets muddy and it didn't even after 20 minutes so we shut it off. We thought it went to the barn (horses were boarded there) but a neighbor said they never had water at the barn and carried it out.) This house earned the name of Wackyshack.
The green area denotes added on to the original 1880 house.
Raised footings are in yellow.
Found some old photos from Previous Owner.

[Wackyshack]

Kashka Kat

The wooden base boards in the front parlour are that ground up pulp board. He put that in where ever he worked on the house. He replaced a lot of wood around door ways and the doors themselves & etc and painted them white. I have no old Victorian trim or doors except where I went and bought salvage and put it in, so I am sure any plain wood is primed pine the house flipper went cheap every where he could. I might have to paint to blend in the best I can.


I do have some original baseboards where I still have plaster and they look a lot different, but common style to mid 19th century houses I have been in.

One the next things I am going to be researching is fixing broken key with the washers but lucky there are good instructions on this site for them so I won't be whining again.