Painting white woodwork to look like wood: Epic!

I spoke too soon when I said I had quickly found the base color for painting all the white woodwork in my living room and dining room to look like wood — aka faux bois painting. Getting the custom color base right took Denise — a genius decorative painter — A DAY AND A HALF. Even though she is a pro. Or: Because she is a pro!

Denise arrived Tuesday morning.

She started working with my samples and with formulations to get a glaze that looked just right.

I started cleaning all the woodwork.

I made two or three more runs to the hardware store for more basecoat paint samples.

Many sample paint+glaze combo strips — then, half-board samples — and then, full board samples…

The work continued into Wednesday. While she waited for paint samples to dry, Denise taped the floors and put down paper to protective paper. 

…And finally, at about 3 p.m., she/we had a clear and decisive PERFECT winner. 

D & me a-thrifting a few years ago.

We started painting late Wednesday afternoon. It’s now 6:30 p.m. Thursday night, as I am writing this story. One hour ago, we finished the first coat of the living room wainscoting and bookcases — but not the windows and not the ceiling beams with their millions of 1″ x 1″ dentils that are going to be “some therapy,” to put it kindly, to paint.

Friday: We’re aiming to get the second coat up. Then, Denise will go home for the long weekend… I’ll try to get going on the dining room wainscoting over the weekend… and she’ll come back next week and start glazing. Then: Onto the ceiling beams.

This whole project is going to be a boatload of work — super process-oriented, infinite patience required. Not for the faint of heart — or pocketbook, if you are paying for help (to be clear: Yes, Denise is a friend, but you can bet I am still paying her!)  It will be one of the most epic things I’ve ever done — but I am already 110% sure it is going to be an amazing transformation. So thrilling!

And: I love me my Denise. We are having So Much Fun!

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