Refinishing Redwood Trim versus Painting it White

9 years ago

We purchased an Edwardian fixer with redwood molding and trim throughout. The wood has an odd, very old "stain" that is dark with yellow lines. An inspector told us it was in vogue at one point to paint redwood to look like tiger wood. It is generally in good shape save the doors, which show a lot of wear near the latch and the top of some of the windows where multiple curtain rods have been hung over the years.

Our dilemma is that it is very dark. We like to either sand and stain the wood a lighter color or paint it white, or some combination of the two. One other issue is that one of the hallway doors already had to be replaced for fire code reasons. It is bright white. I have gone back and forth on this, and have gotten very different feedback from asking others. I need to decide nowish!

Advice? Experience with this? Things to consider?

Featured Answer

emmarene9

9 years ago

I wouldn't paint it.

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Comments (11)

mydogmiddy
9 years ago
Our WHOLE house is redwood. I washed it all with TPS following the directions. We hired a painter who sanded the rough spots and then shellacked it all.
sunnydrew
9 years ago
Once you start, where does you stop? It would be shame to paint it all white. Think long and hard to decide. It is hard to undo.
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User
9 years ago
It would be absolutely criminal to paint that! Wood of that quality is VERY expensive. You should look at restoring this house. What a treasure you have!
lulu322
9 years ago
Refinish or have the wood touched
lulu322
9 years ago
All the yellow trim should be white and paint the walls bleaker beige, add a long runner in the hallway, find someone to paint match the wood doors with that white door so it looks more like wood.
lulu322
9 years ago
Hang some nice prints in the hall
User
9 years ago
If you want painted trim, then remove that valuable wood and sell it to a salvage yard. Then replace it with cheap MDF. That would be huge downgrade, with a corresponding big loss of value to the home. Redwood is a big upgrade over painted trim.
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Linda
9 years ago
More light fixtures and high output bulbs will be a tremendous help in making the space brighter. That would be a definite upgrade and add value to the home. Painted trim looks good at first but shows wear and tear much more than stained wood and starts to look shabby quite quickly.
Erica Brown
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks all! Seems pretty unanimous. We are already putting in a couple lights and will definitely get rid of the yellow trim.

Any suggestions on paint color to complement the wood?
calidesign
9 years ago
Glad to hear you are keeping the wood. I think white walls look beautiful with that wood, and will keep the spaces light. It also looks fresh and clean. Then you can introduce different colors to your various rooms through rugs, furniture, and artwork. With the warm red/gold tones in the wood it would be great to use greens and blues if you like those colors.