Have you made any plans for this winter yet?
Well I have. Hooking and stripping. The past few days I’ve been stripping wooden beams with Citri-Strip Paint and Varnish Stripping Gel and whoa Nelly, it’s been a workout.
Okay, so not as hard as hiking in the mountains or anything, but stripping is hard work!
The studio {cottage?} is full of old hand hewn wooden beams on the first floor. Wooden beams that the previous owners PAINTED white.
I told my husband that if we were going to create an old English/seaside vibe over there, those beams couldn’t possibly stay white.
In theory he agreed with me. He thought the rooms would look great with exposed wooden beams. But exposing those beams would be way TOO MUCH work.
He said forget about it. Just leave them white.
But I persisted.
And told him that if he didn’t want to do it, I would sand the beams myself.
He just rolled his eyes. Said it would take forever plus twenty two hundred days and that he now thought the beams looked just fine painted white.
But still I couldn’t get the idea of cozy wooden beams and white walls out of my mind. It was actually keeping me up at night if you can believe that.
What to do, what to do.
And then I remembered all that furniture I stripped with Citri-Strip Paint and Varnish Stripping Gel a long, long time ago.
Long story short…
I bought a tub of the Citri-Strip and so far I’ve stripped the beams in the powder room and a few in {what will become} the living room.
No, all the paint did not come off with my first coat of orange goo.
But I think I’m off to a good start.
Ideally, I don’t want every speck of white paint removed. Which is a good thing, because that’s totally not going to happen.
But 95% of it though? I think by not removing all the paint it will give the rooms more of that warm/comfy look I’m going for.
I drew an arrow on the photo above to the section of the beam that I like the best.
It’s going to take some serious work, but winters are long here in Maine and this should keep me busy for a few months. 😉
So yeah, that’s what I’ll be doing this winter. Hooking and stripping.
Hobbies. We all need them.
~Mavis
Brianna says
I spent my summer stripping 2 built in giant 9’ bookcases that surround a fireplace. The previous owner painted the shelves to the bookcases so I couldn’t adjust the shelves. The shelves were not salvageable. I had to clean paint from the brackets, the frames, the wooden details, inside, and outside. It was not a fast and easy project, but I finished last month and it turned out beautifully. I had a local woodworker make me new shelves from walnut and a matching mantle from his property and they are stunning. I ended up using almost an entire gallon of stripper and a ton of sandpaper.
Sarah says
Your hard work will pay off! It is going to look amazing!
Christa H. says
Your title- hahhahhahaaaaa!
Yes- I agree- the beams with a bit of white is going to look fabulous. Can’t wait to see it all finished.
Paint by numbers matching the theme of the studio with wooden frames to match the beams would be gorgeous. I would love to decorate that space!
Nancy Settel says
I love the look of the stripped beans with paint still in some nooks and crannies makes it look even older. Passages of time. So cool looking. You are a saint to take on this massive work.
Holley says
Glad to see you’re still up to your old tricks! Hooking and stripping should make for a very fun winter!!!
Julie says
The humor for both the title of the post and this comment was not lost on me! hee-hee!
Dawn says
Those are going to look fantastic. I can’t wait to see the finished product.
suzanne says
Good for you. It definitely warms it up and I love the extra texture. It is supposed to work better If you cover your stripper with plastic. It keeps the stripper from drying out and penetrates the paint evenly. Maybe you could do a little test for the team.
Andrea says
I was going to suggest the same regarding the plastic. Also, a stainless dental pick works wonders to remove paint from grooves. I know you want to leave some, but also I’m sure you’ll run into some trouble spots. Can’t wait to see it all done!
Mavis Butterfield says
A dental pick!! Great idea.
Mavis Butterfield says
I think I will!!
Jennifer Jo says
Hooking and stripping? That sounds racey!
Lori H says
If you’re looking for a quicker option, see if you have a sandblasting contractor in your area. We go this route for remodels and it’s fast.
Sue says
We have “hand hewn” manufactured fake beams in our living room. We couldn’t remove them without a lot off hassle/cost, so painted them ceiling white to make them “disappear.” The ’70’s have a lot of hideousness to answer for!
But authentic (structural, I’m assuming) beams? Wow, you are so doing the right thing by them. Although at that awful angle, your neck & shoulders may never forgive you… You might want to include massage work in your stripping and hooking goals. LOL!
Linda M says
You have such a clever sense of humor! Your title cracked me up! Thank you for the smile !
I love the beams. Lots of hard work ..yes! Will it look great when done…Absolutely !
Ramona says
When I was removing paint from an outdoor deck so I could stain it I used sanding disks for the grooves. They were a plastic type disk that attached to your drill and they didn’t damage the wood .
Mallory L. says
In those furniture flip videos that are all over the internet I’ve often seen the acetone and a stiff scrub brush (half to one inch long bristles, either metal or hard plastic) to clean grooves and remove a bit more paint after stripping detailed or rough surfaces.
You might be able to get a better aged/washed out look that way instead of sanding. It should leave the paint in the deeper grooves, but remove the majority from the shallow ones. Just a thought!
Margo says
A lot of work going into restoring those beams. I might have been happy to paint them brown and call it good, but I’m lazy and you,definitely, are not. Good luck with your project, I’m sure it will look great when you are done.
Cheryl says
First thing I thought was you were going to be naked.. Your husband is such a good guy.
sandy says
Heat gun, scrappers, steel wool, stripper, dental tools-gloves and audio books. 2 years we spent stripping all of the origianl built ins-beams-built in china cabinet, bookcases and stairs of our 1915 Craftsman airplane historic bungalow. 100% worth it.
GrannyB says
If you add in some glitter with the hooking and stripping, the HH might just jump in and be right there with you! 😉
Judi Y. says
Stripping always takes forever but in the end it’s always worth it. They are going to be beautiful!
Stacy Bowen says
Friend, even hookers and strippers need protection ;-). Please wear eye protection while working with that stripper–my brother would have been blinded had he not had on goggles while applying stripper to a patio table and a large blob of stripper ended up on his goggles. And I think that natural wood will be gorgeous.
Ashley B says
You’re nuts – in a good way 😉