Painting Out 1930s Wood Trim

I can't believe I did it.  I can't believe how much work it was.  I can't believe I plan to do more...

but it looks pretty amazing!!!

Part of the charm of the home I bought a year and a half ago was the untouched original woodwork.  Unfortunately, someone along the way had decided to shellac the wood making it very, very shiny which, of course, accentuated all the dings and scrapes that had occurred over the years.  In addition, the woodwork was made out of fir which generally turns a dark orangey colour over the years.  I'm not fond of orangey wood any more...

So last year, I took the plunge and painted the two wood paneling walls in the house - one in the dining room and one in the living room.  I love the look of the painted paneling.  Here's the before & after of the living room wall:

and here is the after shot of the dining room wall of paneling (I never took a before shot of the room - too much of a hurry to do my project!)

See all the orange trim???  Beautiful in its own way, and that is what made it so difficult for me to take this plunge.  That being said, half the baseboards in the living room were original to the house and half were replaced when the addition was built 3 years ago so they are not the same colour.  Plus the wood colour doesn't match the floor colour.  My choices?  Strip and refinish the old wood or paint everything the same colour.  It was a dilemma!  Until I had a conversation with one of my girlfriends on Friday.  Her words - " ya, fir always turns orange over time".  !!!!!  Lightbulb moment!  So even if I go to the backbreaking, long & tedious work of refinishing this wood, it was just going to turn back to the same ugly orange again.  Decision made - paint it is!!!

I washed all the trim and doors and baseboards with TSP and then rinsed them.  I also used Zinsser's Cover Stain oil-based primer because it's supposed to cover shiny surfaces without the need for sanding.  I didn't sand either.  The paint is Behr's paint & primer in one in a colour I mixed myself to be more of a light coffee cream colour than the Almond Cream that I had bought.

Let me say now that I am not good at cutting in. In fact, I will generally do anything in my power to avoid that job, but in this case I had no choice.  I have to say that overall it was a good experience because I am now very practiced at it and have developed a better technique.  But it took me 12 hours to develop that technique.  12 hours of crawling across the floor.  I hate trim...

Here are the befores & afters:

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

Granted the dining room looks much more impressive than the living room but the exposure is so much nicer in this room.  My living room is quite dark in comparison!  I'm also hoping to use my favourite door as a replacement for the door to my front porch -

It's too tall and 1/4 inch too wide so I need to figure out how to cut it down to fit.  Wouldn't it be fab?!

Incidentally, I never did paint the newer trim in the living room because it joins up with the hallway trim and I thought it would look odd.  The living room portion is mostly hidden by the couch anyway.  Once I got used to the idea of  painted trim, I decided that it would look best if all the trim in the spaces that join up visually were painted the same creamy white.  So, how to avoid another 12 hours of cutting in?  I'm going to paint the entire hallway - ceiling, walls & trim - the same colour! The trim will be in a pearl finish so it should look a little different from the wall, but no cutting in other than where the trim meets the floor!!  I am so brilliant I've even inspired myself!  lol

Have a happy & creative week!

To see all the before photos in their horrifying highly lacquered orangeness:  It's Decided
To see the rest of the updates:   the Turquoise Door

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