We're Painting the Inside of the Beach Shack White

A decision has been made.

Remember our little Beach Shack we bought a few months back? Well we’ve been back and forth to the beach more times than I can count this summer and it’s because we’ve been renovating it nonstop. I’m not kidding when I say nonstop, either. PJ woke up at 4 am this morning to head over and install the floors. He is a man on a mission and he can’t be stopped, y’all.

Ever since we bought it, we’ve been going back and forth on what we should do with the original wood paneled walls on the inside. They’re so gorgeous and actually in really good condition. At first, it was a no-brainer: We were keeping them. How could we not? They made it this long without anyone touching them (helped by the fact that the same family has owned our beach shack since it was built) and we weren’t about to be the ones to end that streak.

Isn’t the original wood stunning?

We thought about leaning into the beachy, woodsy vibe, sort of like the beach house in the movie Message in a Bottle. It could be cozy and warm and inviting, and of course old and charming, which is a style we’ve always been so drawn to.

But the more we thought about it, that’s not really the feel we want when we’re at the beach. Every beach house we stay at while we’re down here always has a few features in common that we love: Light, airy, calming, relaxing, bright. Our beach shack didn’t feel like any of those things, and if we’re investing so much time and money into fixing it up, shouldn’t it? Shouldn’t we want it to feel and look exactly like what we look for in all those Airbnb’s we rent while we’re down here?

So a decision was made. Light and bright and airy it is! After going back and forth for months, we finally decided to paint it all white. At first it was just going to be the walls and we were going to leave the ceiling and window trim alone, but then PJ started installing the new, lighter hardwood floors and they totally clash with the dark ceiling. So now we’re painting it all. Everything. THERE WILL BE NO SURFACE LEFT UNTOUCHED AND WE CAN’T WAIT.

Sorry to yell at you I just get really excited thinking about how gorgeous it’s all going to be. I mean people pay money for that “shiplap” look and we already have it waiting for us in the shack, it just needs a little TLC to get it looking and feeling like the beach house we’ve always wanted. Think Nancy Meyers style: Cool, casual, comfortable, neutrals, etc.

We are installing new windows (that we brought with us from Tennessee- can’t wait to show you how gorgeous they are!!) and window trim, so we didn’t bother painting those because they’re just going to get replaced anyway.

There are only five rooms in the whole house, and they’re all teeny tiny, so painting it shouldn’t take that long. PJ brought a paint sprayer from home and we all but knocked out the back bedroom and living room yesterday. It went by pretty fast, though after the first two coats, it’s clear now that we’re going to have to use Kilz paint as a primer first because the stain keeps coming through underneath the white paint.

Is that a sign? Should we not have painted? Is that the house’s way of telling us we made a mistake?

I don’t think so. We’re so happy with the white and there’s no turning back now.