THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION

Hi there! Thanks very much for joining me here. Today I’m delighted to share with you The House On Victoria Court Living Room Renovation. Step on inside the front door and take a look at the BEFORE. The walls were paneled in knotty pine, something you see a lot of in old Lake Arrowhead “Charmers”. I like a lot of wood, but feel the stained and varnished paneling is no longer relevant when considering today’s preferred design aesthetic. While the wood gives the room character and charm, it is also dark and dreary and needed lightening up.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

I liked, and have kept, the front door. Curiously however, the knocker was on the inside of the door, so we remedied that.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE AFTER

As you view the “before” photos you will see that the previous owners were channeling a cowboy theme throughout. Note the red cowboy throw pillows and the natural cowhide pillow on the couch, the cowboy hat hung by the front door, and as you’ll see in the next few photos, a wagon wheel coffee table and chandelier. While I don’t mind cowboys, Lake Arrowhead is not the “Wild West” and I didn’t feel a cowboy theme was appropriate for our forested mountain community. But I could see cowboys for a little boy’s room, and for that reason I have put some of the cowboy-themed accoutrements in storage for possible future use in a themed kid’s room.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

I didn’t hate the braided rag rug but it didn’t match my color scheme for this remodel so it too got put in storage.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

Adjacent to the front door were 2 overstuffed chairs, one of gray leather with a saddle embroidered on it. The other chair was a Mission/Craftsman Style chair. Both chairs had good bones but were too large for the space, so they too were placed in storage and may reappear in a future renovation. The horrible tab-top curtains are now goners. I can’t stand tab-top curtains (“Tell um how you really feel Celia”). What is your opinion on this ready-made type of window treatment?

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

I thought the mid-century-modern floor lamp was interesting, and as you will see in upcoming photos, I transformed it into something that we have kept.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

The centerpiece of the room is the stone fireplace, made from granite stones indigenous to these mountains. The gray color of the stones was what inspired the overall color-scheme I have used for the renovation of The House On Victoria Court.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

The vintage, bronze sconces that flank the fireplace I found attractive, and they inspired me to incorporate bronze into the renovation.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT | Introducing My Latest Fixer-Upper | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

My Color-Pallet & Mood Board

While I did not end up keeping the cowboy-red bookshelf in the room, I did find ways to use the collection of vintage books it held. Books always make great room accessories.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

To the right of the fireplace there was a small table, covered in a vintage cowboy-print tablecloth with fake leather fringe. There is a place for everything, usually, but in this case the table and the tablecloth needed a new home. Plus their positioning was all wrong in terms of proximity to the kitchen.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

I did make use of the wooden chairs as you will see in the “After” photos.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORE

Now let me show you The House On Victoria Court Living Room Renovation. We started by making a long, builtin bench where the two large chairs used to be. This area is just across from the kitchen so it made perfect sense to turn it into a dining area.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

Builtin benches with interior storage are one of my trademarks. I have used them in many previous renovations. They look great, are practical, especially in small spaces, and they provide much needed extra storage in small homes.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

Next I designed, and my carpenter built, a beautiful custom dining table to fit the space just perfectly.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

Above the table we installed a Bronze colored Classic Metal Bell 3-Light Pendant, $349.00 from Pottery Barn. It provided extra light and also complimented the existing Bronze colored wall sconces. The existing wagon wheel chandelier is a goner.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE AFTER

I sewed pretty curtains to replace the terrible tab-top ones that had been there. We used galvanized pipe for curtain rods.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

And this is what the dining area looks like today. The walls were painted in Cool Ashes from Behr Premium Plus Ultra.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

I had an upholstered cushion made for the bench and topped it with an assortment of pretty pillows.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

The cushion is made from a rich gray fabric I picked up from Dorell Fabric Outlet in Fountain Valley, CA, my favorite off-price fabric house.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

The old wooden dining chairs got a coat of gray paint…

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

and the table was set using the following items:

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

This is what the fireplace looks like now.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

Remember the old books? I covered them in brown craft paper and tied them up with gray, grosgrain ribbon. The oil painting came from my previous fixer-upper, The House on Cottage Grove. Didn’t use it there but it was perfect for this home. I also found an old pair of ice skates in the home and placed them on the mantel as well.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

The original home came with this funky metal thingie where matches were kept. I painted it gray and placed it next to the fireplace. I like it now!

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE BEFORETHE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE AFTER

I designed the coffee table to compliment the dining table and my talented carpenter made it for me.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

I painted an old iron basket gray, filled it with pine cones from the yard, and added some deer antlers for decoration. Under it I placed a lovely wool/cotton blend area rug, $199.00 from H & M, the same type that lines the adjacent staircase.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE AFTER

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE AFTER

The couch is Ektorp in Dark Beige, $499.00 from IKEA. And remember the old floor lamp from the before photos? We reworked the electrical, painted it gray, and now it looks perfect in its original home. The cashmere throw from Italy was a splurge, $100 from Home Goods.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE AFTER

I designed one more piece of furniture for the room, this accent table which we placed against the wall in front of the stairs.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com | THE DURING

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

I also kept a beautiful antique cabinet along with the Mid Century Modern China it contained. This was original to the home and is quite lovely.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

The final thing I made for this room was a small pillow, sewn from 2 antique, hand-embroidered handkerchiefs I found in The House On Victoria Court. For each of my fixer-uppers I like to create something sentimental, made from something left behind by the original owners. I hope whoever purchases this home will find some value in it.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

So, that’s about it for The House on Victoria Court Living Room renovation. But please stay tuned, as I’ll be sharing all the others rooms in the house in the coming days.

THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION | www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

If you or someone you know are looking for the quintessential mountain cabin in beautiful Lake Arrowhead, California, this home is now on the market. Please contact my agent, Lynne Wilson to view the home: 909-337-2080

And, in case you missed them you can see more of The House On Victoria Court here:

So there you have it: THE HOUSE ON VICTORIA COURT LIVING ROOM RENOVATION

Thanks so much for dropping in! 

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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission. This post contains affiliate links which help to make this blog possible. Thanks for your support!

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