Wood wall has me stumped (har!)--need help!

[NewEnglandLady]

Hey, all, so I tend to suffer from analysis paralysis and I'm hoping some outside opinions will nudge me out of it.

I'm about to paint a room. It's our future nursery. The room is medium-sized (16x11) and the plan for now is to do something in a light apple green color. The front runner is Benjamin Moore's "Tasty Apple", which I'll post below. My plan is for this nursery is for it to be rustic. Think antique dressers (I'll post a photo of a dresser at my favorite antique store that I have my eye on), an old, white, rocking chair, a dark-wood antique-looking crib. I'm leaning toward some toille window coverings...you get the idea.

So this wall. It's a wood wall. I don't think the wall/room is original to the house, but I think it dates back to the early 1800's. I love the rustic look of it, but don't know if I should just paint it like the rest of the room or make it standout somehow. As I see it, these are my options:

1. Paint it the same color as the rest of the room
2. Leave it white--this would match the closet doors, door to bathroom (also wood, not pictured) and a little white storage door (pictured below)
3. Strip the paint and get it down to the original wood for a natural look
4. Paint the wood alternating stripes (two shades of green or green and another color)

I was originally leaning toward #2--leaving it white because, well, it's easiest Plus I do plan to leave the other doors in the room white. And I figured it would work with white furniture. I don't want the furniture to be matchy-matchy and would like a medium/dark-wood crib, so I thought that would look fine along this wall if it stays white. I also really like the idea of stripping the paint and leaving the exposed wood, but that sounds like a lot of work!

Any and all opinions are appreciated!

 

[iheartscience]

Gorgeous room! If it's possible I'd strip the wall to its natural color, but if not I think I'd leave it white to let it stand out more.

 

[Efe]

I think I would leave it white because I would be afraid that the natural wood color would darken up the room too much, especially with the dark floors. I really like the dresser and the color for the walls. Have fun!

 

[brown_eyes]

My vote is for either stripping it to it's natural wood color or keeping it white. I think Effe might have a point about the darkness of the room with the natrual wood wall and I have no idea how much time/effort it would take to strip the paint off.

Love the room, love the paint color, love the design concept and double love the dresser you have picked out!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Thank you, ladies. I agree about the wall possibly being too dark if I strip the paint. I also worry that there will be too many variations of wood in there between the floor, the wall and the yet-to-be-obtained wood crib. I could try stripping a section of the wall to see what the wood looks like underneath. My tentative plan is just to paint the rest of the room and see how I feel after the color is up.

 

[lliang_chi]

NEL, I'd leave the wood white, but "antique" it out a bit. Check out the blog The Lettered Cottage. They do a lot of New England sea-side cottage-esque pictures that have painted wood walls.

 

[somethingshiny]

I've lived in and have redone lots of woodwork, floors, etc. First thing to do is measure the window sill on the "wood" wall and the other wall with a window. If the wood wall is deeper, the wood was probably added to either improve the structure, or reduce a water problem. In that case, you need to leave it painted and paint over it if you want. A stripper would get in between slats and could cause damage to whatever is behind it. If it appears that the thickness of both walls is the same, then it's probably just an aesthetic appeal. If the non-wood wall is deeper, those areas probably have that wood behind the drywall/plaster. As long as you don't have to worry about what's behind it, you could strip it or basically do whatever. However, if you strip it, keep in mind that it will likely be several shades lighter than the floor. If the paint is oil-based (likely) the removal will be a huge mess and you'll have to sand down quite a ways to get to the color of the wood. To find out if the paint is oil-based, rub a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol on a clean piece of wall. If the paint is removed with the alcohol, it is latex and will strip easily. If it doesn't come off, it's oil-based. Oil-based is hard to strip and has to be covered with either more oil-based paint or a good primer before latex paint.

So, my suggestion. Check to see what kind of paint you have and paint over it. It would suck to put in weeks of work and just uncover patch spots and spackle or destroy structure behind it.

 

[swimmer]

How long do you think that wood was painted white? I just ask because a friend who was rehabbing her antique home did all the paint scraping before getting preggo but didn't do a good enough job of getting the dust out or something and her baby had elevated lead levels that were caught really early so hopefully won't cause any brain damage. Personally, I'd cover up the old white paint with a few coats of Kills and a nice top coat to seal in any old surprises and then pick between the green or white. Stripes could be cool too though, like making it look like an old quilt? perhaps throw in a deeper green as well?

Anyway, I am paranoid about lead, so take that into account with my 2cents. Looks like an awesome future nursery!

 

[MuffDog]

If you can strip it, I would! I follow this blog and they did a wood wall in the nursery (using refinished wooden pallets, I think) and it looks awesome IMO!

http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2010/09/nursery-reveal/

 

[NewEnglandLady]

LC, that blog is awesome--I love her style and I'm a sucker for any cute, handy guy (hubby is cute, just not handy!)

Somethingshiny, thank you so much for the tips! The non-wood wall is 3 - 4 inches deeper than the wood wall. I have a feeling that this wood wall simply never received an insulation/dry wall. I will do the rubbing alcohol test when I get home!

Swimmer, this room was painted white about 10 years ago. The previous homeowners had young kids, so they stripped and repainted all of the rooms in the house when they were building an addition (in 2000). I have no doubt there is some lead paint in the house lurking beneath the surface, though. Definitely something to consider.

Muffdog, that room is awesome...the wood pallets look great!

 

[neatfreak]

For ME I probably wouldn't highlight that wall. I'm not a fan of accent walls personally so I'd probably just paint it whatever color I paint the room.

Another thing though, is that color on my monitor looks BRIGHT. It'll be about twice as bright on the walls as on the swatch, so before buying a lot of it I always paint a big swatch (or even a few!) to be sure I like it.

Can't wait to see pics!!!

 

[decodelighted]

Check out this treatment that I saw on a "House Proud" segment on the Nate Berkus show. It would be a different direction but it's cool!
http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2010/09/nursery-reveal/

 

[decodelighted]

If you can strip it, I would! I follow this blog and they did a wood wall in the nursery (using refinished wooden pallets, I think) and it looks awesome IMO!

http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2010/09/nursery-reveal/

Um ... OOPS! Great minds?

 

[zoebartlett]

Nice room, NEL!

I'd go with either painting that wall the same color as the rest of the room OR painting alternating green/white stripes. The panels are already there and it could look really cute. Since that wall already looks different than the others, why not play it up a bit?

 

[allycat0303]

Uhmmm....I haven't been following much, but congrat on your pregnancy!

What I would do depends on the sex of the baby.

Girl: Leave it white and then paint the rest green (slightly more feminine look)

Boy: Stip it down becaue I think it creates a more masculine feeling for the space.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

It would take some work, but I would totally crackle paint that wall. If you love the look of antiques, this is a really beautiful way to capture that and still make that wall a statement and really, it's own work of art. I would go for a variated texture in the crackle so it feels like it's been there forever. I don't think I would do the apple for the primary color on that wall...but maybe use the apple for the base and soft milk white for the top coat. You could even score some cool vintage shutters and frame the windows inside with them, picking up the base color.

Usually I'm a huge fan of wooden walls. I love teak or hand-scraped paneling and I think the rustic, industrial chic feel that it lends it so charming. But with your floors, getting consistency would be a nightmare. Not to mention the process of stripping alone would big work. That room screams "vintage nursery" so so much of achieving that is in the layers you add.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Thanks again, everybody, you are some creative ladies with good ideas!

Just an update--D and I spent some time in the room last night trying to decide what to do. We inspected the wall pretty closely--I even sanded it down a little--and as it turns out, the wall had been bare until the last owners painted it white. I did the alcohol test to make sure it is latex paint--it is--so I think it would be easy to strip. D now wants to strip it since there is only one layer of paint and he likes the idea of bringing it back to its original state. I think it's great that D has an opinion since usually he leaves all decor choices to me, so I'm on board. The stripping doesn't have to be perfect, I won't mind if a bit of white is left behind, but if it's a huge PITA, we'll just paint it again.

Italia, I love the idea of the crackle paint. The owner of my favorite antique store does this to some of her pieces if they are in bad shape and said it isn't difficult. She even has some vintage shutters in her store right now that are green, overlaid with white.

Allycat, not pregnant yet. D wasn't thrilled with the idea of me painting while pregnant...especially not fond of the idea of me stripping paint using chemicals while pregnant, so we're trying to knock this out in the next couple of weeks. I won't do any real decorating until after we know the sex, though.

NF, I agree about the samples. I am not kidding, I have 27 jars of sample paint in our basement because I'm bad at making decisions. I'll get a few samples this weekend and am trying not to go too bright.

Thanks again, all. I'm going to start stripping the wall on Friday, hopefully, so I'll post updated pics soon!

 

[Jennifer W]

Didn't have time to read the rest of the replies, but I clicked on the topic and just want to say what a beautiful room! I'd vote for painting /finishing the wall to be the same as the rest of the room, not being a fan of feature walls.

If you go down the stripping / natural timber route, the other thing to consider is whether the timber was ever intended to be exposed, ie is it cabinet grade or engineering grade or is it supposed to be covered with plaster? If it's the later, I would probably have a plasterer put a coat of lime-based plaster over it, to match the rest of the room (assuming that's what's in the rest of the room?). If it's fine grade timber panelling, then I would probably want it stripped and waxed to a soft sheen if it was mine. I suppose then my answer depends on what's under that white paint!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Jennifer, based on what I saw when I sanded a bit down, it looks like the same wood that was used on the floors (pine), but thinner. I don't know if it was ever intended to be exposed, but it had been exposed since either 1775 or the early 1800's (I still think this room was an addition in the 1800s) and had only been painted over in the past 5 years or so. I really wish they'd left it bare, but we'll see how this all turns out. I agree that I won't really know what to do next until I see what's under the paint. Maybe stripping and then whitewashing it might look best...I have no idea, we'll see!

ETA: There was a a stripped wood wall in one of the homes we looked at while house hungting--house was built in 1770, so nearly identical in age. I took some shots of the wall with my own camera because I loved it, but I don't have those pics on this computer. I tried to take a shot of from the hometour, but it's really bad.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I vote leaving it white! i think it would be a really cute accent wall and that stripping the wood could make the room dark and/or have several different woods under there...

 

[Jennifer W]

Well, good luck! I stripped a staircase once (and once only) and concluded that there is a special place in hell set aside for people who apply paint to bare wood...

I also stripped a layer of skin off my ass, by sitting down on the wrong step for a moment.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Well, good luck! I stripped a staircase once (and once only) and concluded that there is a special place in hell set aside for people who apply paint to bare wood...

I also stripped a layer of skin off my a$$, by sitting down on the wrong step for a moment.

Ouch!! I have a feeling this could be disastrous on many levels...physically injuring myself is one of them!

And I agree completely with the paint on bare wood comment. It's obvious the last homeowners attempted to make some "updates" in preparation for selling the place and the result has made me pull my hair out in frustration. "McMansion" is actually used as a verb in our house and is synonomous with other 4-letter verbs...as in "it looks like the last homeowners McMansioned up this wall".

 

[Jennifer W]

If you didn't live on the other side of the globe, I'd swear that you bought your house from the people who sold me mine.
They ripped out nearly every original Victorian feature and replaced it with MDF. What motivates talentless people to 'renovate' old houses??? McMansioned just about covers it - it will take us forever to put it all right. You have my deepest, most heartfelt sympathy!

 

[somethingshiny]

Stripping one layer of new latex is pretty easy. Zip strip is awesome, and removes skin too! Citristrip is more breathing-friendly but isn't quite as efficient.

Whatever you use, work in small areas. Brush it on, let it sit for the recommended time and then scrape off. You'll probably need to apply 2 coats to get all the paint off. You can use steel wool to remove the deeper grained paint. You could probably use a heat gun but those take some practice. If you're going to use a power sander, get as much paint off as you can first. The heat tends to scrub the paint deep into the wood.

After you've stripped it, you can use linseed oil to bring out the natural dimensions of the wood and then wax it to keep it authentic looking. Or you can just clean it really good and stain it or polyurethane it.

I'm so glad to hear it's latex. I was certain you had oil based paint that had been there for years and would be MISERABLE to remove. Sounds like you could get it done in a weekend!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Jennifer, I''m sure the homeowners take the realtor's advice to renovate in an attempt to appeal to the masses. But if you're an antique lover, you're likely more interested in restoration than renovation. We already know we're going to be paying out the nose for the antique house--repairs, heating bills, trying to find the exact replacement of an 18th-century door lock--so we aren't really the "masses" to begin with. Oh well, I'm counting my blessings that most of what they "renovated" can be fixed over time. I hope the same goes for you!

Somethingshiny, thanks so much for the recommendations. I wish I had your experience! I'll probably make a few mistakes before getting it right, so all advice is appreciated! I ended up ordering some Soy Gel yesterday after reading a bunch of reviews, though I might pick up some Zip Strip if it's really slow-going. The downside is that the Soy Gel won't get here until next week, so I can't start this weekend. I'm also surprised that it's just one layer of latex, I thought for sure there were layers of paint under it would have been an impossible project. We'll see how it looks when I'm done, but I really like the linseed oil idea--I also have some tung oil that was used on the floor.

So...this weekend I'll just tackle the painting and next weekend will be set aside for stripping.

 

[somethingshiny]

Tung oil is great too. You'll dilute it 1-1 with a thinner and then rub it in to the wood. You may need several applications if the wood has never been finished. It'll fill in the pores and kind of beef it up a bit. You can just oil it every few months and leave it at that. It'll protect the wood a bit after several coats. If you want to polyurethane the wood, rub in the oil and let it dry completely. It will still get into the pores but you want to make sure the oil isn't on top of the wood when you apply the poly. My grandma likes to wax over the wood like you'd wax a floor. The oil penetrates and then the wax forms a temporary seal and a very high shine. If you try any of this and decide you don't like it, you can use Murphy's Soap to scrub it clean and start over.

Please post pics of your project!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh lordy--latex over bare wood is a real PITA.

A fellow antique-lover told me to just scrape it off using a heat gun in order to save the patina on the walls (apparently chemicals ruin the patina). So I tested a small area and ended up scorching the walls. I'm attaching a picture below. So now I'm back to patiently waiting for my SoyGel to arrive. Either way, I know that all of this white is not going to come off. Either the white stuck in the grains is going to look shabby chic or it's going to look like crappola.

In the meantime I'm off to buy paint and at least get that on most of the walls.

 

[somethingshiny]

Yeah, a heat gun takes some practice. And it actually works better if there are several layers of finish.

Looks like it should come off pretty easily though with the Soy Gel!!

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

NEL I stripped a wood table once that had way more layers than that, and it came off well and looked great. I think when your stripper arrives it will be no problem. And the whitewash that is left will look cool.

Say your pics in the TTC thread and wanted to comment that the color will look even better when there is furniture in the room. I think it is a great backdrop.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Thanks, ladies! I'll come back and post some pics next week when this project is underway!