Smooth Operators

We love the exposed cedar slats and beams on the vaulted ceiling of this house. It's something you don't see in many houses, and it gives our place some of its special character.

Unfortunately, our slats haven't always been treated with love and care. This house was a rental for decades before we took it over, and while it survived that wear and tear surprisingly well, in some places it's clear that things were updated quickly and carelessly.

Case in point is the slats in the back room:

This weekend we decided to liberate our slats of the oppressive paint. We dug up a paint scraper in the shed and got to work on the removal process, but that method proved tedious and inefficient. SK then had an excellent suggestion: sandpaper. This worked like a charm, and the sandpaper quickly smoothed out the wood and removed the layer of paint.

We still have many paint-stained slats to clean up, but initial progress is encouraging!