Reader Alicia and her husband bought their 1955 mountain cabin just 12 hours after seeing it — even though they knew they had work to do. The cabin itself was in great shape, but the previous owners had painted nearly all of the original knotty pine walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors and windows white. Virtually every wall and ceiling surface of the 1,800 s.f. cabin was whitewashed — ouch! Undeterred, the knotty-pine-loving couple started up their sanders and broke out the amber shellac — restoring all the gorgeous, original knotty pine back to warm, woodsy and wonderful!
Alicia writes:
I just wanted to say Hi and thank you for such a great site! My family and I purchased a WONDERFUL 1955 cabin in the mountains of Montana. The cabin was built in 1955 on an old, very small ski mountain which closed for business in the 60’s. My husband and I saw the real estate listing for it about a year ago, and purchased it twelve hours later. Typically we do not make crazy decisions on impulse, but we knew we just had to buy it (of course, we hadn’t sold the current house we were living in, but that’s another story!)
Many of its wonderful, original features were intact, but sadly many were “updated”. Every single wood surface, except the beams (which were thankfully left alone) was painted white over the original knotty pine interior….the ceiling, the windows, the doors, EVERYTHING!! I will add a pic of a “before” wall, just so you can see. My husband and I sanded down EVERY SINGLE SURFACE in the entire 1,800 sq. ft. cabin. We then used amber shellac to create an original feel…it came out so beautifully!!
Precautionary Pam jumps in here to remind: Remember, readers, that the surfaces and layers of the materials in our old houses may contain vintage nastiness like lead and asbestos. Be sure to consult with a properly licensed professional to assess/test what you have before getting out those sanders! Renovate Safe!
We worked SO HARD on the paneling and it is fun to share the results!
We have made only cosmetic restorations that we could complete ourselves because of a very limited budget. Our next project is to expand the kitchen and try to recreate a knotty pine kitchen. Eventually we plan to remodel the kitchen and expand it into the dining room a bit (the dining room is larger than it needs to be and the kitchen is super small). The kitchen still has half of its original white, metal cabinetry, and the original GE freezer ( which we now use as a refrigerator, thanks to a new thermostat to convert it). The hardwood floors are original throughout, as are the beams, windows, and fireplaces in the dining room and master bedroom.
We just love our cabin and are thankful that we could purchase it and restore it….most of the time in our area, old cabins like this are torn down to make room for a large “trophy house”.
I am just glad to share our labor of love with you….it is so nice to visit your site and see posts from others who appreciate pine paneling and don’t want to paint over it!
Alicia — what an inviting home!
I’ve never understood why people buy a house like this — which likely attracts them in the first place with its woodsy feel — and then completely neutralize it with paint. Isn’t the whole point of buying a cabin in the woods, to feel like you are in a cabin in the woods?
We can only imagine the hours of backbreaking work it must have taken to remove all of that white paint. The final results look amazing — so inspiring!
Chad's Crooked House says
That really came out well. I know people who wanted to strip their den but ended up not having the ambition. Pam, I think you’d like this little story: my dad pretty much lets my mom run the show when it comes to decorating, except he builds what she wants. The only exception is that he put his food down and forbade painting the den (Philippine mahognany V groove paneling from 1951).
pam kueber says
Way to go, Dad!
Jay says
A true labor of love. Very warm looking; all those white painted sufaces would have left me cold. Well done!
virginia says
What a wonderful and inviting cabin. I cannot imagine all the hard work that must have gone into this kind of restoration. It really does look fantastic — so warm and inviting. And I love the decor.
When we moved into our house in 1996, I had so many friends suggest that we paint our large downstairs knotty pine room white. I am so glad I resisted.
Angela says
We have painted knotty pine in our basement. We would love to hear tips on stripping the paint from the crevices between the boards.
Your remodel looks fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration!
Wendy M. says
Positively dreamy! Congrats on a wonderful (and what sounds like an absolutely exhausting) job…I hope you have many wonderful years in your home.
Mary Elizabeth says
Wonderful cabin, and good job refinishing the paneling. Getting the paint out of all those little grooves is tiresome, I know. Love the deer antler chandelier hanging over the dining table!
Andi says
This house defines “cozy” and makes me want to move right in! Congratulations on an amazing job restoring all that wood, and creating a picture perfect cabin in the woods! I love it!
Steve H says
Wow! Kudos to you for a job well done. I know from personal experience that removing paint is one of the the worst old house jobs, and you had it everywhere. The results are just beautiful.
And now a word to folks in the real estate business. Please do not encourage sellers to do things like painting natural finished wood. Just yesterday in my local paper there was an article with tips from home stagers on “freshening up” a home before listing it. It included all of the usual crimes like refinishing colored bathroom tile and fixtures in white, etc. I just cringed when I read it.
midmichigan says
Wow! You guys get the Strippers of the Year Award in my book. It looks fantastic!!! Really nice work!!!
Robin, NV says
“Strippers of the Year!” hah! Cue the burlesque music!! 🙂
As I contemplate a move to Tulsa, I’ve been looking at the real estate listings for mid mods and a lot of them seem to have painted over paneling Good to know it CAN be reversed. Oh and Pam, I discovered this little gem of a neighborhood in Tulsa – check it out: http://www.lortondale.com/ I hope there’s a home available if/when I move there.
jay says
Robin, you are funny! Thanks for sharing that link, made for fun lunchtime look-see.
Katie B. says
Unfortunately, I think it’s been drilled into people’s heads that certain things need to be done to a house before it can be sold, like painting everything white. These resale “rules” seem odd to me because the person buying the house is probably going to want to redo everything to their liking anyway. Seems like a waste of time and money to me.
I can’t begin to imagine the amount of time and labor this must have taken. It looks a million times better though. You should be so proud of yourselves! Make sure to submit photos when the kitchen remodel is done. I’m sure it will come out great.
pam kueber says
We did a story interviewing real estate agents who specialize in the mid mod about how to get ready to sell. I really like what they have to say: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/07/30/how-to-sell-a-midcentury-house-full-of-original-features-we-hear-from-three-real-estate-agents-who-specialize-in-midcentury-modern/