Two years ago, we moved into this house and from the minute we stepped foot inside, I knew I was going to have to paint the paneling in the living room. I gave my husband plenty of notice of this ginormous project and he just nodded and smiled, probably thinking that I’d never get around to it.
The poor man. Bless his heart. (The above picture is from the realtor’s listing when we were looking at buying the house. So dark and dreary.)
It may have taken me two years to muster up the strength, stamina, and willpower to muscle through this monstrosity of a project, but y’all, I DID IT!
And I couldn’t be more pleased at how it turned out. I am so in love with the transformation, I keep asking myself why it took so long.
(Oh yeah, having a baby, living life, other gigantic projects…yada yada)
But anyway, can you believe the difference?
Here’s a basic rundown of how we did it: first, I used a sander/deglosser and, working in sections, I applied the sander/deglosser quickly followed by a coat of primer (we used Zinsser 123 water based primer). This took forever since I could only work in sections because the sander/deglosser had about a 10 minute window for me to work in. After I got the first coat of primer, I followed up with a second coat of primer.
Then I painted all the trim around the doors and windows, as well as the crown moulding and the beams on the ceiling, with two coats of paint (Benjamin Moore’s Advance Satin paint in White Dove). After that dried, I started painting the paneling (Benjamin Moore’s Advance Satin paint in Moonshine). This also took two coats. Quick side note: I LOVE this paint. It is self-leveling and covers a lot of space. It is an amazing paint, especially if you’re painting over wood.
Then I painted my office door black because I’m slightly obsessed with black interior doors. So elegant.
Once everything was painted and dried, we re-attached all the cabinet doors, re-installed cabinet shelves and re-hung all the wall art, etc. All in all, it took a good three weeks of hard work during naps, at night and on weekends.
It was definitely the biggest painting project we’ve taken on, but it was SO WORTH IT! The room is now so light and bright and I don’t feel like I’m living in a cave anymore. If you have wood paneling and have been trying to decide whether to paint it, I encourage you to just do it! You won’t regret it!
Beautiful! I’m trying to muster up enough nerve to do my Kitchen Cab. I have never used this paint. Would it work well for the Kitchen? Did you brush or roll?
Hi there! My favorite paint for kitchen cabinets is Benjamin Moore Advance in White Dove. The way I paint cabinets is to brush it on first and then to take a foam roller and smooth over my brush strokes with it. It’s a bit of an extra step but it’s worth it!
This was my Mom’s house! I always wanted to paint the paneling! Looks great! Can’t wait to show her!
It must have taken courage to paint those dark walls. I grew up in a home with pine walls… I agree. It can seem oppressive. I’m so glad I found your blog. I’m looking to find a diy Bergere chair. I’ll be consulting your diy article when I do!
Where did you buy your sofas???
Ashley Furniture
I’m trying to get the courage up to paint our paneling, it looks exactly like yours! What was the sander/deglosser you uses?
Also, i meant to ask. How is it holding up?