Monday, March 7, 2011

Bye, Bye 70s! Painted Paneling


BEFORE

Our house was built in the 1970s.  Among its original features are yellow shag carpeting in the study, harvest gold tile in the master bath and the dark wood paneling pictured above in the living room.  When we first saw this house, we feel in love with the layout instantly.  Which is why the paneling didn't scare us away!  We figured we would replace it with drywall once we settled in.  But life got busy - having babies and raising babies.  And the financial aspect of replacing the paneling seemed so overwhelming.

From a decorating standpoint, the room never really came together.  I hesitated to put anything on the walls, because of the paneling.  I had a vision for the room but struggled to bring it to life.  Our thoughts then turned to painting the paneling.  But the 12 foot ceiling in this room was intimidating!  We had a local painter come out to give us an estimate.  His price for painting the room fit nicely within our budget.  And now we have a beautiful new room, that looks just as I had always imagined it would!


AFTER

I chose Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray (SW 6205) for the paneling, Sherwin Williams Dover White (SW 6385) for the trim, shelves and stair railing and the drywall above the paneling was color matched to a Valspar paint color (a beige color).


I commented to Dave not only does the room look better, it makes our "trashy" furnishing look better as well!  And when I say trashy, I mean basically everything in this room was either given to us, bought at a yard sale or was a curbside treasure!







The painters also made repairs to the exterior and the gave our saltbox a fresh coat of red paint.  The exterior color is Sherwin Williams Fireweed (SW 6328).  Which I've come to learn is the consumer version of the paint color used for the Golden Gate Bridge.


We're so in love with this room now!  It looks like an entirely different room.  What a great way to start Spring, with a completely refreshed space!


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20 comments:

  1. That is lovely! Great job!

    - laughin from LLNOE

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  2. It looks amazing! We painted the paneling in our rental home and it brightened it up so much! Hated the dark wood.

    Love the red house!

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  3. Wow!! You must have a great husband.

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  4. This is a lovely blog and an even lovlier home you have created! Just beautiful, really it is.

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  5. Hi! Came across your blog via a comment left on 50s times. Our house was actually built in the 1910s but showed years of redecorating through paneling, blue shaggy carpet and the like. We are still in the (never-ending) process of remodeling, but like you, opted to paint the paneling instead of replacing it with drywall. It really looks good! Isn't it amazing how much happier you can be in a space just by changing the wall color? Happy homemaking!

    www.lianathehousewife.blogspot.com

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  6. Wow. that room looks just like the room in winter's bone. have you seen that movie.

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  7. Our previous home was a split level with dark wood paneling in the basement/lower level of all places, which tend to be dark to start with. We had it painted white and it looked lovely. Got lots of compliments. Painting paneling doesn't scare me. I think it looks great. Your colors are adorable.

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  8. What a difference! It looks great. I love your white tv cabinet. At least that is what I think it is.

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  9. Love your style and blog...I'm a new follower.

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  10. I know I'm a little late to the party, but WOW! This looks amazing - well done!

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  11. I haven't kept up with the blog world for quite a while, but came on here to ask a question, since you are so good with frugal home deco projects! We just tiled the floor of our one and only bathroom (previously covered in linoleum) and we have some leftover tiles. About five are intact, several others mostly so, only a bit broken off here and there. Do you have any ideas of what I could do with these? I don't want to throw them away. They are neutral in color, so could really be used for anything I imagine. I just need to come up with SOMEthing. :)

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  12. What a difference! looks amazing!

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  13. It's completely classy and stylish!! You've got me so inspired to work harder at what I've already got and make it beautiful. What a awesome mom! Just Wow!

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  14. HI, Mary Ellen, thanks for sharing your painted paneling with me, love the Comfort Gray in your space too. Great color! Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

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