Monday, February 06, 2012

Painting Oak (not for mature audiences)




Maybe the majority of the young whipper-snappers do not have an appreciation for beautiful American hardwoods, but I do. I think they are beautiful. 


There is something about my mom's generation and older that makes them gasp in horror if they hear of someone painting a good piece of wood.



But I also think there can be too much of a good thing.



Oak


Take my dining room for example.


Oak hardwood floors. Love them.


Oak dining room table that a family kept in perfect condition for 20 years after paying $2,500 for it. Then they sold it to us for a steal on Craigslist. Love it.



Oak corner hutch. This was another Craigslist steal, free actually. 









The whole presentation could leave one feeling like they stepped into...

oak-topia.


I would say 100% of my mom's generation (and older) would say this room is...


oak-y-doky.


Perhaps even...


oak-a-licious.


Me, well, I was feeling a bit...


oak-er-exposed.






So I decided to paint.


I already bought paint for the kitchen cabinets after doing a bunch of research on what works the best.


There are Sherwin Williams vs. Benjamin Moore advocates with a few die-hard Valspar and Baer lovers out there too.


It was a bit dizzying, but I finally went with Sherwin because he lured me in with 25% off paint and 15% supplies, plus $10 off each $50 spent. I made such a steal on really good paint!


I got a good primer and a satin, white pro-classic. This cabinet turned out to be a perfect opportunity to try out my paint choices.





I've read so much about "the right way to paint" recently that I had no excuse for taking shortcuts here.


Well, I do have a few excuses for taking short-cuts -- their names are Emma, Mandy, Remington, and baby-yet-to-be-born and my very limited free time.


Short-cut #1: I didn't sand anything. I dusted it and dove in with the primer.



One coat of primer. 

Short-cut #2: I didn't sand between coats.




One coat of primer + 2 coats of Pro-Classic.


The paint worked well and dried really fast. I got the whole project done in one nap time (not mine obviously), another coat before I went to bed and it was ready to be used again the next morning.


Shortcut #3: No clear coat or sealer. This paint states it is durable and has a 25 year warrantee. I'm willing to take the risk.






I can't believe how much easier I feel in this room now that it isn't so oaked-out.


Very sorry to any of those I've offended by painting perfectly good wood. Don't worry, the table and floors are safe.







Photobucket

3 comments:

Sara said...

It looks great! I am not offended by the painting, but I am always too scared that I might mess up perfectly good wood by painting. And I have to confess that I have actually never painted a piece of furniture before - mostly because of all the laborious steps including the sanding. So, now that I know you can skip the sanding I may actually try a project. Some day.

Elaine said...

This post made me laugh!

I was wondering...are you still in the photography business? I was curious how far you travel and what your rate is. We live in Woodburn and need to have pictures of our 7 month old twins taken. (Missed the 6 month ones...oops.:) Thanks so much.
Elaine (bejkuy@yahoo.com)

Linds and Manda said...

I think it looks great! Even though I grew up with my parents who think it's practically a criminal offence to paint over wood. But, if you had lived in our 1912 house growing up and seen how many layers of paint can happen in all those years and clocked some major hours holding a stripping gun...you'd probably agree. :)