There are emotional priorities in a renovation – things you really, really just want that might make a difference only to how you FEEL when looking at it. We started with an intent for my brother’s house that went like this: There is no such thing as too much wood. But as the spending budget grew and grew, things got nixed and nixed. This is a normal yet dangerous part of the process because in the throes of a renovation you can’t see clearly and you might nix a once a “high emotional priority,” favoring necessities instead. Having a wood-clad room was always on the inspiration board, but at a certain point, it just wasn’t a budget priority. Then one day…
Let’s back up. We partnered with Stuga on this house because their wood flooring is extremely beautiful and high quality, a luxury product at a more affordable price point. It’s all sustainably made, originating from Scandinavia, and if you are wondering how they keep the price lower than others, it’s due to the fact that they are direct to consumer (i.e. no middleman markup). We ordered a ton of samples and chose Shell for all the flooring (a light oak with a rustic vibe and a lot of knots). As the house came together we started thinking about what type of wood would work on the ceiling, not wanting a Douglas fir or cedar (which are the more affordable options) and not thinking about Stuga at all – it’s “flooring”, not “walling or ceiling-ing”. But with a ton of samples on hand, we started wondering if this was possible (or even a good idea). The species, tone, and character were extremely important and we loved the sample of Drift so much. Could it work?
Things To Know About Stuga…
This wood flooring is engineered with enough of a wood layer on top to last through two refinishings (but the likelihood of sanding once, let alone twice, is very minimal and usually done in cases where the homeowner wants to change the color of the floor). Again, we chose Shell for the floors, but they have so many different stains, species, and plank sizes to choose from. I highly highly recommend this company and this is certainly not my last time talking about Stuga in a project of ours. I LOVE IT. We connected with them and they told us that there was no reason that this couldn’t go on ceilings as well. GREAT. Let’s go.
Will “Wood Flooring” On The Walls Look Like Someone Accidentally Put Wood Flooring On The Walls?
It’s our opinion that if it is high-quality wood flooring with no groove between the planks like Drift, from Stuga, it just looks like beautifully clad wood walls. I wouldn’t do this with cheap laminate, most LVFs, or just any wood flooring. NO. But I’m here to say that this looks FANTASTIC on all these surfaces.
See for yourself in this video (just wait for the ad to play!)
But What If The Planks Aren’t Long Enough? Is Staggering The Seams OK?
Yes…but with some tips. This was the big question and one that all of us had strong and conflicting opinions about. We all agreed that in the areas that had beams (the big bulky crosswood attached to the ceiling), the planks would need to run from beam to beam without a seam/break. This is because what we are trying to do, architecturally, is make the house look like it’s built this way, structurally – that the beams are holding up the roof and the wood planks are the ceiling “structure”. Think back in the post and beam days when the roof just sat on top of these beams and wood without any insulation or mechanical. Nowadays you have a space between the roof and the ceiling that houses the HVAC system, electrical wires, sprinkler systems, and insulation. So all the wood, even the beams, are purely decorative. And yet, you don’t want it to look that way. So from beam to beam, you don’t want a seam.
But What If You Don’t Have Beams? Are Staggered Seams Going To Look Dumb?
So this is where all the many cooks in the kitchen had conflicting opinions. Everyone wanted wood on the ceilings in the upstairs and yet the flooring planks were only 8′ long and getting super long planks (non-flooring) was going to be absolutely out of budget. Like crazy expensive (unless we went with a Doug fir or cedar which wouldn’t work in this house unless they were more “clear” which is in itself so expensive). Without beams to mask the staggering, some feared that it would really look like wood flooring on the ceiling.
It was my opinion (and my bro agreed with me) that beautiful wood + staggered seams were better than no wood at all. And I’m happy to report that we were totally right. It looks so BEAUTIFUL. We staggered the planks and the whole thing is so fluid that you don’t think “Wait there are no beams, are those planks just decorative, these people are idiots!” Instead, you don’t have time to think because your insides are screaming “My goodness that’s such a pretty wood ceiling”.
We used Drift flooring on the ceilings in the hallways, which looks so beautiful. Again, it was staggered but the ceilings are so high that all you feel is this gorgeous warm wood grain, barely even noticing the staggered seams.
In the primary bedroom, we were again worried about the lack of beam situation and even thought about adding them. But we just went for it and I’m so glad we did. It’s just so pretty.
Should Your Wall/Ceiling Wood Match Your Flooring?
Listen, not saying it would for sure look bad, but we all agreed that by choosing a ceiling wood that was complementary, but different both in tone and in size, it would help it from looking like we just over-ordered flooring and threw it on the ceiling. As you can see the flooring is 8″ wide and Drift is 6″ wide. We think that the smaller width looks better on the ceiling than a wider one. I love it so much.
Wait, Did They Get The “All Wood” Dream Room?
So here’s what happened – we realized that after they clad all the ceilings in wood there was a decent amount of overage. Around the same time, we weren’t happy with the library/office being painted blue (more about that here – the color was great, but the wrong room for it – which I always voiced, tbh). As we were deciding what to repaint it, Katie asked, with hope, “How much leftover wood do we have???” We did the calculations and in 10 minutes we went from kinda bummed about this room to being absolutely elated – I’ve never seen my SIL so excited. This room would be 100% wood and it quickly has become our favorite room in the house.
Do You Install The Wood Horizontally Or Vertically On Walls?
This was the last big question – we decided both ways could look good, but would give a different look/feel. We felt that the vertical would give it a slightly more ’70s vibe as well as accentuate the very high ceilings – both good things. But installing them horizontally would give it a cozier feel, giving “log cabin” (in the loosest sense), and since this is a “river cabin” (also loose term) we went with that. We are very very happy about it.
All the Stuga wood in the house, MAKES this shell already stunning even before furniture. It’s a no-regret situation that you dream of during a long renovation. A huge thanks to Stuga for making beautiful wood flooring (for walls and ceiling, too) and making my bro and sister’s, “you can’t have enough wood” dreams come true. I’m very excited to show you more early next year.
Flooring: Shell
Wall/Ceiling: Drift
*Architect: Anne Usher
**General Contractor: JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction
***Interior Designers: Emily Henderson (me!) and Max Humphrey
****Photos by Kaitlin Green
Is it okat to use Stuga flooring on outdoor porch ceilings?
No, you need something rated for the outdoors because of the extreme changes in humidity even if its not getting wet.
The house, the floors, the walls, the ceiling… all STUNNING. I would love to have wood floors, but have some concerns about the maintenance (mainly from letting in too many outside voices who tell me that they’ll scratch easily). It would be awesome if you could do a post one day about the practical realities of wood floors… do you just have to accept scratches? Do they actually scratch as easily as people tell me? Best way to clean and maintain them? Should wood not go in kitchens?
We have original wood floors in our house (from 1912), and while yes there are some scratches and wear, it’s not something I notice. If you’re super picky then you might, but overall I think they e worn really well and try r imperfections are part of the beauty and warmth of wood flooring. I love wood flooring in a kitchen – we had it in our first house but in our current house the previous owners covered it with tile and I can’t wait to rip it all up and have wood instead. It’s much more comfortable to stand on for long cooking sessions than tile, and if you have wood floors elsewhere in your house it’s a nice look to have the flooring run seamlessly through all your spaces. It’s also more friendly to dropped items (everything shatters on my tile floors).
We refinished our original oak floors and stained dark to go with the existing architecture. We have a large dog and kiddos and the floors are already really scratched in the last 6months. I would say that the sheen makes a huge difference as well, we went with a matte I think, but its more of a satin and it still shows everything. Would I trade it for LVP? 1000% no.
Thank you!
1000% agree. We live in a 1910 farmhouse. My floors are scratched-but they are Fir..which is pretty soft. Maybe others who have older homes have the same..? It was affordable.
Anyway. I love them. They are real!!!! They are soft underfoot. We had no choice but to use LVP in a room that leads to a hot tub. It’s scratchy underfoot. And not real. I’ve heard here in MI of people putting LVP in 2 million dollar homes. That blows my mind. Give me real every day with a few scratches…
I think the passion behind this is because some people are pulling out old wood floors for LVP and I hate to lose all that character.
We also have fir floors that we found (1918 house) and refinished during a remodel. They definitely scratch with our dog running around, but have so much character and are soft to stand on in the kitchen. I love them and am itching to get the engineered wood out of the rest of the house. It feels cold and sterile by comparison.
I think scratching has more to do with the finish than the wood. I used a water-based poly in one renovation, and it has worn terribly. Having learned my lesson, and also with the advice of a reclaimed wood floor expert, I used an oil based poly in my kitchen, and it has been amazing. Both are low-sheen. The flooring guy also says it would be perfectly suitable for a bathroom as well (in oak).
Of course if you use pre-finished wood, there’s probably a considerable amount of variation in the finish quality.
I would also love this post! My husband and I have refinished a couple of old hardwood floors, both with water-based and oil-based poly (separately), and in both instances I haven’t achieved that hard coat finish that I see in professionally-finished homes. Both have scratched easily, though not overly noticeably. Despite extensive research, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong… but still would not change them 🙂
Love the cozy look of wood ceilings and walls! True farmhouse/cabin vibes.
A few questions that I’d love a follow-up post about:
“These people are idiots”
that made me laugh out loud!
giant congratulations on a gorgeous project completed
In our renovation I found it helpful to list out the “want to haves” and then focus on the top 2-4. I also thought about which ones not only needed to happen early, but which, if they didn’t happen early, would never happen. And was I okay with that? Once you’ve got that very short list my strong advice is to pay for them immediately, when you still have the money. My example would be our kitchen faucet, oven vent cover, a carved fireplace surround, wallpaper in the entry and long hallway, and mudroom and laundry built ins. The most frivolous item was the faucet, but it was something that I knew would never get replaced later with the exact one I really really wanted. It was bought first because of that. The oven vent and fireplace surround were structural and so had to happen. The wallpaper and built ins I really wanted, but they could happen later and the money went to critical items that came up later – new sewer pipes, etc. But I got that faucet and it makes me ridiculously happy whenever I see it, which you (at least, I) need in a kitchen. And it… Read more »
Will it yellow like pine (or maybe it *is* pine)? I love the initial look of wood-clad interiors when it’s paler, but am not into the dark dark 70’s look.
Both choices are european white oak with a natural oil finish.
I was waiting for this post! I want to use Stuga on my floors and ceiling because of earlier posts, so this was very helpful. I love the look of all of these rooms! Thanks!
I’m thinking about putting wood on my bathroom ceiling, when we remodel. Would this type work?