70's "wood" ceiling

Looking for ideas!

We have a large living room with a high, sloping celiing covered wit dark 70's wood panels.

Can anyone suggest what can be done with it? I dread having it take down and I also fear that painting it might look awful. Ca plasterboard be fitted on top? Or more pleasing real wood boards?

Kat

-- Kate Williams

You could try painting it white, matt or silk I suppose, just to see what it looks like. After all, your alternative is to cover it up anyway. You don't even have to paint it all to get an idea of what it will look like.

Andy.

Probably a good idea to give it a coat of stain block primer before you start emulsioning.

Typically these are pine. Although they look lovely in early years, they do darken too much, and end up not looking good. I would try wood bleach, a light wood ceiling is a lovely thing, far nicer than PB. Yes you can paint it white, but they always look fairly second rate like that.

If you must be rid of it, PB over it rather than remove, then someone who appreciates them can do a proper job on it years in the future.

Another option is to lime it. This works pretty well too, and might be your best bet.

NT

How on earth could you lime a softwood ?

Lime *effect* it then?

Liming paste, wipe it on, wipe it off... is there a problem with that plan?

NT

Hardwoods are limed. The (usually white) liming paste gets wiped over and catches in the vessels exposed at the surface. No vessels in softwood, so liming doesn't work. It might wipe clean off, it might stick and leave an overall haze, but you aren't going to get the usual "tiny white spots" effect.

There are a few hardwoods that won't lime successfully too (lime is one), but I can't think of any softwood that could be limed.

Yes, the effect is different, its not white spots. But it does work. What you get is an overall white effect, while still able to clearly see the wood and its grain, ie the level of whiteness varies over the workpiece according to the grain.

I've been looking at some limed pine today. It just looks like a light milky wood, none of the usual darkness of pine. Its a great way to treat pine ceilings, which become overly dark over time.

NT

Memories. My mother in the '50s bought a limed oak bedroom suite courtesy of her COOP divvy - she said. Father disagreed. ;-) Grey with white grain, and beautifully made with mahogany linings. I remember just how well the drawers slid and the doors closed. When she had to go into a home some 40 years later it was still in perfect condition, but even the Sally Army didn't want it. So it went down the tip.