Decorating and Design - What to do with a dining room with concrete walls and floors.

I'm living in the netherlands and my house was built in the 1920's. The walls are concrete and floors are ceramic tile. We slapped a little paint on to get by. The time has come to do something. I have a problem first with mildew and second I want to do something with the dining room but I just don't know what. There's 5 doors in this room one small window and a stairway. The approx size is 10x12 with 6-1/2-7' ceiling covered with plastic outside vinyl. The wall behind the dining table has the shut off valve of the outside faucet. I would like to camaflogue this in some way also. I don't know how I can replace the water line without removing the concrete floor also. I have photos on my site with a description of the room including measurements.
http://www.denie.nl/OurHome.htm

Any suggestions as to what I can do to make this look more like a place you want to eat rather than the basement would be appreciated.
Since winter is coming I figured this would be as good a time as any to do it.
Thanks for your suggestions,
Denie
American living in the Netherlands

Mold/mildew are series issues for your health. Much has been in the news lately re: ill effects on health: allergies, respiratory problems, headaches, rashes, and other problems. Reducing humidity and improving ventilation are important for reducing a desirable environment for mold/mildew. A dehumidifier will reduce humidity and running fans will improve ventilation. If you have airconditioning this will reduce humidity as well. In winter it is less of a problem because heating lowers humidity levels. Surfaces that have mold/mildew need to be disinfected with 50/50 bleach/water solution. There are mildew resistant paints available. If the exterior walls are cinder block, then they can be coated with a couple coats of masonry sealer. Perhaps inside walls would benefit from masonry sealer as well. Use a sealer that is recommended for covering paint. Perhaps texturizing the walls would give it more of a plastered look. Fabrics always give a room a softer look. Exterior vinyl siding on the ceiling is indeed a challenge. If you are renting, I would not recommend making much of an investment. If you purchased the house, then consider how long you plan on living there before making any major investments. Placing a piece of furniture in front of the cut off valve for the exterior faucet may hide it. Hang a big basket over it or place a plant (live or artificial) in front of it. If you own the house and can afford the investment, after sealing the interior walls with a masonry sealer, interior walls could be panelled or dry walled and plastered. If you are renting, seal the walls, texturize the paint by adding sand, using a lovely color of paint, hang a basket over the cut off valve, a pair of bold colored curtains, a colorful area rug, some pictures on the walls, and a beautiful flower arrangement in the middle of the table will make it look more like home. The mold/mildew problems need to be addressed before you pursue your decorating because of your health. Forum members who rent have posted using the stick on velcro to cover walls and ceiling with fabrics. But, the mold/mildew needs to be resolved before attempting to cover walls and ceilings. If you own, then the vinyl ceiling could be removed and covered with dry wall and plaster. The vinyl is probably hiding some sins, so the ceiling is probably in poor condition. Please keep in touch. Keep us updated on what you do. Perhaps we can be of assistance.

I went to your website. All the pictures did not load. This is perhaps because I am at my rural mountain cabin this weekend where we have the world's slowest internet provider. What I did get to see reveals you have a lovely home. I only got to see the top half of the diningroom, but what I saw was lovely. If you have done so much work, you must own your home. Keep us posted on your progress.

Thank you,
Yes, we own the house. Sorry about the photos, they need to be resized. I'm still new at this internet webdesign also, but that's another forum.
We got lucky because the people before had just put a new roof on 2 yrs before we bought it. That's what made it marketable and the only reason we bought it. An affordable single home in the Netherlands is almost impossible to find. My biggest mold/mildew problem is around the back exterior and front door walls. (The front hallway also has the same vinyl siding, that's coming down eventually).
I'm going Gama and Praxis, to try and find the base sealer and paints you mentioned. I hope they can be applied over the latex that's on the walls now. As for air conditioning they don't have any it doesn't get hot enough, they consider 75-80 a heatwave, and for heating in the winter there's no central heat only space heaters. Some of the newer homes are putting central heat in.

On funny note: When they move they take everything and I mean everything, vinyl flooring, wall to wall carpets if they had them, window coverings, all lighting fixtures & switches, heaters and some have taken the sink. No I'm not kidding.

But it's a beautiful little country. Just wear your raincoat bring an umbrella and you'll do fine.

Thanks again for the tips.
Denise

I am not a professional, but here in the States concrete is very popular as walls, floors and counter tops. There are any number of paint applications available from just paint to stain. As to the dining room and all the windows, I would treat them as walls, by covering them up with floor to ceiling curtains and just putting furniture in front of them. But, I would most definitely address the mold/mildew first because of the health risks and then the damage to your furniture and fabrics. And you home is absolutely lovely. I am in the middle of it myself, so if you come back to the States, I would be glad to have you come and give me some help. Good Luck.

Check out http://www.acid-stain.com for great tips and information on concrete stains. I'm assuming they're available in your country (which I visited in 1958 and fell in love with when we spent a year in Germany). I've just finished staining
2,000 sq. ft. of concrete floor in our home. You can be very creative with it! Good luck!