Yes: A 1953 knotty pine den with an original wallpapered ceiling. This is so inspiring, it takes my breath away. When they first moved in, Brian & Keri (of the the 1953 retro kitchen remodel) were not thrilled with the wallpaper. But, they waited a while before taking it down — and now they love it. Brian explains:.
Hi Pam-Our den is small, with alot of furniture in it, so these were the best photos I could get for you.
.When we first bought the house, we were less than crazy about the wallpaper ceiling and planned to remove the wallpaper. However, over time the ceiling grew on us. The wallpaper on the ceiling makes the room darker and appear smaller, but gives it a cozy feel.
.Most people paint over the knotty pine. We love the honey color of the wood, so we plan to leave it alone. We were told the original owners who lived here for 50 years smoked like chimneys, which may account for that lovely dark honey knotty pine. The only thing the room is missing is a deer head mounted on the wall.- Brian
Thank you, Brian, for fulfilling my request to, like, go lay down on the floor of your knotty pine den and take photos in which we could see furniture+walls+ceiling. Did Keri laugh her head off? Gold star!.
Vintage wallpaper on the ceiling of my paneled den! Vintage wallpaper on the ceiling of my paneled den! I want vintage wallpaper on the ceiling of my paneled den! Cozy is good.
One of the most important lessons
of Retro Renovation:
And, here’s a repeat of that super duper important Retro Renovation principal: LIVE WITH YOUR HOUSE A YEAR, at the least, before you go rippin’ vintage things out (unless there are environmental or safety factors, of course.) Save the regrets by taking it slow. Learn the house you’re in; Love the house you’re in.
Oh, yum. I love this room. My son’s bedroom is paneled in knotty pine like that and I have plans for his room one day, similar to what you’ve done here. But, that wallpaper on your ceiling is just to die for! (I didn’t comment on the kitchen post, but I love that, too. You have a great house.)
*nods* yes indeed the honey color is due to nicotine. I’ve got it in my place, too (Papa smoked like a chimney). I’m surprised the room pictured here has wood flooring. I’ve got cream tile in my knotty pine covered Florida Room and couldn’t imagine it any other way. I have fabric draped between the beams in the ceiling… kind of gives it a hippie/Moroccan vibe. I do love my deer on the wall. We call him Sydney.
I think the honey color fundamentally comes from the amber shellac glaze that was used back in the day. I *think*. I am sure the smoking added to the patina, too!
My boyfriend and I just bought a 1961 house with lots of original elements left intact. (pink bathroom, original kitchen cabinets, jalousie windowed screen porch) We are both in love with the knotty pine family room! It has funky fluorescent strip lighting with colored panels, a great stairway and best of all a fabulous built in knotty pine wet bar. The original bar stools with orange seat cushions are still in place and in amazing condition!
I love my funky period piece home… we are the same age and hopefully I am aging as gracefully as it is!!
We too had a knotty pine den. However, probably in the ’70s, the knotty pine was ‘antiqued.’ It was too ugly to keep. How I wish they had left it alone.
Oh, and in an alcove of the room, there was a fan — like you’d see in a kitchen or bathroom — for the cigarette smoke!
LOVE it. Love the whole room. There is just something about a knotty pine room with a fireplace.
We have a wall of the same knotty pine in our living room and I love it. The best feature of the house. It’s also a dark honey color.
Killer rug! I wonder where they picked it up. Yes, I’m still suffering from a severe case of rug envy.
What a den! I loved their kitchen, as well. The knotty pine is just gorgeous. And Pam, what a great reminder to live with what you have for a year. We just moved into the 1950s ranch we bought about a week ago and that’s exactly our plan. We’re going to live with everything for quite some time, and just enjoy decorating and some paint and window treatments.
Although any of the elements we -do- change eventually will probably be to un-update the 80s and 90s changes back towards the 50s. But even that probably won’t happen for quite some time. We love it already and are in no hurry for big changes.
Congrats, Tasha, and welcome to the Tribe!
I love the coziness of that room. So glad they are preserving it! And the advice to ‘live with it’ is a great piece of wisdom. After almost a year in my house, the VCT flooring is definitely staying.
I have an unopened roll of vintage wallpaper that is so close in pattern to the ceiling paper! Alas, only one roll. Someone will need a small ceiling. I thought it was sort of a Colonial /Early American style, but I have been told by those wiser than I, that it was called “provincial” style.
We live in a suburb of Baltimore & our subdivision was built in the late 50s & into the early 60s. Our kitchen & dining room had a wallpapered at some point too-sadly it was painted over. Many neighbors have found the same thing. As we slowly update/backdate we have called our journey an adventue in “architectural archaeology”
I say, Col. Mustard in the knottty pine den with the candle stick. What a great fireplace wall with the pine.Looks like it belongs in an English murder mystery. Great room! As well as the kitchen; keep up the great work.
When we took down the 1970′s light fixture to put in the ceiling fan, we could see a previously covered piece of the wallpaper. It used to be white…I think what you see is a combination of smoke from the fireplace and a serious smoking habit.
WOW!
I am in love with your home! It is so inspiring!
Kitchen — wonderful! Den — I want to drink coffee and read books there!
But I have to say, I am really dying to see the bathroom you mentioned in your kitchen story!
Bathroom pictures! Bathroom pictures! I must have bathroom pictures!
They have a beautiful den and kitchen. I’ve lived in my 1965 brick ranch since 1996 and have “heart pine” in the kitchen and den. It can make the room dark, and whenever the time comes I’ll probably get a couch in a lighter color than the burgundy we had when we moved in, but I’m so glad I’ve kept it as is. The house had one owner and it was the cozy kitchen that I fell in love upon walking into the place ((there was even a chocolate cake on a pedastal plate when we came to view!). The kitchen is small and I hope to update it a bit at some point but nothing crazy. I’ve scene painted knotty pine in magazines and it does look pretty, but I just was afraid I’d lose the warmth that visitors always comment on! However, I did paint our plain brick fireplace/hearth a creamy off-white last summer, and I get so many comments on 2 things: 1) how it brightens the den, and 2) How the texture of the brick really stands out! – Now I want to see pix of that infamous bathroom!
The knotty pine at my parent’s house was “finished” with linseed oil. That gave it the dark honey colored woodsy look. Probably nicotine had something to do with it as well. My mother hated it and painted over one of the walls in the family room and ripped out the kitchen in favor of a “modern” salmon and yellow kitchen in the 60′s.
My dad’s study still has the beautiful pine on the walls and ceiling.
I heart anything knotty pine. We just un-updated our 1964 split level ranch and took out the 1990′s era tile and replaced it with reclaimed knotty pine flooring. The house had a very clean mid-mod look, but old heart pine adds a warmth and depth that you couldn’t get with a contemporary product.
Nice work keeping your hands off that den! It’s a work of art!
Wonderful room, and very nicely furnished.
That wallpapered ceiling is the same wallpaper ceiling that was in the den of my house when I bought it. At one time though someone had put the small square tiles over it though. When I got down to the wallpaper, it wasn’t in that great of shape. Otherwise I would have thought about keeping it.
My grandparents’ circa 1957 modern-style home in Dallas had knotty pine on the fireplace wall of the family room, which had a centered fireplace faced with long, rectangular roman brick light gray in color. The room was beautiful. No wallpaper on the family room ceiling, though – that was reserved for the three family bathroom ceilings! Each had painted walls but pretty paper on the ceilings, which I always thought was so unusual. One had a pale yellow motif, another a sort of celadon and the other in pale gray tones. The ceiling paper in each coordinated with the wall and tile colors with tiny pops of color – little birds, flowers, etc. The fourth bath was off a small, never-used maid’s room but didn’t have wall or ceiling paper – it was painted a pale terracotta color with matching fixtures. Pretty but monochromatic and more utilitarian.
All was in pristine condition the 45 years they lived in the house until it was sold, scraped and replaced with a giant, bloated two and a half story gilded monstrosity. We knew it was going to be scraped (like practically every other house on their street had been) but it was sickening to see it as a pile of rubble. I’m so glad I found this site where people appreciate things for their timeless beauty. Sigh.
I am glad that Brian and Keri did not take the wallpaper off of the ceiling. That wallpaper looks very similar to the wallpaper used in Darrin and Samanthas kitchen on the show Bewitched seasons 3-6. That wallpaper is impossible to find now. I’ve looked and looked. If anyone knows where to buy wallpaper that looks like that, please share.
Have you tried Hannah’s Treasures? Not inexpensive, but fabulous old papers.
7 places to buy vintage wallpaper, from 80cents to $200/roll: http://retrorenovation.com/2011/03/01/7-places-to-buy-vintage-wallpaper-from-1-25-to-200-per-roll/
Awesome! Hannahs is great but definitely a little pricey. I’ll check out the places that Pam recommended. I have a feeling that I will pay dearly if I want something similar to that wallpaper. Thanks.
ebay: watch ebay
That is a great term – when I had to replace some baseboard moldings in our 1955 house, I found some wallpaper underneath…evidently they had wallpapered down to the floor, then installed the baseboards. I kept these scraps as part of the “archaeology” of our house.
My cape cod was built in 1939 and I had paper very similar to it in a upstairs bedroom in blue. We also have the knotty pine in our dining room. I would never change it!
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the retro love! Brian and I think the beautiful honey colored finish is (alas) the result of many, many packs of cigarettes. Our evidence: when we removed the light fixture to install the ceiling fan, we discovered that the ceiling paper was not dark tan. It was, at one time, actually white. It goes with what neighbors have told us about the original owners, and with other evidence of heavy nicotine use in the house: yellowed kitchen cabinets, yellowed paint inside closets. We don’t think about how it got that way: we’re just enjoying the patina!
Keri
I emailed a while back, Pam, asking if you had heard of wallpaper on the bedroom ceilings before. And lo and behold, I find an article featuring a den with a wallpapered ceiling. Talk about weird….I think it is the same wallpaper I have on my master bedroom. Mine is a bit faded here and there and I am currently researching whether there might be some way to deepen or refresh the color…..with a clear glaze of some sort perhaps. But I agree with your reader – I intend to live with it for a while before making any decisions. So far, I’m loving it!
so sorry i did not respond to your email — i am SO OVERLOADED. Lucky you to have wallpaper on the ceiling!!!!
You know, Pam, all this time that I’ve been reading your blog — and it’s been a few years now — you’d write about how the original homeowners liked the knotty pine paneling for its warm. And I’d think, yeah, okay, warm. Whatever.
But, this room. This. Glorious. Room. I’ve seen the light.
That fireplace, those beautiful honey-colored walls. The bookshelves. Even the wallpaper on the ceiling. I totally get it now! I’m still trying to work up love for knotty pine kitchen cabinets, but I LOVE this room.
what a comfortable looking room! This is another example of how inspirational this site can be. We have yet to do anything about our knotty pine room, which is currently my office. the knotty pine is not pretty – it’s sort of streaky blondish. So perhaps I will try some coats of linseed oil – or, take up chain smoking – to see if we can enjoy the panelling in a richer color.
I think wallpapered ceilings are beautiful…and in plastered ceiling homes, they can be a blessing because you don’t see the undulations of aging plaster.
thanks for sharing!
Oh my, Alice, not linseed oil, even boiled the only kind you should use on your already finished panelling unless it already has an oil finish. Even then it probably isn’t a good choice as it never completely dries….yes, it seems dry but it sucks up dirt and grime forever and those oily rags you heard about starting fires, this is the oil.
There are much more stable oils to choose from if your wood is raw but otherwise talk to an expert as Pam so rightly said that colour usually comes from amber shellac made from insect wings and other ‘stuff’, I forget what. It dries very quickly which may account for your streaking. You can still buy it but the odour is tremendous and you for sure want open windows and fans blowing fumes out. Probably a vapour mask too.
There may well be an amber poly you could use, check with a professional at your paint store.
I don’t know what you’re supposed to do. Me no know.
Hi everyone,
When we moved in, I dusted the walls and then rubbed them down with Howard’s Feed-n-wax. Same people that make the Restore-a-finish line of products, which I also love. It brought the finish back nicely, and smells like oranges as an added bonus. I don’t think I’d have the patience for giving the walls a shellacking…
Keri
There is a house with an almost identical living room for sale in my neighborhood and I am praying that someone who appreciates it buys it. It has a matching knotty pine kitchen too!
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6-Knollwood-Rd-Rhinebeck-NY-12572/30138568_zpid/
Ahhh….finally! A benefit from smoking! LOL. What a gorgeous room, and the fireplace and wallpaper on the ceiling are the crowning glories.
I might suggest for those looking for a similar wallpaper to look at Graham & Brown…..this is a nice paper, comes in 5 colors, and if you smoke enough, should turn a nice seasoned nicotine color (just kidding)…
http://www.grahambrown.com/us/product/50-153/Lacework+-+moss+color+way/3
Oooh….just spotted this one, very reminiscent of vintage linoleum! If it’s good enough for the floor, it would really be fun on a ceiling too, I think!
http://www.grahambrown.com/us/product/50-256/Grid%3A+Rock+in+Mink
wow, these sure are nice. hey: i met AMY BUTLER at Alt this year! She reads the blog! But please, don’t take up smoking to get the patina! For wallpaper, Ralph Lauren makes an immediate patina, called SMOKE of course: http://retrorenovation.com/2010/01/12/ralph-lauren-faux-aging-glaze-for-wallpaper-and-wood/
Sorry, I’m sick as a pup and missed a comma in the first sentence run on sentence, Pam. Blush.
Raw linseed oil is not applicable to finishing wood, it’s the stuff used to mix with oil paints. When used large surfaces outside bugs will stick to it before it sets up….ewwwwww
Boiled linseed oil is but it never fully dries, I used it on plank flooring in my log house because it would quickly age the planks and collect grime over time….sounds gross but it works well to age floors. I used it on some furniture I really wanted to look like barn finds but other wise always used teak oil as it was slower to set up and I could get it hand dried before it streaked.
On walls of raw wood it would not really be mid-century after a few years.
Oil finishes need to be maintained by more oil. Work intensive. Sometimes wax, but still labour intensive.
Wood darkens with normal exposure to light so the amber shellac turns this to die for colour in the photos with a combination of it, time, light and smoke…maybe on the smoke if it’s finished, I don’t know. Shellac also doesn’t much like water.
If Pledge or anything with silicon has been used on wood it can fish eye when you refinish it.
Sorry to be a buzz kill but I’d cry if I finished a whole room only to find bugs stuck in it as the oil turned to glue on the walls and wanted to help anyone avoid that.
What a sweetheart of a house! That corner unit is amazing….the wood is gorgeous!
Divine! The wallpaper on the ceiling is a perfect compliment to the lovely knotty pine
So glad to see “naughty” pine is enjoying a renewed appreciation! Much of my house is knotty pine (kitchen, dining, and living) and everyone that comes over really loves it. No one has recommended we paint it yet! Although I do think it really helps to have something like that wallpaper ceiling to break it up. In our case our green VCT does the trick I think, combined with large windows and a stone fireplace.
I love this room! That wallpaper is perfection.
I really want to thank Pam for inspiring me with the “love the house you’re in” mantra. It’s difficult when you first move into a house to appreciate why certain design choices were made. Plus, for me, I FINALLY owned my own home, where I can design things to my own personal taste. The thing is, the HOUSE has it’s own logic, and in a way it’s like having a kid – you don’t really get to dictate what it becomes, you have to listen to what it needs. With patience, I was able to make some design changes that allowed my original cabinets, counters and fixtures to stay in place. It saved me money, saved the environment (no new resources used, no old ones dumped), and I’m very happy with how it looks. And honestly, it was this website that made me think harder about ways to use what I have. Kudos, Pam!
xoxoxo!
Our small Dutch Colonial was built in 1923, but our walls-and -ceiling Knotty Pine kitchen was probably from the late ’50s-early ’60s. One whole corner is a floor to ceiling red brick curved fireplace, which never really drew well, and couldn’t be fixed without tearing it all out and starting from scratch, so we had a cream colored ceramic gas fired stove added two years ago that we love. I’d have to be dragged out feet first before I’d give up my wonderful kitchen!
I love the advice at the end of this post! We just bought a midcentury split-level sweetheart, with some quirks, but I promise we’ll live with it for a year before making decisions.
That said.. we’re getting rid of the giant floor-to-ceiling 80s mirrors in the dining room. Can’t convince us otherwise on that one.