Whoa, if you get a degree in industrial arts you get to acquire carpentry textbooks along the way?!? Sweet! Kim, I've always enjoyed/appreciated your contributions; given the wisdom of trial and error that was behind them, I see why they stood out. My mom got us a couple of the Reader's Digest fixit books (have to run downstairs, one of them might be the very one you have); I like the way they are encyclopedic and detailed. I know Jane Powell but not the Small Houses books (do you mean The Not So Big stuff by Susanka, or the Small House anthologies from Fine Homebuilding?) Thanks for mentioning books; I think I might start a reference book thread for this forum. Hey Casey, THANKS for taking the bait. And you are NOT a bloody genius, you are an old house DEITY for crying out loud! Would you please start your own show on youtube? Or maybe just a house tour? Even Petch house has youtube videos. Or, do you already have a project blog and everyone knows about it but me? Actually for someone with a degree in historic preservation, I am impressed with how low-key your posts come across; they read more like an old friend who's "been there" and wants to pass along lessons learned along the way, it's really very nice and encouraging. But if you ever want to browbeat me feel free; I would take it as a compliment. To be honest if I post about something I'm thinking of doing to my house, and you don't opine, I figure one of two things is going on: 1) you're not on the forum; or 2) you're politely disapproving. Most of the time I assume it's 2 because you seem to be pretty consistent around here. But I just want to say, and I hope I speak for many, that I love love love your posts, especially when I'm searching on a problem I'm trying to solve and something from you pops up! (PS I finally got around to using that general finishes gel varnish you recommended and it was fantastic, thank you; I will post photos to the woodworking forum sometime before the next census.) Oh, and I love the way you "aged" the color tones in the new pine beadboard in your kitchen; reminds me of the pine in my grandmother's kitchen. When I was really little I used to look at the gleaming pores and think it was the closest wood could get to 24K gold.

This is an old thread which I happened to come across in a search to hide vertical blinds in a rental--in my case, over sliding doors. Check with the HOA if you live where there is one because some do not allow the slats to be taken down in order to preserve the symmetry on the outside, especially in "cookie cutter" neighborhoods. Verticals may be dated--but then so are the ideas of many HOA's-- and the fines are very real and can be quite steep. If you rent, you may be charged by the owners for any fees incurred for the violation of some very antiquated and weird rule. And there are some owners who do not want them removed for whatever reason, which can become a hassle when inspection time comes up before rent renewal.

Bead board is so NOT trendy. You could also consider a wider (5 or 6 inch) V groove which looks like your inspiration picture. This is a timeless material. For a nine foot ceiling, I'd probably use the real thing and not the MDF boards which only come in 8 ft lengths. IN using the MDF you'd need to get creative with a wide base molding and wider crown treatment to make up the difference. It can be done.

"Stax ... I did search but didn't find any boards with 7' length. Mostly, they come in 4' and 6' lengths. But, thanks - so appreciate your input." The one I cited was 97" long - i.e EIGHT FEET PLUS I removed it just now.