Paint bare timber?

[JoceAndChris]

I'm painting the kitchen walls/ceiling today! (Joa's White, F&B, against "Light Blue" on the units) I can't quite decide what to do about the timber.

The previous owner had a real mania for bare wood: should I paint it? Do you reckon it would look better? (Cord, by F&B is what I'm currently leaning towards)

Above window ledge (bit worm-eaten but basically sound):

Back of door:

'nother door:

Timber above this door, which leads to an unpainted sash window, very high up so not really seen and hard to photograph:

Then there are bits of shelves and sills and hook racks and timbers in the wall, all in varying states of decrepitude. Paint the lot? Any thoughts appreciated, as ever.

For those who haven't seen my kitchen (!!) here are some done-up bits:

But we made curtains for the window:

One day I'll rip out all the cement stuff and do it properly with limecrete floor and breathable walls, and then get free-standing kitchen units, but there's no budget for that this year.

 

[MdB]

For me, that wood looks fantastic and I wouldn't want to paint it.

If you do decide to paint it, can I suggest that you choose a type that would be easy to remove in the future if required.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Not really encountered this myself, but I agree with MdB about the reversability. So avoid modern formulations on the wood and stick to a whitewash or simple water based distemper, which you could make yourself. I believe exposed beams in old houses would have been whitewashed in the old days. I think there have been some threads on this in the past .

 

[mm289]

Kinda having the same discussion on ours. Most of our beams have been painted black or brown which I hate, but then originally I believe they would have been painted or covered/boxed in anyway so its an "originality" vs "style" debate.

Your doors look very similar to ours, kinda unpainted, possibly varnished but with a lot of patina.

My vote would be to leave the doors as is as I quite like to see the history, where the catches have been before etc, I think it really adds character.

On the woodwork, I prefer the as is look personaly and if all my beams hadnt been painted then I would definately be leaving them bare!

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Kitchen looks fab, love the floor. I should leave the doors alone,they have a more 'rustic' look and really would not have been painted!

 

[JoceAndChris]

OK! That's just so helpful folks, thanks so much. I'll confine my oil eggshell to the modern bits of wood (window frame, skirting), and leave the doors and wormy old timbers alone - maybe wax the doors!

Kitchen looks fab, love the floor.

Thanks Joss! It's all what we've inherited, just making the best of a bit of a bodge to be honest!

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Doesn't look bodged to me, at least you don't have awful cheap black slate tiles on top of nasty white tiles, on top of old pink and grey marley! I'll post a pic sometime. It is a real headache deciding what to do with our floor since, like you, we've inherited some really bad DIY from when the house was converted in 2000!!

 

[biffvernon]

So sorry to see that the curtain's disease has spread to the crockery.

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

B*mmer isn't it! My punishment for bleaching the silverfish?

But get this, you're going to LOVE me for this one. Did I suck up all the hibernating ladybirds when I was vaccuuming their corner? No, I tenderly moved them into an empty biscuit packet full of chocolate crumbs, (which they ate), and from thence into the porch, where they have joined another colony of hibernating ladybirds, and have formed a big spotty blot in the corner!!!

@Joss: just know you will work your magic on your house, yes- we haven't seen any pics from you for ages! Pics!

 

[Penners]

Like everyone else, I like the doors the way they are. Possibly not authentic to the age of the house (they would very probably have been painted in Georgian times) but if you're relaxed about that, I should leave them. I love old items that carry the scars and dings that tell the story of their lives. (Fortunately, so does Mrs P).

As regards the beams above the window, I think I would grout between them with lime mortar and limewash them. This would give you a more dust-free setup, and would reflect more light into the room.

By the way, in that window picture, I'm a bit worried about the brick in the top left-hand corner. It looks as though it's held in place by faith, hope and skyhooks.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thankyou for your typically kind response. What are skyhooks, please? I am worried about all the bricks. Sometimes lumps the size of 50ps fall down. Clearly, I need more skyhooks.

As regards the beams above the window, I think I would grout between them with lime mortar and limewash them. This would give you a more dust-free setup, and would reflect more light into the room.

Ah, but you see they have already been destined to be hidden, as of today, by a frilly, toning, strawberry-embroidered duck egg pelmet.

 

[Flyfisher]

I think I'd go with Penners' limewash suggestion, assuming you wish to paint them at all. Our attic rooms are full of flaking limewashed timbers and I haven't yet decided to wash them down, which I've done in a few places and it leaves a lovely limewashed oak finish, or re-limewash them completely. Both finishes look good and would be far more in keeping than a 'hard' paint.

 

[JoceAndChris]

wash them down, which I've done in a few places and it leaves a lovely limewashed oak finish, or re-limewash them completely. Both finishes look good and would be far more in keeping than a 'hard' paint.

Hmmmm, I may as well confess once and for all that I have no visual frame of reference with which to connect the words "washed... limewashed oak finish" or "limed boards" (which I've read elsewhere). Will you all still play with me?

If anyone could be so good as to show off a limey-not-quite limewashed finish they've achieved I would be most glad to see it.

 

[ilona73]

i found this limewashed beam piccie personally i like them.. but it depends on the overall look you wish to achieve... i would imagine the effect could be softened greatly by how much is applied.
Same applies to the floor...
could have a tendency to making a room feel a little cold if over done i should imagine.

 

[Flyfisher]

If anyone could be so good as to show off a limey-not-quite limewashed finish they've achieved I would be most glad to see it.

Sorry Joce, but it seems like you've caught me without a suitable photo to illustrate my point. This is the best I could find, which shows the limewashed beams but not in very close-up detail. You can just see a patch above the dormer window where I've washed off the limewash, but unfortunately it doesn't show the smooth finish with streaks of limewash in the grain of the wood. I'll take some close-ups next time I have my camera to hand.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Hmmmmmm -thank you- isn't it a little - um, bedraggled?

What would Jane Austen say? Now I know I promised to try and relax a bit more but I'm finding it hard!

 

[Flyfisher]

Which photo?

My photo shows beams that haven't been touched for at least 50 years, perhaps many more, so the limewash flaking is not too surprising. It either needs washing off completely, which would leave the smooth 'limed-oak' I mentioned but can't show at present, or brushing down to remove all the loose flakes and then repainting with more limewash.

I guess the end result depends a lot on the state of underlying beams.

 

[judrop]

Joce Kitchen looks lovely, I do quite like the lime washed beams look, but when it comes to the doors, they have such a fantastic rich patina ,if they were mine I would keep them natural/as they are , superb !

 

[JoceAndChris]

Which photo?

My photo shows beams that haven't been touched for at least 50 years, perhaps many more, so the limewash flaking is not too surprising. It either needs washing off completely, which would leave the smooth 'limed-oak' I mentioned but can't show at present, or brushing down to remove all the loose flakes and then repainting with more limewash.

I guess the end result depends a lot on the state of underlying beams.

Your beam photo - wrong of me to judge when they're in a kind of halfway-house state.

Thank you so much for showing me and educating me on this point!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Joce Kitchen looks lovely, I do quite like the lime washed beams look, but when it comes to the doors, they have such a fantastic rich patina ,if they were mine I would keep them natural/as they are , superb !

Thank you so much, they've been through a lot- the one without the lock has been painted before. I like things to look smart, fashionable, and cared for, but come more and more to the conclusion that anything approaching those qualities will have to be in the soft furnishings and accessories whilst the house retains its scruffy authenticity.