1820's Cabin Restoration, Montecito
Montecito
Purple Painting repainted the exterior wood of a Mennonite log cabin in Montecito, built in 1820 and brought all the way from Ohio. The windows and trim went red and the gables, dormers, eaves and fascia green, all painted by hand with brushes and rollers. The cabin was scaffolded to protect its 30-year-old roof shingles.
- Type
- Residential
- Location
- Montecito, CA
- Client
- Homeowner
- Completed
- 2026
A Mennonite log cabin in Montecito, built in 1820 and brought all the way from Ohio, is one of the oldest buildings in Santa Barbara. We repainted its exterior wood, working by hand with brushes and rollers to avoid overspray and get the stain-blocking paint deep into the wood. Read the story of the cabin on our blog.
We pressure washed the painted surfaces, then patched, sanded and caulked the windows and wood trim, spot primed where needed and painted them in two coats of red. The board-and-batten gables and dormers, the soffits and the fascia had been finished in a solid body stain: we converted them to paint grade, sealing the wood with a full coat of primer before two coats of green. The weathered logs themselves were left as they were.
Handling with Care
We protected the 30-year-old roof shingles by using scaffolding instead of ladders wherever possible. Where a ladder was the only way, foam roof panels were placed underneath to eliminate the risk of damage.
How we did it
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Pressure wash
The painted surfaces were pressure washed.
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Scaffold the building
Scaffold went up around the cabin to reach the gables and dormers.
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Prep the windows and trim
Windows and wood trim were patched, sanded and caulked, then spot primed where needed.
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Paint two coats
Two coats of paint on the windows and wood trim, in a similar colour to before.
Product Benjamin Moore Regal Select
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Convert the board and batten to paint grade
The board and batten gables and dormers had been finished in a solid body stain. They were patched, sanded and caulked, then sealed with a complete coat of primer.
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Paint the gables, dormers, soffit and fascia
Two coats in eggshell over the sealed wood, on the gable ends, dormers, soffit and fascia, which were also converted from stain.
