apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

ooh... might that be an anchor steam you were drinking? nice choice!

WOW!! what a difference! looks much better w/o the saloon doors (hehe i do like doors like that though I don't need em)

Looks amazing!! The power of paint. I can't wait to hear how the grout coating works.

Congratulations!

Love it! You should paint the door too, maybe a nice red to add some color. I hate those doors. We had them in an old place.

wow! painting the panelling makes a huge difference!

Grout coat sounds very labour intensive, and will not deal with the real problem: the colour of the tile. Have you thought of laying down rubber flooring? Dalsouple (the flooring London Urchin had in her winning entry) come in rectangular sheets and is relatively inexpensive, not to mention fun (great colours) and beautiful... the only fly in the ointment is finding it in the U.S....

Nice - And I actually like the tile as-is, unless you want to go for white grout.

three cupcakes! I agree -- paint the door a great color.

very dramatic. but those doors were so cute and looked so useful! ;D

what kind of paint did you use on the wood?

...oh, and a dramatic, for-the-better transformation, too!

nice, but I wish I hadn't looked at the "before" and thought, oh, I know in the "after" everything is going to be painted white. Kind of predictable.

The white paint makes even the floor look better.

Wow! What a beautiful transformation!

I LOVE IT!

it looks *great* Shayna.

Wow, soooo much better!

what a great job. :) congrats.

That really is a stunning transformation. The white really makes it look clean and large. It may seem a bit cliche, but I think yellow would look great on the door.

Hi Shayna,

You in live in my childhood home. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did.

Wow! What a tranformation.

Hooray for painting knotty pine!

Awesome! But the use of no flash in the second image also helps with making it a bit more "designer-magazine-like". ;)

Totally cool. This needs to be the "look" picture for when readers write in asking if they should paint their wood paneling and sooooooooooo many people give them a hard time about it. The space looks so fantastic painted white!

I'm not a fan of red, but you should totally paint the door a Lobster red or something like it.
Also some wall shelves on the wall with the door would look nice, or some art.
I really like it, it's my kind of space!

I like, I like, way to go Shayna

you guys are so "on-your-way"and have done a terrific job!
kudos to the scientific artist team!

I agree with Josie - before I looked at the 2nd photo I thought, ok, it's going to be all white. Nice but predictable.

Wow, yet more knotty inspiration. I am getting ready to tackle my knotty pine hallway and seeing results like this make me excited to make the change.

If you dont mind me asking, what color paint did you use?

Thanks!!!

Just a thought, but you might keep the door just for the warmth of the wood. Too much white can seem awfully cold. And if I were you I wouldn't mess with the grout--I'd go right to covering up that tile!

I like the white. I also liked the wood. Depends on what works best for the person living there. Some folks like bright and white and crisp. Others like warm and cosy and natural.

There are other colors to check out for paneling, if it's going to be painted. Here are just a few links to images that I googled:

Three ideas: Stripes in darker sage. Warm cream. And leafy green:
http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/05-99/05-02-99/h01ho224.htm

An absolutely gorgeous and refined gray:
http://www.gardenstew.com/blog/e1020-3-confessions-of-a-paneling-painter-.html

A warm copper brown,
before:
http://www.thelances.net/slideshow/2003/living_room_touchup/med/living_room_touchup-17.jpg
after:
http://www.thelances.net/slideshow/2003/living_room_touchup/med/living_room_touchup-30.jpg

Bright yellow:
http://rkrc.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-floors-kick-butt.html

Sky blue (above fireplace):
http://chronicallyuncool.blogspot.com/2007/08/in-beginning-there-was-beige.html

eventually, all roads lead back to AT, with a medium yellow:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/painting-fixing-repair/look-nice-painted-wood-paneling-042147

thanks to everyone for your overwhelmingly nice comments!

pixie and tallguy-
we used regular semi-gloss white from benjamin moore. just their standard white. it took several coats of primer and paint with a roller and then lots of detail work with a brush for the grooves...but very much worth it in the end.

Nice-looking transformation Shayna.

I tried the tile grout coat you mention, it works semi-well, but I came up with my own mixture that works MUCH better. I mixed some acrylic semi-gloss white paint and patching plaster. It covers better and is more durable. For better results seal afterward.

what about the chairs? where are they from?

auntie clara- sounds interesting. i'll have to give that formula a try, thanks!

doubletulips- the chairs are the gilbert chairs from Ikea. We love them, small and very comfie. See this post for more info!

What a transformation. From dark and claustrophobic to bright and cheery. Bravo for all of your hard work.