The HELP!!.....The Oasis

Some kind of glorious divine intervention happened when Donna suggested a husband of a co-worker who might be able to help out with the trim and really, make this room what I had hoped it would be!!  Andy showed up, unassuming and yet professional and I instantly knew he was the man for the job.  When his quote came in via email my fingers were crossed that it would not break my budget!  He was more than fair and work was scheduled to start in advance of the Christmas holidays

First:  a box needed to be constructed above the mantel, about half the width of the mantel and in alignment with the fireplace.  The popcorn ceiling was removed , replaced with a smooth one, 6 pot lights running the length of the room with 2 more focused on the box above the mantel

 The next minor project was to raise the bookshelf so that the baseboard could run continuously around it and give it the appearance of a built in bookshelf!   A small box was constructed and secured under the bookshelf.  Then it was slid against the wall, wired for three undermount lights on the top shelf and secured with brackets from the top, out of sight.

Thoughts.................Moldings........who knew you needed to be a design engineer to piece them all together.  Being green and naive I assumed there was a set pattern for panels.  Of course there isnt!!  I have learned that having a great imagination and an ability to put a puzzle together is an asset in this area.  I decided on 4 inch frames with a beaded trim inside, topped by a 5 inch piece with a backbanding above it.  The baseboard was a 7 inch door jamb with a  small decorative piece on the very bottom.

The paint on the panels was regular glossy white trim paint from Sherwin Williams.  The grey above is Stonington Grey from Benjamin Moore (love it!!)