A splash, or two, of color!

My wife is the designer, purchaser, and applier of paint in our new house. Her patience for painting right-up-to, but not onto the timbers far exceeds mine, so I'm glad she's taken up the challenge! The first rooms she painted were white and antique white, and it really made the timbers stand out. We were excited to see finished walls, and it really brightened up the rooms but frankly, they still looked a lot like drywall!

She went out on a limb and painted our master bedroom in green - a shade which might best be described as "sage" or "olive." It's hard to convey with the digital camera. We've been living in a mobile home for several years (you can't really paint the walls), but have taken our share of road trips, so it wasn't much of a surprise when our kids took one look at the color and unanimously said it reminded them of a hotel room. :) The braces in this room are ash, and the timbers are ash and white-oak. The color really compliments them well... better than white!

We were pleased with the first splash of color, so she decided to go further out on a limb and paint our dining room another shade. She bought 3 samples of brown/tan and painted a swath of each color on the walls next to the timbers. We honestly didn't like any of the colors. Selecting a color of brown or tan that doesn't clash with oak might be possible. It might also be possible to do the same thing with walnut. But this room had oak and walnut and it seemed impossible to find a brown shade that matched them both. Solution... go red! Kids response: "This is the room where the Christmas tree goes!"

Even though she chose satin, not gloss, the dark red color, with copious natural light flooding into the room, really exaggerates the slightest imperfections in the drywall. We hired a professional to finish the drywall and he did a great job, but things you would never see on a white or even green wall, are discernible on a bright red wall. Just a word of caution if you're painting and decide to go this route!

Speaking of kids, here's one of the ways my wife kept them occupied at the house site this summer. She made swing sets from crane straps... each at a different height, depending on the age of the child. We know these straps will hold their weight - they held the timber frame when we lifted the bents into place.