Painting - Painting paneling

My house was built in 1945. I have knotty pine paneling from floor to ceiling on my livingroom and dining room walls. The paneling has been stained an orangeish color. I love the look of the wood, but it is very dark. The living room has pine T&G hardwood flooring, also original to the house. The dining room was tiled by me because it appeared that someone tried to chop firewood indoors on that floor. This house had been rental property for about 6 years before I bought it. I have done a lot to the house for the past 9 years, but am at a loss with what to do to brighten the walls. I really don't want to paint, but did think of painting a pattern on the livingroom floor to add color. I have also given thought to installing chair rail onto the dining room wall and painting the top half of the wall. Well, more like a whitewash than actual paint. There is no sealer left on the walls in my dining room (i.e. polyeurathane, etc), so the paint should still absorb into the wood, and the "wood pattern" should still be seen. I love the "earthy" look of wood, but these two rooms feel like a basement. The living room has a brick fireplace and two small windows on either side. It took about 17 hours to get all the layers of paint off the fireplace and expose the natural brick. It also has a brick hearth. There are two additional windows (large), in the living room. The dining room has one "double" window that consumes one wall. The rooms are not very big, about 11X 13 each. I am afraid if I paint or whitewash, the rooms may actually appear smaller than they actually are, which is the exact oppsite of the effect I am trying to achieve. Sorry about the long post, but I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions?

Hi Buttercup,

Have you considered a strong cleaning of your panneling (to brighten and lighten) and then applying a new coat of finish?

Remember what you went through to remove the paint from your fireplace, then imagine how difficult it would be to remove the paint you might apply to these beautiful wooden walls.

There are other ways to brighten a room as well. Mirrors, large bright framed art work, bold print curtains and/or table cloth. Colorful floor treatments/ throw rugs.

If you'd like to know how or what to use if you decide to try and bring back the natural beauty of your wood, you might try the furniture refinishing board here at DIY and also the decorating board for other ideas to brighten your room without paint and without a complete stripping.

Good luck to you!

Elizabeth

Can't you refinish the paneling? Use paint/stain remover to remove the existing dark stain. Take it down to the original (natural) color and leave it. The hardwood floors in the new house we're in were a dark orangey color - we had them refinished and left them natural which lightened up the room considerably. I don't see why you couldn't do the same for the paneling. It's probably just a single layer of stain which should come off fairly easily. It will require some effort but the end result will be worth it. Paint remover and steelwool should do the trick.

Another vote for NOT painting the woodwork. When there is a lot of wood trim and panelling the use of light colored paint on the walls and a white ceiling actually overstates the contrast making the room feel even smaller. Warm tones, even on the ceiling, combined with refinished wood will make the room feel more comfortable.