The interior of our home still has the original tongue and groove boards from floor to ceiling, along with old beadboard upstairs. Much of the wood has remained unchanged since the house was built in 1901. Our plan was to preserve the wood in its original state as much as possible, only painting the areas that had already been painted over the years. However, the old bare wood had become dry and faded and needed to be revitalized. We uncovered areas of rot where leaky roofs and additions had been, and repairs would be needed. Once the additions had been removed, the house was leveled, and a new roof had been installed, it was time to begin the process of cleaning, repairing, oiling, and painting the interior of our shabby old house.
This is the living room with a view through the dining room into the kitchen. There were pet-damaged tiles and makeshift wood floors covering the floors in these rooms, as well as foam tiles on the ceilings of the living room and kitchen. A fair amount of demo was needed in these rooms as well as a thorough cleaning. At some point, the original floors were removed and plywood subfloors were installed for the flooring we removed.
The kitchen and bathroom were both in need of complete renovations. The kitchen cabinets were removed as well as the paneling that covered two walls. Under the paneling, we found evidence of a fire, so these walls were gutted. The bathroom had water damage on the floor and under paneling that covered one wall. We uncovered a window that was hidden behind the paneling. Unfortunately, due to the tight space and new bathroom layout, the window had to be removed.
Needless to say, we had to have electrical work done.This scary switch was still in use in the kitchen! The bedroom on the right shared a wall with an addition on the back of the house that was in poor condition and leaking. After demolishing the addition, this wall had to have a lot of wood replaced, both inside and out.
We were pleased find the original floors upstairs were salvageable. However, they were in desperate need of a good cleaning!
The dining room became a workspace for a while.
There were a few places on the ceilings where the tongue and groove boards needed to be replaced. Fortunately, we were able to salvage and repurpose boards from other areas in the house where demolition was necessary.
While we were working inside, we had a crew working outside. This is the back of the house where the addition once was. We had a new porch and laundry/mudroom built in its place.
Once again, paneling covered the original tongue and groove boards, this time in the foyer. Some of the walls had a mysterious thin layer of what appeared to be joint compound on them, so they would need to be cleaned and painted. We also decided to add some detail to this space by adding beadboard panels to the lower wall and a chair rail. You can see where I was sampling a paint color on the wall, which we ultimately chose as the perfect color. In the lower right photo is a doorway, being prepped for paint, leading from the dining room into the laundry/mudroom we built. We installed horizontal beaded panels in keeping with the style throughout the house. We also installed an antique stained glass window to bring in natural light and add charm.
Priming the walls and ceilings that are to be painted. In the photo on the right, you can see where we patched a damaged area in the ceiling using repurposed tongue and groove boards salvaged from the kitchen.
Finally, paint! Here I am pre-painting crown molding before installation. After trying out many samples, we decided on the PPG color Antique White to use throughout the house. It looks fresh and clean, yet warm and cozy.
The painted foyer. It’s difficult to photograph but more updates on this charming little space will be coming soon! The warm white color perfectly compliments the old wood on the ceiling.
Here’s our daughter priming her room in preparation for painting. The room was previously painted white with black trim. She decided to go with a lighter warm white on the walls than the one we used downstairs. This is Sherwin-Williams Dover White. This turned out to be such a lovely room. And there’s a sneak peak of a finished floor. Stay tuned for an update on the floors!
We decided to use pure tung oil half cut with an orange oil citrus solvent (links below) to seal the wood walls, ceilings and floors. The tung oil not only seals the wood but also rehydrates and revives it. This old wood went from dry and faded to rich and healthy. I’m so glad we chose this method over sealing with a polyurethane.
After oiling the walls and ceilings, we decided to try to match the new wood in the laundry/mudroom with a stain so it would flow and look more original. We used Minwax oil-based stain in the color Honey. I think it matched very well. We will follow up with tung oil/citrus solvent to seal it.
Oiled walls in the dining room and future master bedroom.
Oiled wood from floor to ceiling in another charming bedroom upstairs.
Where to find Pure Tung Oil for your wood resoration projects
Pure tung oil is natural, non-toxic and very easy to use. However, not all tung oil is created equal. You will not find the same quality product at your local hardware store. By following the product links below, you will be directed to The Real Milk Paint Co. website and will receive 10% off your purchase. Alternatively, you can visit their site and use the code oldhouse10 at checkout for a 10% discount.
As a bonus, orange oil citrus solvent can also be used as an all natural cleaner and degreaser!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and trust.
Follow along
I hope you enjoyed seeing some of our renovation-preservation process. Would you like another tour of our old house? Find out what it looked like before we started, here! Stay tuned for more posts on our old house project. Coming soon: old floor preservation, new “old wood” floor installation, and a new kitchen and bath! Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out!
Wow! What a lot of progress you have made! It is good you have an imagination to see the potential– what a charming house you are bringing back to life! Can’t wait to see what is next…
Thank you! There are times when I feel like we haven’t accomplished much even though we stay busy. Then, I look back at where we started and it makes me feel a little better. Ha!
Wow! What a lot of progress you have made! It is good you have an imagination to see the potential– what a charming house you are bringing back to life! Can’t wait to see what is next…
Thank you! There are times when I feel like we haven’t accomplished much even though we stay busy. Then, I look back at where we started and it makes me feel a little better. Ha!
I love what you’re doing! The renovations look wonderful so far!
Thank you so much! We’re moving right along! 🙂
I’m loving watching your renovation! Looking forward to the finish line!🤩
Thank you..me too!
I love how you kept the wood where you could and matched for the original look. So beautiful and warm!
Thank you!
What beautiful original wood you found in the upstairs bedrooms! The images of the finished oiled wood made the room look stunning!
Thank you! Yes, I love the old wood and am so glad it was left untouched. So much old house charm!