Sunday, July 10, 2011
To Paint or Not to Paint....
Ever since Mr. B and I purchased Petunia, we've gone round and round about whether or not we should paint her on the inside, or leave the natural wood. I've scoured others' blogs, websites, message board forums etc, in the hope of getting a better feel as to what we should do. I've come to the conclusion that it is purely personal preference. There are those "purist" who would never ever destroy the historical factor of the natural wood, and would do anything to preserve it. These people seem to have both time and money on their side (of which I do not). There are those who paint their darling little trailers and "glamp" them up more like mobile little cottages, complete with billowy curtains, cozy quilts, squishy pillows and charming decor. I think that we have finally come to the conclusion that we do not want a "restoration" project, but rather a "rejuvenation" of an "old gal". Mr. B also wanted me to state that the paneling in Petunia isn't "solid mahogany" but rather plywood, with birch veneer. So his feeling is that because there are a lot of stains on her paneling and it is NOT quality wood, nor do we don't have the energy, space, time or money that it will take to rip it all out and restore it, he would just rather paint her, brighten her up and call it a day. I would love your thoughts.
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I definetly would paint her! Preferably white. You will be suprised at how much bigger the interior will feel once you paint her, especially if you us a light color like white. There are many many shades of whites so you have lots of choices. When we restore our 'Pearl' we have to replace all the cabinets due to dryrot, but we will be keeping her white. I look forward to seeing Petunia after you've freshened her up! ox
ReplyDeleteI understand your dilemma, I love my wood and am willing to live with a few stains, so I've kind of decided that the next one will be already painted (NO GUILT THERE) or be in such bad shape I can justify painting it. Good luck with your decision.
ReplyDeletePaint! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI would think twice if it were "real" wood but veneer just doesn't warrant saving imho, unless you love it, that is.
Also, this is coming from someone who just finished painting their trailer blue!
sweetlimetrailer.blogspot.com
Hi, Mrs. B...I think that you should do whatever you you like...:D, going on value of the wood...since it is veneer I would't have any trouble myself painted it...though if it were a Real Wood like Birch , I would be a little more hesitant, it would loose the "wood" smell when you do it. But with a wood/veneer you are not in love with, I would go right ahead...What ever color makes your heart sing! :D
ReplyDeleteWill be back to see what you decided...can't wait to see your little Petunia come to life!
Smiles,Christine
Thank you for all your wonderful advice Ladies. I appreciate your input. I found a fabulous pink toned white that is going to be perfect. We have a slight repair to her rear end to make before we can paint, so it will probably be a few months before we can get her finished, but I will keep you all posted.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for all your help.
I would paint if you are going for a renovating and not restoring...the main thing is make sure there is no dry rot...so many of the frames are literally rotted away underneath the original paneling that a big gust of wind can do you in...looking forward to reading your past and future posts..
ReplyDeleteDear "ain't for city gals" So nice to meet you and thank for you finding me. I am constantly on the lookout for more vintage trailer blogs. Thanks for the great advice. We definitely have a little dryrot in her rear end. I'm scared of starting a project that we won't be able to finish. Mr. B isn't as handy has some of the spouses here on the blogs and $$ is tight. I know I need to address the rot situation before I paint. I keep hoping I will meet someone who has experience with "fixin" stuff on trailers, who will work within my budget. In the mean time...we take her out and enjoy her. We are headed to Big Sur this weekend.
ReplyDeletePaint her! While I can understand some that would prefer to keep the vintage wood as is... painting over the wood paneling will brighten up the space and give the old tired look some POP! Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteSandy, thank you so much for finding me. I always love meeting and making new blogging friends. I'm still new to this whole blog thing, but I'm getting the hang of it, slowly. We definitely have decided to paint her, however, she needs some repair work before that happens. Mr. B said no renovation work until next year, so in the mean time, we just take her out and enjoy her. Thanks for stopping by..I'll be posting some new photos soon.
ReplyDeleteI know there are purists out there, but I happen LIKE the look/feel and smell of fresh paint! God knows what lived in the trailer I am getting (betting they had more than two legs..) so the better to cover up anything icky. It's your baby, do what you like to her.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post. I just purchased a 1969 Kencraft and was asking myself the same question. I've been thinking I would paint the entire inside. This helped me realize I should do what I want to give " her" a facelift. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteWe just recently bought a 1999 travel trailer. It seems to have that fake VERY thin wood paneling all over the inside. Do you think that I would be able to paint that? And if so that should my steps be to doing so?
ReplyDelete