# Forum Home Renovation Painting  Painting timber panelling

## loulou74

we live in a log style home with timber floors / raked timber ceilings and timber paneling. the house is very dark and depressing. we are going to put some skylights in .We have started painting and took the big step of painting the timber ceiling in the entry way leaving the beams exposed.( our test room) we have just put an undercoat on the walls and cant decide whether to paint the paneling as well. Its a big step and big change and one we cant reverse when done. Any thoughts??

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## Creeky

I am just doing the exact same project. Similar looking house too, but mine is horizontal tongue & groove from floor to ceiling. 
Paint it. Paint it all and don't look back. 
I finally bit the bullet after a few years of feeling depressed and oppressed under the weight of it all. Best thing I ever did. 
Painting it WILL NOT make it look like a boring modern McMansion. It will still have all the character. It will still have the texture and shadows of the t&g and brick. It will still have the visual interest of the craftsman construction and exposed beams (paint them too). Your timber is like mine, nothing special, it simply isn't worth the trouble of masking and painting around it all to try and show it off. Paint it all white and be amazed at what a beautiful space you have. Then get some beautiful art or furniture or REAL timber pieces and show those off instead. 
Forget what friends and visitors tell you - they only see it for a few hours here and there and don't have to live in it. When they see the results of a thorough paint job they'll agree it's a major improvement. 
Here's my 'before':   
I don't have an 'after' yet but I'll try and post some 'during' later  :Biggrin:

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## loulou74

Thanks Creeky.
We have made the decision to paint the timber so will post some updates.
Your house looks really similar, will be interested to see you after photos.

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## Creeky

Oh the more I look at your photos the more I hate your cheap pine panelling! No offence intended, but paint that! Your floors are beautiful and all the timber you need. I'm a fan of painting over 'boring' 1970s/80s brick but yours is lovely, I'd leave it alone. 
Some tips I can pass on: 
Skylights and gloomy timber aren't the answer. The house will still be heavy and dingy, just with an added strange overhead cast. Paint first, then decide on the skylights. 
Think about getting a sprayer - I bought a Wagner 995 for $400, and it greatly speeds the job although you'll still need to do some brush work to really get into the grooves. If there are two of you, one can follow with the brush while the spray is still wet. 
You'll need a lot of gap filler, but it's cheap. 
If I think of any more I'll let you know ;0)

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## JB1

I agree paint the walls and ceiling white. 
Consider painting the beams black or dark grey for some effect.  
=======================

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## mudbrick

Thats way too much brown timber in one house, I'd have to sleep outside until it was painted  :Wink: 
But seriously paint 1 room the way you want and see what you think. Whisper white would certainly brighten your day.

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## Creeky

Oh just remembered a couple of tips. 
1. Don't obsess over the shade of white - I did that, bought far too many tins of different shades of white, warm ones, cool ones, grey ones, beige ones, greige ones - and in the end everything looked a bit grubby and institutional. I think in part because of the lack of windows you end up with very different hues depending on which direction the natural light is coming from. I also finally realised that I wasn't trying to emulate some historical aesthetic, but was instead looking to refresh and brighten an interesting building. I reckon plain old off-the-shelf white is best for that. Let the natural light and shadow tell the story. 
2. Go for a higher sheen than most folks would use - I went with semi gloss throughout, even on the ceiling. The problem I found even with satin paint is that it obliterates a lot of the natural texture, which makes the timber look a bit unnatural and unfinished. Large areas just go flat but then the texture remains visible at the edges. Using semi-gloss made it look all look a lot more 3-dimensional and coherent and pleasing to the eye.

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## anakin

Leave the timber beams exposed, it will add some interest otherwise it will look a bit cheap. Paint the rest.

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## mudbrick

Agree with Creeky go semi gloss, flat paint makes a house look like it got left in undercoat and never finished!

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## Creeky

> Leave the timber beams exposed, it will add some interest otherwise it will look a bit cheap. Paint the rest.

  Respectfully - but I have to say utterly - disagree. If they are 200 year old reclaimed sail masts or some other impressive, character filled lumps with great patina and a story in every crevice, then sure, make a feature of them. If you can walk into Bunnings today and buy the same stock, what exactly are you showing off?! That you couldn't quite finish the job? Or do you just feel that what your decor needs is more BROWN?  :Tongue:  
Here's a mid-project update on my own place, just for some comparison. Oh, and I did leave the rafters exposed in the bathroom and laundry, to start with - they actually looked cheaper than the painted result in my opinion, which is annoying considering how much extra work it was to mask them off and try to get the joins to look nice. So much quicker and easier to fill the gaps and paint it all, and the result is far better (at least in my opinion). 
Anyway, you judge:

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## Creeky

Actually here ya go Loulou74 - just had a quick crack in Photoshop for ya. 
If you wanted to retain the mid-century vibe, then I concede, perhaps leaving the rafters exposed is the go. My place is a bit more 'farm cottage' so it didn't work for me. 
Sorry Anakin, you might be right, depending on the OP's preferred look  :Spyme:

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## mudbrick

Actually BOTH the above options look good. 
A thousand times better than brown on brown with extra brown on top.

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