The High’s and Low’s of Painting an Open Concept Cabin

The first project we need to tackle is painting. The cabin is wood on wood on wood, which we love, but the multiple wood tones aren’t quite working (i.e., they are driving Jen crazy!). Here is a good point in our relationship where I should disclose a “gentlemen’s” agreement that Jen and I came too upon purchasing the cabin. If you recall from my prior post, Jen is the design and creative force of the family. She has a vision and I help bring it to life. I loved the cabin at first site, the dirt road, the wilderness, the tranquility, you name it, I loved it. Jen wasn’t quite as sold right out of the gate. So, our agreement was this; we buy the cabin and I relinquish all future negotiating powers with respect to anything design oriented. Done and done!

Jen and I are seasoned painters, however the height at the peak is 25’ which had us second guessing our tactical approach. Having never painted with scaffolding we thought this was the way to go to ensure full and even application of paint and stain on the walls.

We rented our scaffolding from American Rent-All for $172 for four days. The scaffold tower was Pro-Jax, all-steel and designed for indoor use. It had plywood deck platforms, casters for moving it around the floor and outriggers for increased stability when we had to increase the platform height. We rented two 8’ foot sections, and two platforms, and the safety railings that are installed around the working area on the top of the second platform. When fully assembled it topped out at just over 18’ tall. I was able to put this all in the back of my SUV (GMC Acadia) with the seats folded down.

Truth be told it was a bit terrifying. It felt pretty stable once it was put together, however, putting it together was awkward. The real challenge was putting the second set of 8’ rails on and the second platform on top of those rails. Once we conquered that feat, we installed the safety railings, and then we were good to go.

Jen’s Dad Pete also took a lead role in this first project. Sure to be a fixture in our blog, he is the original project man. A legendary Jack-of-all-trades, he is quick to help our family and Jen’s sister with any and all house projects.

Paint color: Benjamin Moore White Dove (all walls)

Black: standard issued black (beams)

Hindsight is we could have sprayed this project. Admittedly, as a family we’re traditionalists with rolling and assumed covering the dark wood would require some elbow grease with a KILZ oil based application. We used Zinsser Bulls Eye primer on the walls. Jen is the cutting-in specialist and swears by the Wooster Shortcut 2” angled brush for just about every project. It took two coats of primer and two of Benjamin Moore Regal eggshell in White Dove to do the job.

The chimney wall needed some TLC and we decided to keep that wood grain and just give it a facelift (with hopes of matching the second floor loft walls) with some fresh stain in our go-to Minwax Golden Oak. We upgraded the hanging chandelier for a flush mount fan ($119 at Home Depot) while we were up there and also tackled some other lighting projects that we’ll detail in the coming days.

Probably the most memorable experience of painting was the country music booming in the background. I listened to all kinds of music growing up, but there was a good stretch of time when all I listened to was country. I love me some Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, and Reba. So, to Jen’s surprise, I could sing along to most every song that came on. It was an around-the-clock effort for four days, but transformative. Happiest moment of the project was taking down the scaffolding and knowing we survived!