WHO DO YOU GET TO DO THIS TYPE OF JOB...A DESIGNER?!? INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR?

So there are a few things on our to do list but we need guidance on most of it in order to figure out what if anything we can do before the end of the year:

1. Paint our dark wood molding white (incl. toe kick on stairs and parts of the banister....guidance needed)
2. Include a desk area in our bedroom (Its a small room so not sure where....guidance needed)
3. Add fireplace surround, remove old built in and add new built in in white (I think...guidance needed)
4. Need to replace our 100 year old toilet and the bathroom needs renovating but we're not ready to renovate yet but the toilet is a problem....will we be able to replace the toilet without redoing the floors, vanity, etc etc....guidance needed)

After writing the list down it doesn't seem as big but I am still plagued by questions that are creating this awful inertia! How much of the moulding should we paint? How much of the banister? Will changing out that horrible toilet now create problems down the line when we want to renovate the bathroom completely?....can we even replace the toilet without having to do the floor too? I'm pretty sure I hate the horrible beige patterned brick on our fireplace and would love a white wooden surround but how will that look? And the built in right next to the fireplace...should that go all the way to the ceiling or just be shelves?

I'd love to be able to talk to someone to tell them my ideas and have them make suggestions, give advice and possibly even sketch something out to give me a visual.

That would be a designer's job right???

call a plumber for new toilet-#1

is the trim wood chestnut? if so don't paint it white!

good luck

I am a designer and help lots of local people, so I can certainly help you, even if just with some advice to help it from being so overwhelming.

Regarding the trim, we had white trim for over 11 years and moved into a house with dark trim. I never would have chosen it, but it totally suited the character of the house. I think a big issue with darker trim is that the wrong wall color against it makes both wall and trim look terrible. My walls were mostly dingy white. I repainted with mid tones that work much better with the darker Moldings. I was actually thinking about it today. White is probably the worst color for trim because it gets so dirty and needs more frequent touch ups. Look at some pics on houzz or Pinterest. With the right wall color, nice trim will be enhanced. At the very least, think about it before you do it because it's not easy to undo.

Of course if you're convinced you want the trim to be white, there are a gazillion whites to choose from.

I can help with the desk designtoo, if you'd like more info, feel free to PM me.

Sorry oots, I think it is chestnut and after 16 yrs of respecting the wood I'm going to paint it out to give my house the look I'm going for.

Painting the stair risers white will brighten it up quite a bit. Why not take it lighter one step at a time, to see how you like it without going all the way in one shot?

Or, you could install a light colored stair runner?

Sadly, I can see the point on both sides of the argument of leaving chestnut vs. going lighter. The wood can be rather oppressive, but at the same time it can be lovely with the right wall paint colors and is incredibly difficult to reclaim once painted.

But it's your house.

Regarding the toilet, BTW, you can replace a toilet without having to re-do everything else, if you measure and get a toilet that is the same size and configuration. The bolt holes and drain have to be a certain distance from the wall to achieve this. A plumber could help you figure that out and handle the install.