Defining a section of the house
11/15/2008 by Connie Veneracion · Filed under Dream home
One thing about this house is that, strictly speaking, there is no “living room” and “dining room.” Instead, there is a living area and a dining area. Meaning, the dining and living areas are contiguous and no wall divides them. Now I like every area of the house to be defined. The easiest solution would be to place a divider between the two areas but then the feeling of spaciousness would be lost.
Another option is to use area rugs. But I don’t like rugs. That might be a solution for air-conditioned rooms but the thought of dust during the summer, and molds during the rainy season, and the recurring cost of having the rugs shampooed… I don’t think so. When we were living with my in-laws, our bedroom had wall-to-wall carpeting and when I remember the countless times I had to sponge off the soiled areas (Sam and Alex were babies then so use your imagination as to what I mean by “soiled”), I cringe at the thought of carpets and rugs.
A third option is to install different kinds of flooring for each section. Perhaps, tiles for the living area and wood panels for the dining area. But since this house came with complete flooring — good-quality tiles of the same color and pattern for the living and dining areas as well as the kitchen — I think it’s a waste to have everything changed. Perhaps, when the need arises, like when the tiles are worn, that will be the time to think about different flooring for each area.
Still another option is to use different colors for each section of the house. Now, this is where I made a mistake. I chose only one color for both the living and dining areas. Everything was cream. Then, when we bought the furniture, we chose off-white upholstery too. The result? Everything looked flat. All the fresh plants inside the house hardly made a difference. Instead of feeling homey, everything was screaming sterile. Like a hospital. Or an impersonal hotel suite.
So, did I have sections repainted? No. I had wallpaper installed in the dining area.
The wallpaper ends where the living area begins. The post on the right side of the photo above serves as the divider. That’s why I couldn’t write all day — I was supervising the wallpaper installation.
The obvious question is whether the current color of the living room will be retained. I really think that painting it a shade of orange, something like the color of the flowers on the wallpaper, will make the sectioning stand out even more. And, with the off-white upholstery of the living room furniture, the stark contrasts will look fantastic. But that’s a decision for another day. Perhaps, on Monday. 
Lance on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 6:07 am
Beautiful wallpaper. And I agree with you on the “stark contrasts.” I’m no interior designer, but your dining hall looks great to me!
Connie Veneracion on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 9:36 am
Thanks, Lance. I really just want every part of the house to have that cozy, comfy feeling.
suefabia on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 11:12 am
hi connie,
a shade of orange would be a great! we recently painted our interiors and 3 rooms in our house are in different shades of orange… somewhat like melon, not quite like sunkist, and somewhat like papaya orange. it works well with yellow lampshade lighting, very warm and cozy. (by the way, i love your living room lamps…gorgeous.)
though you have not decided yet, i am so excited if you ever decide to do it in orange. ewan ko ba, basta iba ang feeling when you are surrounded by orange. parang ‘energizing’ and ‘relaxing’ at the same time.
thanks for your wonderful site. there is not a day that i do not visit it, just to check out what’s new.
whatever you decide on your living room color, do share it with us as soon as you’re done. am excited to see how it goes. change is always exciting!
Connie Veneracion on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 7:35 pm
suefabia, melon — that’s it! That’s the shade I want. And I agree that it will go well with the warm white (yellowish) lights that we already use. Naks, lalo ako na-excite. Thanks for tip. Of course, there’ll be pictures galore when it’s done — soon, I hope.
rhodora on Mon, 17th Nov 2008 8:43 pm
Ang ganda! Now your dining area has its own character.
Yes, I also think the “stark contrasts” you mentioned on your living area would be gorgeous! Go for it, Connie! Can’t wait to see the result..
Connie Veneracion on Mon, 17th Nov 2008 8:55 pm
Go na go nga ako, eh, si Speedy awat nang awat. Magastos daw ako hahahaha
trina on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 8:41 am
Ms. Connie, I have been planning to either repaint or wallpaper my room. I’m just too busy nowadays. Where can I buy those lovely wallpapers? I want something radical or lively for my boring room. hehe
A different kind of wallpaper | The Mommy Journals on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 8:59 am
[...] spending days poring over the collection of wallpaper swatches I’ve collected prior to the dining area project, Speedy had been obsessing over a different kind of wallpaper relative to a project of his [...]
Connie Veneracion on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 9:04 am
Trina, I bought them from Builders Point (Ortigas Home Depot) but I wouldn’t really recommend them. I’ll explain in a separate entry. Long story.
trina on Wed, 19th Nov 2008 12:50 am
Too bad. Ortigas Home Depot is just across the street from my office. I will try to look in SM Homeworld if there’s any. Thanks Ms. Connie!
JMonreal on Wed, 19th Nov 2008 3:32 am
Great combination brangelina - like a man and woman in love. The dark mahogany furniture and cabinet complimented by the lovely, flowery wall paper.
Connie Veneracion on Wed, 19th Nov 2008 7:11 am
brangelina hehehe matutuwa na naman asawa ko hahahaha
Housekeeping | Dream home on Mon, 24th Nov 2008 3:17 pm
[...] think of it, work in several parts of the house started about 10 days ago with the installation of wallpaper in the dining area. On the same day, the bald spot in the [...]
iluvgreen on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 3:06 pm
hi, im dropping by from witsandnuts blog. I love your wall paper and the dinning table, looks cozy and homy .
Warm colors for the living area | Dream home on Sat, 6th Dec 2008 4:50 pm
[...] and dining areas, by using printed wallpaper in one section and a solid colors for the other. Cream wallpaper with orange flowers climbing up a vine were installed in the dining area and, after I saw the effect, that was when I [...]
Dang Inciong on Fri, 2nd Jan 2009 12:40 pm
May we know the problem with the installation of wallpaper in Antipolo? Am checking with my staff & installer if we received a complaint from you.
Builders Point
Connie Veneracion on Fri, 2nd Jan 2009 2:01 pm
Dang, there was nothing wrong with the installation. It was the scheduling and the preparation that went all wrong. The guy you sent to measure the walls, Michael his name was, arrived without a measuring tape and no calculator. Not even a pen. Then, he overmeasured the walls. I told him we didn’t have a ladder (were we really supposed to provide that considering we were PAYING for full installation? Ain’t it part of your business to provide the equipment for installation?), the installer arrived BUT NO LADDER. I called up your office, was told that the ladder would arrive at 3 p.m. but it didn’t. I talked to your staff. There was a series of phone calls. If they didn’t tell you I complained about the mess, then, you know they’re hiding their mistakes from you. Instead of a half day installation, it stretched to two days because we had to wait for the availability of your ladder. It messed up my personal schedule, I missed appointments and all because the coordination went all wrong.
ASk them about Camp Crame. I was told the ladder got stuck there on the day it was supposed to be brought over to my house. They couldn’t pull the ladder out of Crame because the installation there couldn’t be finished as scheduled because they messed up there too (blinds were the wrong size, as far as I know).
Dang Inciong on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 10:46 am
with regards to measurement, we usually provide allowance on the quantity as final payment is based on actual quantity.
My staff, Tata, as I was told, informed you of the arrival delay of the installer, Tony, as your location is considered as out-of-town.
Reprimanded Tata, Bong and Michael, how come they did not include charges for use of aluminum ladder? Installation charge does only cover transportation and labor.
should have canceled the transaction knowing we have to meet your tight deadline.
Tata, as informed, only knew of your tight schedule when the installer is on transit to your location in antipolo. compounded further, when you demanded to be completed within the day.
nevertheless, we fired mr. bong bengote for not fully facilitatting the delivery of the aluminum ladder.
Connie Veneracion on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 11:33 am
There was no problem with the installer, like I said before. He arrived as scheduled. It was the ladder issue that messed up the schedule. In fact, after installing the wallpaper dining area, the installer STAYED AND WAITED because we were assured by your staff (over the phone) that the ladder would arrive. It was around 5 p.m. when we were told it was impossible and we would have to reschedule the installation on their stairwall for the next day.
Re “Installation charge does only cover transportation and labor.”
Then, we should have been told about that. What we were told was that the installation charges were “PER ROLL.” No one broke that down into transpo, labor, etc.
Re “as your location is considered as out-of-town”
Your Tata never said that the location was an issue. The only thing she said was that I’d have to pay P500 for the measurements and the P500 was deductible from the total amount but non-refundable in case the job did not push through.
Re: “you demanded to be completed within the day”
Excuse me, that was the result of me having been assured by the guy who did the measurements that it was just a small job and could be completed within HALF A DAY. Ergo, I was merely acting based on what I was promised.
Your tone makes it appear that I was being overly demanding when, IN FACT, I merely FOLLOWED the schedule and charges that your people set. And the GLARING TRUTH is that you don’t really know what happened and you’re relying on what your people are telling you and, obviously, they ARE all washing their hands off to save their asses.
Re “nevertheless, we fired mr. bong bengote for not fully facilitatting the delivery of the aluminum ladder.”
I’ll take that as a personal apology from you to me.