Q: My boyfriend and I have just purchased a ski chalet in France which we're absolutely thrilled with. It's a massive project however, as the house — although charming from the outside — is lacking in charm on the inside.
As most aspects of this house need instant readdressing (double glazing, new bathrooms, new kitchen, etc.), that will be where we put our money. There are other parts of the house we may just have to live with for sake of cost-saving, such as the pine cladding on the ceilings and walls.
In their current state, it is a little depressing and dark-looking — especially along the main stairwell and in the attic conversion. Are there ways that I can treat the pine to make it look more attractive and less sauna-like? Should I paint the pine? If so, is white the best way to go?
Sent by Amanda
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I think it would look great with some/all of the walls/ceilings painted but I don't have any insight into the technicalities of doing that. I'll be interested to see what the other posters come up with!
Check out this video by a Canadian-Swiss youtuber about her boyfriend's family's little cabin in the Alps. I get the impression that it's not supposed to be plush. It looks good when it's on the rustic side. So, maybe you can just clean up the pine cladding and work with what you have. It you expected something fancier, you could have stayed in a hotel. right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3etn5iipgE
I recalled there was something recently about a woman painting her basement bedroom paneling white, which looked great. I searched, and here's a link to Apartment Therapy postings on the topic (with that particular transformation included).
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/search?q=paint+wood+paneling
Hi! Samantha Pym does great cottages renos /decos and one of her projects involved just that: refreshing a dark, old, and all wood cottage by painting it all white. It made such a difference. She also covered the floors with high end linoleum «wood» planks. The deco she does is always fresh and practical. You might find it on HGTV. Nice place you got there! Have fun and good luck!
This seems like a pretty authentic ski house to me--nothing too plush, simple, comfortable, a little tatty. Yeah!
I personally wouldn't paint it. I think painted pine is going the way of the all white kitchen.
Go white. At least for the walls. It will brighten up the space. You could also consider painting the ceiling a different color, maybe a soft blue to brighten it even more. Paint is your easiest line of defense to make a dramatic change for a small price.
I would keep the pine ceilings & railings to keep that cozy lodge/cottage feel, and bleach or white wash the pine walls, giving them a more grey-white hue. I would paint the drywall a similar grey-white. Use natural fiber rugs like Jute or Sisal. Change out the window treatments, possibly use a tartan fabric in blues & reds, and repeat that in pillows and other accents.
Awesome little geataway place!
Painting real pine is NOT like painting paneling. If it's not done exactly, exactly right, all the knots will "bleed through" and be like dark spots all over the wall. It can look absolutely terrible.
If you want a lighter look, add white rugs, white furniture and artwork/tapestries. Check out some European design magazines to see how people there deal with this type of interior.
Buy the French Elle Déco or Marie Claire Maison for idées, keep the spirit. Or Maison et Travaux. And Maison Française.
Congratulations, I am sooo envious. Here's the thing, don't be too hasty abuot painting the walls white. If this is a ski chalet, you will want refuge from the glaring white snow. Even in the summer, who wants pristine white to keep clean in their holiday getaway? Besides, wood and rustic elements are all the rage. If it were me, I would focus on working with it and breaking it up with white or white ground, colourful patterned curtains, bright artwork. Maybe paint elements like the banister an rich vintage blue or red. Add lighting of all kinds. Think about how you can contrast the wood with colour and texture (hello awesome rugs!)
Good luck!
Do you have an idea of what your style is? You might clip some inspiration pics from various magazines (even better if they represent the area you're in, so you stay within the same general family of aesthetic--and that means you won't have as far to stretch when you re-do what you have). If you want to stick to a fairly neutral re-do, I might recommend repaining or bleaching (can you do that?) or anyway somewhow lightening the walls. You can keep the ceiling and floors as is, if you like. If you do keep the pine on the floor and ceilings, then you will want to be careful that the color you paint on the other wood compliments it. I'm not sure if grey would be the way to go... or if it is, then mabe a very specific kind of grey? And I'm not sure what that would be. Otherwise, stick with a creamy sort of white.
ps: I ain't no decorator, and I've made plenty of decorating mistakes in my own home, so take what I say with a grain of salt. :)
Agreed about the painted pine....but isn't the all white kitchen on the way back?
From skidou: please read name of designer samantha pynn, not pym. Sorry for that.
I think you should keep the pine for now, until you can research thoroughly how you can have it painted without damaging it or causing bleed-through. If you're looking to brighten it up, changing all of the lighting will do a lot and bringing in bright colors and white, white, white.
I usually hate pine, and would totally recommend painting it white (which I think looks great) but in this case I would say keep it. When it's all white outside with snow you won't want it all white inside too.
What I would say is keep away from browns and autumnul colours in your furnishings, instead use them to counteract the brown.
Also, consider your lighting. Pine can look extremely gloomy with downlighters or spotlights, try diffused lighting instead. If you have spotlights on the ceiling turn them up to bounce back off the ceiling, it's a much softer light. And put floor and table lamps in too.
Look at images of Sarah Richardson's summer home. I believe she used a technique called pickling to give the pine a lighter color. You can still see the wood grain and can tell that it is pine paneling, but it is much lighter and brighter. It is beautiful.
I'd keep all the trim and cross pieces in the natural pine, think of them like outlines to the architectural features, but paint everything else a nice warm white.
I think you should try changing the flooring on the stair and living room and the paint color where you have drywall. I'm in the process of redoing our very woody housebarge. Oilling the wood wall paneling and removing paint on hardwood floors has done wonders to the place. We've added our color with area rugs, duvets, and furniture. Next I'm going to paint some of the areas that are currently drywalled, but I wouldn't dream of painting the wood - I might not like it, we're in the water, and there are alot of nooks and crannies in the paneling. Let your house be what it is.
I say paint it if you want to, and don't worry about what other people say. I painted the pine walls in one of my bedrooms a light blue and they look great. I'm so happy with it and don't regret it for one minute. If your walls are anything like mine were, you'll want to clean them with a commercial degreaser before you paint...I used TCE and it worked well. Also, oil-based primer might work well for you to cover up the pine paneling...I had to do 2-3 coats of water based primer to keep things from showing through with my walls. A couple weeks ago I accidentally bought oil-based primer (for another molding project) and it covered stains in one coat. I was amazed, and I would have saved myself a lot of time before if I'd known to use oil based primer instead of latex primer.
Definitely paint the walls white or off-white. You'll need to wash them well with a degreasing agent and sand them a bit before priming and painting. Once the wall paneling is white, the floors and trim will look fresh and clean, and you'll have a beautiful clean slate to place your furniture, rugs, and accessories against.
It would be a huge job, but pine can be painted. First, it would have to be sanded. Then, a Kilz type product to seal the knots to prevent bleeding. Then the paint. I would use a pretty white with a hint of gray or beige, not a brilliant white. The place would look clean and new and less depressing. The suggestion of sanding, then lightly pickling would also contemporize it and make it look Scandinavian. Pickling can be done by watering down latex paint a bit so that the wood grain shows through. I would take one room at a time if I couldn't afford to hire someone to do it. It would take a while, but the finished look would be worth it.
If you ever intend to sell it, you probably shouldn't paint it. It's not much of a ski chalet without the pine walls. Try cleaning the paneling with something like Orange Glow Wood Cleaner. That may lighten it by a several shades. By either daylight or firelight, that pine is going to look great. It's just when it's dim that it looks depressing. So try using mirrors and other things with reflective surfaces to reflect light into the dim areas, and if the unrelieved paneling is unbearable, wall hangings are great and relatively affordable.
I would leave the ceilings and walls and concentrate on changing the look/feel of the place by updating the furniture and maybe flooring? Also, trim can be messed with/painted to lighten up/change the feeling of the rooms. I have seen some really bad paint jobs on that sort of paneling, and since it is kind of indicative of a chalet, I would keep it. But a switch out of furniture (modern maybe) will offset the piney look.
It's a French Chalet. Do not paint it. Clean it up and do a coat of Liquid Gold on it and it will be beautiful. Lighten up the attic bedroom with one of those white wooly rugs "Flokati rug". Good luck, it looks as though you have found a gem in disguise.
I say paint the pine, especially in the dark areas like the stairwell, but leave the banister wood. In the bedroom, paint the wood on the walls and the center beam and leave the pine ceiling alone. In the living room above, you could leave it and paint the walls bright white and bring in color with the furniture or vice versa. I suggest going to Houzz.com and look up "pine cabin", painted pine and so on and get a feel for what you like.
BOLD COLOR! You need to find a way to take the truly dated and dark parts of the rooms, like the railing in the first photo, dark cross beam and walls in the second photo, and the curtains in the third photo, and you need to find ways to bright them up and update them and my recommendation is color. Check out these two apartment therapy posts, http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/paint-palette-portfolio-teal-kitchens-178297 and http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bold-colored-countertops-178039 which have great examples with wood and older interiors that could give you some ideas. Also, look at the floors too, see if you can find a way to light the room that way. Also, out with the cheap-o materials, find authentic materials like wood, stone, and metal. Go used, rustic/rusty, and find things with heft and make them pop with color. Just some thoughts.
Yes, look in French magazines for ideas... I would add Style et Décoration to the list. North American approaches to design just aren't appropriate in your context.
While I normally support painting out pine paneling, in this case, I think it would be a huge mistake. It is just culturally and stylistically inappropriate (and if you want to preserve your resale value, it is something to consider). When people go to the mountains in France, they usually don't want white painted interiors -- that's what they have in the city. They want things a bit rustic and charming.
Right now, the look is even more rustic, with wider planks that clearly don't come from a big box hardware store -- and, very important, the wood is BLEACHED and waxed, not coated with any type of varnish. Like so:
http://homebestdesign.com/amazing-design-chalet-in-the-french-alps-1/image-amazing-design-chalet-in-the-french-alps/
http://homebestdesign.com/amazing-design-chalet-in-the-french-alps-1/wallpaper-amazing-design-chalet-in-the-french-alps/
Hold off on any renovations until you get your design concept and details in place; you are looking at so many things (walls, floors, bathrooms, kitchen) it would be even better to work with a design professional, an architect, who specializes in chalets. A design professional can come up with a cohesive design as well as design ideas that you could never hope to come up with...
(gosh this question makes me so homesick...)
I think the pine paneling is GLORIOUS! Would you paint a tree? No! Think of it as a neutral backdrop to bright furnishings, lighting, window treatments and accessories.
A big part of modernizing the space will be the furniture you put in it and the textiles you use. You can make zero changes, but change all the furniture to something besides country pine, and it will look really clean and modern without having to touch the walls.
Normally, I'd say "Paint it!" but in this case I think you should first try to brighten and warm up the space in other ways. Pick a lighter color on any walls that are already painted. Get lighter tile for the floors that are dark and dingy. Make sure you have enough lamps and other light sources. Add bright pops of color. If that doesn't help, just think through the process very carefully before you paint, do it right, and consider what it'll do to your resale value if you're not planning to live there for a very long time.
I think the pine walls will look a lot less monolithic if you paint the furniture instead (or get , and use curtains, art, and rugs to bring in other colors.
Noooo! Not white. It's a ski chalet, it should be warm and cosy.
And ditto comments that recommend you use the chalet for at least one or two seasons before doing any renovation. I agree with @Mschatelaine, have never seen a white interiored chalet in France
I currently have an all wood house (redwood and fir in my case, only the ceiling has knots). When I first got it, I had a strong urge to paint it all white. With wood interiors, the rooms seem darker, and sort of dingier than what I was used to. I considered painting bleaching and sandblasting. They are all quite expensive to have done, and way too much work for DIY (at least for me). So I had to think about it, and it occurred to me that my home was designed and built to be wood, and I should work with it as designed. Or at least I should try to work with it first. Because once you paint it, it is extremely expensive and difficult to go back. I am now extremely glad that I didn't paint it.
My strategy will probably work well for you too. I opted to maximize the natural light and harmonize my furnishings so they don't compete with the wood:. I removed the light gray carpeting and put in a wood floor with a semi-gloss finish. The goal was to get light reflecting off the floor. This added A LOT of bouncing natural light. I installed skylights in the kitchen and the studio.
I realized that I had to limit the color palette and pattern for my furnishings. Bold color competes with the texture and tone of all the wood, and it can overwhelm the eye quickly - you don't know what to look at first, and it feels chaotic. I think it's better to go with sophisticated neutrals or soft metallics.
For my wood house, I chose black, white, and leather that is close to the wall color. I created vignettes within the room with bright details. I removed all window coverings and placed mirrors and lamps in areas that needed light. I put plants and paintings with lots of white around the house to add more of a feeling of fresh and lightness.
From the pictures of your place, I would suggest that when the whole room is wood, the furniture should not be. Go with leather, metal, painted wood and fabric. Light colored curtains, maybe a natural linen, will freshen the space up. I wouldn't use dark curtain colors or rods. I would also be tempted to paint all the windows (not the framing around the windows, just the windows themselves) a strong color that you like - yellow, red, green, blue -- just the windows themselves would give you some bold color without overwhelming the space.
Paint the trim white, but leave the walls pine. I saw this once on Design*Sponge, but can't find the post for the life of me.
I'd leave (but clean) the pine, as others suggested.
I'd get some really nice, really full floor to ceiling draperies with white backgrounds and bright designs -- maybe crewel embroidery -- something textured and a bit rustic but still luxurious. That would be my big impact purchase.
Add mirrors, bright cushions and pots and pans. Sparkly lighting. Cozy seating and afghans. Warm rugs. Colorful art. Not too much of anything, but a carefully chosen selection, carefully placed. One large colorful painting vs. six little bitty ones, that sort of thinking. The art and mirrors could cover enough of the pine to give you some lightness and relief without painting.
Very cool! Have fun there!
Get a paint chip book, and look for a color that warms up the wood.
I have a sunroom with wood panelling on the ceiling and 3 walls. The fourth wall was painted. The room was very blah and lost in the bad part of the1970s.
Before I invested weeks in painting the panelling I tried painting the fourth wall a new color. The shade was just slightly different in color and finish (flat to eggshell), but really brought out the beauty of the wood. The only other painting I did was to put in white trim to make it pop. The sunroom is now one of the most attractive rooms in the house, and the panelling is now its best feature.
agree with folks suggesting you live with it before you change anything big.
pyrenees or alps?
The walls are cool. The floor is yucky. So are the curtains and furniture. I'd throw down some light or bright rugs. Put in some light or bright curtains, soft furniture, etc. Leave the walls. It looks cozy.
If you JUST CAN'T STAND IT, I'd sand the walls, a lot of work, and then white wash them, with a cold white, but let the knots bleed through. I've seen this and it looks really nice. Very modern. If you plush up the furnishings a bit, I don't think the wood will look so dark, though.
Check out this interior, it's all wood. http://bellevivir.blogspot.com/2010/04/ochre-owners-abode.html
Go with it! It's cool. If you really hate it, paint it white or light gray, but leave the ceilings untouched to maintain the ski chalet feel you fell in love with in the first place.
My two cents. Either way, congrats! I am soooooooo jealous!
I would leave the walls and try and see if i can 'straightened' the sides of the posts to get rid of the scalopped edges. I think that, more than the wood, gives the rustic dated feeling. Good luck!
I will second pickling. I just came back from visiting my girlfriend in Norway and loved the pickled walls she did in her lake house. It kept the warmth of the pine, but provided a lighter, more contemporary feeling to the space. She kept the beams along the ceiling ridge the natural color. It was amazing how the lighter look brought the outdoors in. Perfect for a ski chalet.
I recently moved into a knotty pine apartment. I had some intrepidation, but with some creativity and thinking outside of the box.... everyone loves my apartment. It has been described as warm, homey and modern. Think of the walls as a part of your organic modern design canvas. I DID NOT paint anything!!! My accent color is WHITE. I mixed modern(storage bins + scandinavian dressers), antiques (family heirloom library table) and organic industrial (metal & slate coffee & end tables and metal/leather chairs). It is a different way of thinking about color and texture without drywall/plastered walls. Wood is hard and dark. My accents are white and plush fabrics (white sherpa rug in front of the fireplace). Use lots of lighting everywhere to create the kind of ambiance you want for your mood/need. I have two crisp orange accent leather chairs in my living room that is a surprise splash of color that everyone likes and comments on! Did I say that I also display my geode collection in the living room?! Note there is continuity here: organic sherpa rug, organic leathers, organic geodes, organic knotty pine walls, etc.
If you think outside of the box, think organic and you may find out that you can create an amazing warm home with your French pine chalet. Good luck!
Whatever you do to the walls DO NOT paint the ceilings.
Please do not paint the wood - make the space contemporary through furnishings, esp. textiles and art. Very cool . . . . .
Please do not paint the wood - make the space contemporary through furnishings, esp. textiles and art. Very cool . . . . .
Paint the ceiling white and the walls whatever colour you'd prefer. If you paint it well it will end up looking more interesting than plain plasterboard walls.
Raw pine panelling looks absolutely awful... No exceptions.
I'm with the leave-the-original-wood-lots of mirrors-by-the-windos-white furniture-curtains-rugs folks. That's what a ski chalet should look like--in character. I would add Ikea's Makros lamps all over the place.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90147465/
They're white, come in large and medium sizes. Best of all Makros lamps look like snowflakes! They're beautiful. I'm sitting under one now in my sunroom/not-chalet/office. Go skiing, not painting.
I did some quick research and it looks like painting pine is not so much difficult as it is time consuming. I would personally paint it, because I don't like the darkness, but I would stay away from large expanses of stark white since the people above who mentioned the contrast to the snow are definitely right.
I would probably go for light colors (because otherwise why paint at all?) but steer towards colors like cream, maybe with similarly pale browns, blues, greens, etc. I'd specifically be more likely to choose warm tones than cool ones, because if you're out skiing all day more cold is not what you want.
I have to say... I envy you this dilemma!
Paint the walls white and for the staircase- hang white curtains in front of that window- floor to ceiling, something like this: http://www.ikea.com/de/de/catalog/products/10070262/
It will brighten up the staircase.
I wouldn´t paint the wood, it will loose a lot of Character, would be a pitty. There is wood cleaner which make s the wood lighter and works like magic.
there was a primer on the market in the us specifically made to paint over knots, but, after a few years, the knots showed through, and paint formulas are a bit kinder to the environment in recent years, so the knots may show through sooner. many of the above ideas are good, including embracing the wood & scandinavian styling (that famous marrimekko poppy print?). would change out the grey carpet, or cover it, as the grey & pine do not seem to work here. think kid-friendly, amenable to wet clothes & indoor picnics, then go ski.
At first glance I was thinking definitely paint, but after looking at the pics again I say leave them. If possible put your money into modern chandeliers, bold & colorful print rugs, and updated furniture. Curtains from floor to ceiling will help hide some of the wood. Adding color and light is the key.