Hi Everyone, I need your advice…to paint or not to paint…hmmm I’m so torn
Last summer my hubby and I decided to go exploring in rural and southern Alberta, we love to get into the car and just see where the road takes us. I usually bring a load of stitching, we make a picnic lunch, bring our cameras, binoculars and head for the highway with not generally a destination in site – yes this is what we love to do 🙂
So, we came upon this abandoned farm, pulled the car in and almost got eaten entirely by mosquitos (B$st@*ds) but decided to peak into some of these abandoned buildings – carefully of course. And found this ironing board with cover it was coated in bird droppings amongst other things…I wanted it and so after convincing my hubby we had to pull off the disgusting cover and put in in the car..YUCK. We left it in the garage all winter to kill whatever might be living inside lol.
This pic is after I already started sanding it as it was much worse with “stuff”covering it before I started:
I also have some old brass hooks that I found. So here’s where I’m torn, hubby says to leave it natural and I say to paint it the same satin weave (off whiteish) as my work bench. I want to hang it on my wall as you come down the stairs and put quilts and goodies on the worn brass hooks…thoughts, advice, help please…
thanks so much…
First I have to tell you – those ‘drives’ are exactly what me and my husband love to do…no destination, just the journey and wherever it leads us is fine. Love to go on drives like that. Now if only I could convince my husband to explore abandoned buildings, I’d be ecstatic!
What a great find! Hm..I’m not sure what I’d do. I really like the unfinished wood, but in your studio it would look very fresh with a coat of paint. But it would take away from the age and the weathered ‘history’ of it. I’m no help!! LOL.
Don’t paint…..has more value and story telling if you leave it natural! since you are going to put hooks on it and hang things from it, how much of it will you really see! plus you could be done with now and move on to something else right away! 🙂
Great find! I would leave it natural as well with maybe just a light coat of spray-on satin varnish. If you paint, you would loose the aged look that attracted you in the first place.
I love those kinds of drives too but was always told it was "unsafe" to poke around abandoned buildings. (Think that was just an excuse not to stop?)
I just realized when looking at the picture of the underside that the old "wash stand" I have might have been used as the stand for an ironing board like yours. Very interesting.
What a great find. I think I’d put a see-through color wash stain, perhaps a grey or blue-grey that would make it look like barnwood. That would allow the the beauty of the wood to show through.
I like the natural look as well! Maybe just a clear matte varnish to protect it.
Can’t wait to see it in your studio !!
When I saw it I thought I really cool color wash in whatever color suits your decor would look fabulous on it. Color wash allows the natural grain of the wood to show through but also gives it color. Think white wash. Or even painted then sanded to have the old wood show through. Really it depends on your decor. If you have it looking more barn like or country-ish it would look fab that way. But if you have it more crisp and clean (which I think you do) you might want to just paint it with the color you were talking about, the one you already have in your studio.
BUT…if you leave it natural, while everything else is painted, it will be a real focal point rather than blending in with the rest of your decor. I don’t know if I would even put varathane on it, I would just oil it with teak oil or something like that, or maybe wax. Something totally natural. It’s a gorgeous piece.