The guy who owned the house before us had the intention of making a full restoration of all period details. He made many improvements, and then decided to sell. Amongst many other things, one thing he did was strip ALL of the woodwork in the house, including trim, moulding, built-ins...EVERYTHING (believe me, you don't need to tell us how lucky we are... we know)
I've seen this topic brought up in other peoples' home-blogs, and now we're faced with the same question: what to do with this wood? The wood is the same kind as every other historic craftsman: Douglas Fir. We are HUGE fans of exposed wood--lighter exposed wood. Our house is not large: 1000 sq. feet. We hate the thought of painting over wood that has been stripped to display its natural beauty; but at the same time, the confined space of our home would be greatly benefitted by white trim. Stained, varnished wood may just be too heavy for our home.
3 comments:
I have some simple advice for you. Don't paint the trim. While the temptation to paint it may be strong, in the long run, the natural wood is a far better choice. I'm definitely not one of those preservation purists, but sometimes original actually is better. Unlike my 1950s ranch home where the trim is far better off painted white, the age/style of your home screams natural woodwork to me...if that makes any sense.
Don't paint the trim. Craftsman *is* natural, old growth wood. If it's a matter of color, use a lighter color stain or none at all....and use light paint on the alls. Fir looks great with just a clear varnish. You are so lucky to have the wood already stripped!
I have to agree with the other two comments. Don't stain the wood,instead find a wall paint that will compliment the natural wood tones in the trim. Try a color that is a shade or two darker than the trim itself. This will give you the same effect of painting it white. It will actually draw the eye to the trim.Good luck
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