Too much pine... planning on painting. Need your advice!
Hi, we just bought a small cabin on a beautiful lakefront. The large windows in the family room/dining area face North West which is what we prefer because we don't need any blinds for the sweltering summer sun, but I find the amount of pine in the interior with this amount of light makes things a little dark. We want it to be a rustic beachy cabin and would like to lighten things up. Also the woods are not all stained the same so I feel like there's too much going on. All of the furnishings in the photos came with the cabin. Only the dining set and loveseat will be staying. We will be buying an aqua/teal sofa bed and most decor items that we'll be using are light and bright with a beachy natural feel. We are adding a live edge mantel to cover the old vent holes in the stone on the fireplace and I will paint out the brass on the insert. I have a large reclaimed wood mirror, paddles, starfish and some fun retro framed posters from our travels we'll be using to give you an idea of what we like.
We love the tone of the wood ceilings and the floors are great so we're leaving those. We will also leave the solid pine doors for now (except the one in the kitchen leading to the pantry area), but I would prefer them a bit darker to match the ceiling in the future. The kitchen cabinets are almost new, done well and need to stay, but the warm grey tone and modern aesthetic of the cabinets throws me when picking a paint color for the walls.
Right now our plan is to paint the pine walls in the main living/dining area and kitchen SW Alabaster to freshen things up. I love the idea of "white", but don't want anything stark with the northern light or too yellow either. There is very limited wall space in the kitchen, but the appliances are white so if the SW Alabaster won't work there, I was wondering about a very light beachy blue/green paint color. The last photo is of the room we will be using for our "master bedroom" because it has a door with a nice deck attached. It's tiny, but everything we need will fit. I'm not sure if we should or shouldn't paint the pine in here right now.
Please share your insight and ideas to refresh our tiny lakeside cabin.
Thank you!!!
Comments (99)
PROBeth H. :
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoPaint it! I'd leave the wood ceiling, maybe paint the beams a black, or white.
if your pine looked like this w/a white floor, I'd say leave it. But it doesn't look like this!
between all of your pine walls, the stone fireplace and those busy looking wood floors, it's just too much! painting the walls will allow the eyeballs to rest a bit!carefully shellac the knots after going over the panels with a fine sanding. this will rough up the surface so that your primer can adhere. you can also use the oil based primer to seal the knots.
look at these other pine transformations. you don't hav to use white.
This one was actually done w/chalk paint. (seal the knots first) This color combo is beautiful and would look amazing w/your fireplace. love the black trim too
another darker tone that looks great w/the pine/alder coloring.
white wash. you can use a white stain (General Finishes) or just water down white paint, or even chalk paint.
as for the kitchen cabs, they look more modern than cabin-ishhttp://rehabdorks.com/2016/03/painting-knotty-pine-walls/
https://www.remodelaholic.com/painting-over-knotty-pine-paneling-complete-master-bedroom-redo/nightbk thanked Beth H. :Related Discussions
Leyland vs. Green Giant vs. White Pine need screening advice
Comments (29)Yes I have been short of time lately, but after I just saw your latest questions, I took only a moment to walk over to my row of trees and check thier measurements. The fence behind my trees appears 10 times worse that the one in your photo. My trees are planted on about 9 foot centers and I only did one row of them. The bottom four feet height on then averages spreads across their widths of at average is 5 feet all the way around them. For the distance from the two intercecting fences inside corner to the end of the bad fence my trees are distacting the view from is about 50 feet long. I have 7 GGs planted along this length. the GG's trunk nearest to the inside corner of the intercecting fences has a trunk only 4 feet away from the corner. the 6 other GGS have an 8 feet distance I can measure from trunk to trunk, But the planting holes when first dug were centered at almost 9 feet distances. The lower 4 feet of the trees are the most full and there is still an average of a 2 foot gap between each of the trees that needs to fill in before the trees will make a solid screen along that height of the 6 foot tall fence. Since I stoped giving my trees osmokote even before last year the rest of the trees growth is not as thick or wide, so there is even more view of the top two feet of the ugly fence. This is the reason why I suggested it is best for you to plant two staggered rows. That way you will have a better full screen more quickly than my trees. the neighbor's two story house is no more than 4 feet on the otherside of the ugly fence. The tops of my trees have grown about a foot higher than the bottom of their second story windows. I measured a 4 foot distance from the fence slats to the trunks of my trees, and I could still easily, with out much tree branch displacement, walk behind my trees and the fence when I came up with the 50 foot measurement for the lengh of fence that the lower 4 feet of this line of trees currently cover. One other note is that I planted only 18 inch tall trees to start. They are fairly well protected from the prevailing north/south winds because the 2 story house is directly south of them and there is a large scarlet oak tree directly north of the first 3 from that inside corner I discussed above. I live on a corner lot and my house faces west, but the fence in question is along along the east facing back yard/south side yard, and it stretchs westward to about half the depth of our south facing side yard. So my GGs get plenty of afternoon sun, especially in the summer and before they grew so tall got a lot of morning shade. I only went to all this description to illustrate how protected they are from drying winds. This is so effective for then that my trees have never taken on a bronzy cast that many people report their GGS do in the winter. My trees are also planted on a slight rise where the builders of the two story house so close south of my trees never did a good job cleaning out the builders sand they uses when installing a narrow sidewalk between that house and the privacy fence. The growth I reported with my trees has all been affected by theses issues I have just discussed. GGs which struggle will slow draining soil that stays wet longer will grow only half as fast as mine have until they get well established, which could take up to 4 years. Some of them might even die during sudden dry periods and have to be replaced. Also trees planted at 6 feet tall might take a full 2 years before you see much top growth out out them. That is because they will be using this time to develop a better root system which can support the 5 foot yearly growth these trees do while they are young and once they are established. The trade off you get with this is while they are waiting to develop a larger root system and not growing much in height, they will be doing a better job than mine did concerning the thickening of their trunks and also thickening the density and spread of their branches. My trees did not have to that root size catch up so they started showing nice top growth in the first year they were planted. It took them all this time though to develop an exceptionally good density and branch spread over the lower 4 feet of them. If I had kept spreading Osmokote under them and watering them regularly in dry periods after they got well established, them that exceptionally nice thickness and spread portion of them today might have reached at least 8 feet high. As it is they have a fairly nice appearance from top to bottom, but do not have the type of screening affect that you would want to handle well the issues you have described in your back yard view. Hope that with all this description, it will help you to understand better why I suggested a double staggered row with the front row beeing the Steeplechase trees. If cost is an issue, you might plant 6 foot tall GGS on the back row and either purchase locally or order in if they cannot be found locally the steeplechase sport cultivars of the GGS. If ordered in those Steeplechase cultivar trees would probably on be available no larger than 3 gallon size and will look fairly thin when you get them, but if you provide them good drainage, water them correctly, and feed them with osmokote each spring and fall growing season then it will suprise you a how quickly they catch up in size the the larger GGS you planted in the back row....See MoreNeed your advice on our Plan
Comments (24)Hi, all. I just joined this morning and posted a question & am now reading. Ya'll are wonderful friends with so much good advice. We have a situation of owning a home in GA but wanting to move back to the west coast to be near our children in the next few years. Thing is we don't want to be rushed into buying when we get there & like you we have a lot of stuff we need to keep. Many things handed down from grandparents & great-grandparents and other things that are irreplaceable that we plan to hand down to our kids as well. Our daughter and her DH own a house in CA, and want to eventually add some outbuildings and maybe even a guesthouse as they can afford it. So I had the idea that maybe we could put up a building on their land per their specifications, except instead of windows, plumbing, etc., we would just rough things in. We would have to run electricity for climate control. But it would basically be a glorified shed until they're ready to fix it up to be whatever they eventually want. Then we could store our things there for a few years until we know what we want to do. It would probably cost about the same as renting a storage unit for all that time, but there would be something useable at the end of the tunnel. Maybe you could do something similar on your property? If you planned it right, it could increase the value of the land in case you decide to sell it, and if you decide to build, you'll have a great shop, garage, whatever. Just a thought....See MoreWill you have to walk around too much in your kitchen?
Comments (65)Everyone- Thank you for the kind words! I know the other plan was less than idea, but it lined up well with the windows in the dining room. Now, I still have that...but with a better layout. Laura- The island is 6' x 3.5' and it could probably be bigger...but I want to keep it on the kitchen side of the beam, if possible. Cool stool, too! Rhome- I kept the panty and ovens on that end, so they wouldn't be behind the door to the screened porch, when it's open. I figured it would be safer (less chance of glass breaking on the door) if the oven handles were on the other end of the cabinets. Mama Goose- I'm so glad you like the plan! I love your kitchen and it makes me very happy that this is similar to yours. Good point about the baking area :) Quiltgirl- Summerfield helped me with my plan (a great deal) but it was a long process. I'd always wanted the fireplace in the kitchen/keeping room, but until Summerfield thought to put the master bedroom in the front of the house...we couldn't find a layout that really worked. At first, I wasn't so sure, but once I thought about the light, views, gardens, etc. it really made sense. The roses/flowers are outside the bedroom and bath, while the 'rustic' landscape (horses, trees, pasture) is out the back. Each goes better with the rooms and how I want them decorated/designed...so it's a great fit. Oh, square footage is about 2,000 without the porches and mudroom...a little more with them. Cabinetry...probably white cabinets (cottage/traditional) for the L and wood for the baking area. The island might end up green. The countertops...marble for the baking area, wood for the island and blue ceramic tiles for the L...I like color! LOL Inspiration pictures (already posted, but a long way back on the thread) First...earlier version with great beams. From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures Wood and green cabinets... From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures Pot rack over island... From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures Bunny backsplash... From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures An idea for blue tiles (maybe just a bit more gray) to match the flowers on bunny tiles... From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures Colors for dining room... From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures...See MoreNeed Your Opinions & Advice on Custom Home Floor Plan, Please!
Comments (47)I would like to thank everyone who took the time to read through these posts and to post advice and suggestions and constructive criticism. I am taking all of it into consideration and some of it was not what i wanted nor expected to hear, but what I needed to hear. I feel as if a little more explanation is needed. We found a builder that we really like and everyone that he has built for has been really happy. He had several plans that we could look at or if we had any plans he could build whatever we liked. He has a gentleman that could draw and customize a home for us. We thought it was architect at first and the price was so good because we were going through him and he would then be able to have our house plan to use in the future. Upon our first meeting with the gentleman that was going to draw up of dream home so we could make it a reality, we learned that he was not an architect, or designer. He's retired now from 40 years of experience woking on/building homes and is good with the software. He is very kind and has been very patient with the many changes we have made along the way. However, we soon discovered that he really has no design ideas or suggestions. He just draws whatever we ask him to or whatever I draw to send to him. If we wanted something a changed, the standard procedure was to just make part of the house bigger, we had gotten up to almost 4400 square feet! If we didn't like the way something worked and asked for a change, he would fix that issue and cause 2 more. I got so frustrated that we are trying to build our dream home and pretty much the only person I had for design help was myself. Uhm, I really want someone with much more skill and talented and better taste to design my home. I know what I want, I just do't know how to get there. We have been working on this for 8 months. I got so frustrated that I gave up for 3 months. Our neighbors are using the same builder and they had difficulties getting their design as well. However they had found a floor plan that they liked and just had him make changes to it and add a mother in law plan. I firmly believe that we are his first truly start from scratch home. Again, this is the guy the builder sent us to to have plans drawn, not our builder. Giving him credit he has taking my very very basic sketches and turned them into something the builder can build from, but pretty much the design is about 99% me, not that I wanted it that way. Here is where I'm at, so you can see that he is doing all the builder type stuff. We don't want to be difficult, but we want a good design. We don't want the builder to think that we are difficult or indecisive because we just can't get there with his guy. I'm at a loss! Several people wanted to know the lot dimensions. So here they are: It is at the top of a ridge, has some slope to it and has a nice open are in the middle. Of course we want the house to sit about at the arrows part of the lot. There is an utility easement of 20 feet on the right side of the lot, but the utility poles are more like 30 feet inside the property. I really do appreciate all of your insight. It has been eye opening. I'll make another post addressing questions and comments. Sorry to be so long winded....See More
Dawn Martinez
4 years ago
nightbk
4 years agonightbk
4 years agoThese are a few photos I collected off Houzz of rooms that really appealed to me and why I thought I'd paint out the walls. The shiplap runs horizontally in these photos, but it would be vertical in our space.
Kitchen House · More Info
Skybound Residence - Modern Mountain Home · More Info
Kitchen House · More InfoChessie
4 years agonightbk
4 years agoUser
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoI think the painted slats running vertically would look just as good.
nightbk
4 years ago
Yayagal
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoNightbk, showing you these few pics of my painted walls in our lake house. We never regretted painting them, such a better feeling.
We kept it towards vintage as it's 150 years old and surrounded by water on three sides plus mountains. All the walls are vertical Douglas fir along with the floors and ceilings. I never painted but one wall in the screened in porch as the windows covered the rest of it.
nightbk thanked YayagalDawn Martinez
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agonightbk
4 years agonightbk
4 years agonightbk
4 years agoI also wanted to show you the difference in the pine in what will be my boys bedrooms. It was done at a later time and has a clear finish. I'm going to leave it natural and I hope that it doesn't turn orange like the pine in the living/dining area. It looks a little darker in the picture than it really is.
Laura Villar
4 years agoYayagal
4 years agonightbk
4 years agoDawn Martinez
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoChessie
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agonightbk
4 years agoDawn Martinez
4 years ago
If it is the teal rug above, I like the colors a lot - but am wondering if the rug is too modern for your rustic/pine space? Your decision at the end of the day, however I might consider a rug that is more neutral (see above)
or the other direction with a pattern that grounds the space.
nightbk thanked Dawn Martinezpds290
4 years agoI had very similar pine walls, though they hadn't been varnished. I liked the idea of wood but not the dark orange color. I wound up sanding and whitewashing them. Lots of work, but I've been pleased with the results. Like you, I kept the ceiling and floors wood.
nightbk thanked pds290jjam
4 years agonightbk
4 years agonightbk
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agojjam
4 years agonightbk
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agonightbk
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
I just found a couple of pictures that show the floor better as I know that it appears dark in some of the earlier photos and it's really not that dark. Sorry, I wish I had found them earlier. I think they illustrate why the yellow pine walls bother me so much.
tedbixby
4 years agoOut of curiosity, could painting the walls be a winter project rather that spoiling your 1st summer in your new place with the stress of the project? Just wondering as if it could wait then that will give you time to live in the place, figure out what you really want to do, do the research and put together a plan.
Are the floors real hardwood? How many rooms have this wood in it? Just wondering if you might be better to have them sanded and restained- though it looks like the boards may be all different kinds of wood and might end up with the color not being consistent throughout like it is now.
"Could I go with more color or bolder if the walls were light? " I've been helping a fellow Houzzer on her log home and when she posted it was all about the orange logs and how she couldn't stand it. We stayed with the "orange" but went with more color and bolder to get the eye away from "orange." It now is a non-issue for her. If you are in a 2nd home market or large city and have patience a good source is Craigslist and FaceBook Market Place to find things which we did with this home.
Before: (living & dining) It's not as large as it appears.
After. Since we are still working on the whole house she hasn't posted a current shot of the same view but this one will give you a visual of using bolder and more color that went into the space.
Dawn Martinez
4 years agonightbk
4 years ago
april
4 years agonightbk
4 years agoApril, I noticed that we have the same picture saved - yours is under "Painted Pine". What do you think about the window trim left natural? It's a little different being that they don't have wood floors, but it has the vertical pine. Here, I'll post the pic.
Mid Century Master Bedroom · More Infoapril
4 years agoThat pic was an incentive for me. We have the same ceiling trim and I knew not to paint it. We removed the trim and once room was painted, we put on new trim that matched what was in the new addition.
nightbk thanked aprilnightbk
4 years ago
Karen
4 years ago
Ellen Tracy
4 years agonightbk
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
Kathy
4 years agoMaryAnne Smith
4 years ago
Kivi
3 years agoDawn Martinez
3 years ago
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