As you can see from this panorama i just stitched together, lots and lots of plaster came down with Barney's kitchen cabinets. Joy. Happy happy joy joy. Now we are faced with several choices:
1.) Hire a contractor to come in and reskin all walls and ceiling with gypsum board; or
2.) see if we could find someone who could actually fix the old plaster; or
3.) put up bead board ourselves, ceiling and walls.
I like option 3 because it will add a bit of texture, it is easy to install, and I think it will look great with our faux foam oak beams above. We are thinking about renting one of those air guns and just going to town with bead board... we'd still have to patch behind it to fill in the plaster holes, but it certainly wouldn't have to be pretty back there, just a flush substrate.
We both talked about how much we would love to break down ALL the plaster and just leave the lathe exposed... and even though we aren't obsessed with censoring our instincts for resale value, that might be a bit much. Plus, just not a good idea in a kitchen, with grease, steam and water occasionally atomizing things. Still, it would lend a certain je ne sais pas--scooby doo ness?--to it all.
So, we are taking votes: what do you all think (all 2 or 3 of you!)? Bead board, or smooth gypsum, or fix the original plaster are the choices (unless someone has another suggestion of course). Send us a comment, and give us your vote!
10 comments:
Okay, I get to vote first. My vote is for bead board!
Of course, we will have a backsplash above the marble counters.. no bead board there. We are thinking of those tiny mosaic tiles, maybe even glass ones if it 's not a fortune. So that will get durock behind it.
No 2 or No 3. We need check how many bead board solution will cost us.
Bead board, hands down.
Sam,
What is bead board? If it has texture, will it clean easily, which is important for a kitchen?
Gypsum board (make sure it's waterproof) is not that hard to put up, but if you don't want to do it yourselves, a handyman, not a contractor, can do it for you in a few hours. With the gypsum board, you won't have to repair the plaster before you put it up and you can paint it with washable paint.
Fixing the original plaster seems to be a needless expense.
We opted for gypsum board also because it allows you to put in a false ceiling a few inches below the original one. It makes the installation of ceiling spotlights, perhaps the best way to light a kitchen, much easier. You hide the wiring between the original and the false ceiling.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
OK, I just googled bead board and came up with some very attractive stuff. I'd vote for that. My house had the old Victorian plaster, complete with three layers and a lot of goat or other animal hair trowled in to hold it together. The place is built like a fortress, and I hate wallboard almost as much as I hate Bush himself--but the bead board really looks nice.
OK, I am a big dummy and was reading a post from like a year ago when I made that last comment about selling your Atlanta house. Anyway, I still need your addy.
Later,
alex
I don't know much about redecorating. Sorry!!
I vote for beadboard. Or a rough looking stucco kind of thing. Or cork and mirrors.
Alex
I attempted to answer your blog, but don't think I was successful. Both BC. and I vote for the beadboard. Mama
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