Progress at the beach cottage has finally turned the page and we are starting to see the early finishes show just what this little cottage is going to be. Our most recent progress has really helped things at the go from looking like just a construction zone to actual rooms.
Today I wanted to share the results of our painting the shiplap and exposed ceilings throughout most of the main first floor areas. What looked so dark and closed in now feels bright, airy, fresh and new.

If you recall, this is what we started with in September when we bought this little cottage. The house has been sitting gutted for nearly 10 years and was not only sad but filthy.


We finished clearing out the old down to the studs, did some new framing work to take the tiny, closed in rooms to a more open (but still defined) modern cottage look. Insulation, wiring and all that not so fun stuff was also added.

We then added true yellow pine shiplap in all the main rooms from floor to ceiling.

Once the shiplap was installed, I brushed BIN primer over all the dark knots to help seal them in. This was a bit tedious but well worth the extra effort.

We then used a paint sprayer to prime all the walls and ceilings and then the next day, we painted. Neither of us had ever used a sprayer and we didn’t know what to expect. Looking back, we wish we would have covered the floors but we plan to sand and refinish the hardwoods anyway so the overspray that ended up on the floor isn’t the end of the world.

Here is the space after just the primer. We were so excited at how much brighter everything was but the primer was nothing compared to the finish paint!


B has agreed to write a post specifically about the sprayer we bought and used for this project, why we chose it, what the experience was using it for the first time and all the input we can provide but for now I will say that it was money well spent and so much time was saved!
Maybe the biggest improvement is the ceilings. We decided to keep these exposed and the fresh coat of white paint made the new and old joists blend seamlessly while highlighting the beautiful bead board underside of the flooring upstairs.
The next step is painting and adding the new window trim and progress in the bathroom. Can’t wait to share it with you!
Have questions about our progress so far? Leave a comment below.
You can also check out more of our beach house progress from the beginning by checking out the posts below:
- Coastal Cottage Bathroon Design & Progress
- Coastal Cottage: Installing the Shiplap
- Coastal Cottage: Preparing for the Shiplap
- Coastal Cottage: A New Front Door
- Coastal Cottage: Design Plan for the Bedroom
- Coastal Cottage: Bedroom and Bathroom Framing
- Coastal Cottage: The New Back Door and The flow of the New Floor Plan
- Coastal Cottage: Figuring Out the Floor Plan
- Our New Big Adventure: Our 1930’s Coastal Cottage
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