Another doing-things-The-Hard-Way Retro Renovator here: Daniel discovered, searched, found, drove to get, stained and installed this beautiful wall of pickwick pine in the living room of the 1956 house he has been working on. He has great tips to share — like, how he got that classic knotty pine color just right — but he also has a question for us: Should the faux beams he’s adding be darker in color than the pine, or the same color?
From Daniel, edited a bit:
Hi Pam,
Hi! I just want to first let you know I love your site! I’m on it almost daily using it for reference material. I own a 1956 brick ranch and I’m in the process of bringing it back to the former glory that is mid-century. I love all things retro and vintage.
I’m currently working on the living room. I’ve done one accent wall with pickwick paneling and made a bookshelf that is somewhat built in. (it isn’t recessed but it is attached to the wall). I’m adding faux beams to the ceiling and this brings me to my question. The pickwick was finished with 2 coats of amber stain by General finishes, 2 coats of clear shellac and 3-4 coats of amber shellac (what a process, but results were fantastic!).
I’m wondering what to do for the beams though; do I finish to match the paneling or do I go darker to contrast the paneling. I wouldn’t want it to be dark, dark brown but I’m thinking maybe a shade or two darker (just a hint of brown) would be nice. Then again, maybe the same color as the paneling would be acceptable. The beams will be pine boards similar to what you would find at Home Depot. I’m not sure if it’s exactly considered knotty pine, but it is pine.
The room is literally a construction zone right now, so there is no decor, flooring (aside from sub-floor) or much else to base opinions on. [In the photos you can see] the wall with pickwick paneling and the frame work for the beams as well as the design I made illustrating the layout of the beams. Hopefully this will help and I sincerely appreciate any help and opinions from the readers! Thanks!
Very cool! That knotty pine indeed looks amazing! Of course, I asked Dan for some more info about the house and how he got into The Retro. Oh, and you’ll see I also nudged him suggesting that he might want to consider wallpaper on the ceiling — like in Brian and Keri’s den, dreamy!.
- Knotty is Nice: All our stories about Knotty Pine.
Dan wrote:
The house was built in 1956 and has (sort of) been in the family ever since. My Grandmother’s Godmother and her husband had the house built. Both my Grandmother and Grandfather acquired the house in 1997 and lived in it until they both passed. I’ll be purchasing the house in a couple of months but have done tons of work in it over the years. My Grandfather was a self taught carpenter (mostly finish carpentry) after he retired from the Fire Department in 1988. I took an interest in woodworking ever since I was old enough to work with him but unfortunately he gave it up by the time I was old enough to really delve into it. Pretty much everything I know I learned through trial and error and just doing.
I’m not quite sure when all this mid-century/vintage/retro stuff sparked an interest for me but for as long as I can remember, I always loved the somewhat simplistic and (sometimes) chaotic (think clashing, bright colors on carpets, furniture, etc) look that is mid-century. Recently, I’ve really come to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into building these old homes: the natural woodwork, solid wood cabinetry, chrome trim around counter-tops, top notch building materials, the list goes on. It’s clear they took pride in their work, and while there’s certainly still builders around who do, I think a lot of that has fallen by the wayside for faster and cheaper building methods.
As for this current project, I searched high and low for years as to what kind of paneling I’m putting up, and I finally stumbled upon your site and it cleared it up for me. I was so happy to figure out what it finally was. My parents have this paneling in the living room of their 1956 Cape Cod. Unfortunately, my Mom convinced my Dad to paint it years ago and that was before I had a real appreciation for this stuff. I now have a strict “no painting natural woodwork” policy. I do painting and wallpapering on the side and have turned down many jobs where people wanted to paint the natural woodwork in their homes. I just can’t bring myself to do it.I drove from Buffalo, NY, to Middletown, PA, with a pickup truck to get all the paneling I needed. I was going to buy enough to do a small wall in the dining room too but unfortunately, a lot of the paneling at the yard was damaged when it got shipped to them so I was only able to get enough to do the living room wall and the back wall of the book case with a couple boards left over.Staining and finishing was a huge undertaking, and I’ll likely never do a job again this large. I found a stain that nearly hits the nail on the head in matching the original woodwork in the house which is General Finishes Amber Dye. To cover that I did two coats of clear shellac and 3-4 coats of amber shellac. It was my first time working with shellac on such a large scale, and there is definitely a learning curve, but the results were phenomenal!I had to chuckle when you mentioned wallpapering the ceiling because that is exactly what I’m doing. I’ve already ordered the Anaglypta (style Turner Tile) and that goes up next, then painted, followed by the finished boards for the beams. I’ve been working steadily on this room since last October, and it’ll probably be two-three more months before it’s actually done. I’d like to do the dining room next, but I can’t think about that right now… too overwhelming! HAHAWhen the project is all done, I can send pictures of everything from start to finish if you’d like to update the story. If you have any other questions, let me know.
Thanks!!-Dan
Vintigchik says
I sell cabinetry and a piece of wood looks different when positioned vertically versus horizontally. Best to do a test piece or two first.
Bobbie says
I did almost the same thing but put the knotty pine on the ceiling…the floor already was pine so I sanded it and stained and polyuerethaned it the same as the ceiling.Then I put up a textured vinyl wallpaper in a VERY light blend of colors..almost unseen until you are near it and bought a large abstract art carpet with the same colors as the wall only a bit more prominent.It makes the room feel more cozy but allows me to display my collection of art on the walls.I experimented before I did it and decided that it was easier for me to tolerate floor and ceiling because doing the walls in the pine made me feel too enclosed.I live in a 180 yr old farmhouse so my other motivation was the ceilings needed to be replastered as did the walls in most rooms.Doing the wood was much easier for two of us to do by ourselves.We’ve done the same in all the other rooms and in the 32 ys we’ve been here..I’ve NEVER regretted it.I can still change wallpapers and area rugs in any room I want to without having to do more than wipe down the ceiling and floors.Oddly..only one room has ever had wallpaper changed…entryway…everything else was subtle enough that it hasn’t needed to be changed.
Gwen says
You can do whatever you want. My house has knotty pine paneling *everywhere*. The ceiling in my massive living room/dining room is dark (dark!) stained tongue and groove with beams. It’s actually the under side of the roof. Its sometimes tempting to paint it all white just for LIGHT but it would just be too much work and since Grandpa built the house, the family would kill me. In any case, the dark ceiling really doesn’t clash with the paneling.
The bigger consideration for me would be what would coordinate as a whole with the flooring. I have cork with enough “pattern” to incorporate some ceiling dark with the main cork color that coordinates with the knotty pine.
judy h. says
I would definitely stain them the same color as the walls. Since the walls are so heavily shellacked, I feel like staining the beams darker (even if you shellac them), would detract from the overall beauty of the walls and in the decor.
te says
I agree with Joe. Make them match. It will appear as if the house came that way. Nobody needs to know differently. I have 2 small rooms in my house with the matching walls, ceiling, and beams from the olden days and they are my favorite rooms!
nina462 says
I agree with Joe, also. And when you’re finished could you come and do the shiny finish on my knotty pine basement? This looks just like my basement w/the knotty pine panelling.
DeeDee says
I’d go “2 shades” darker, if you want the wood to be it’s natural finish. I’d want them not to blend in too much with the wall of panelling, but I also think that they could be too dark and heavy. I think that painting the beams a putty color would be very nice and eliminate the fear of it being too heavy.
cc says
Same color but-
I would suggest staining a scrap board the same color and then put it up next to the wallpaper you are using. Wood tends to take on the colors of whatever it is against, so you may find yourself having to change the stain to ensure it looks the same as the wall.
Gorgeous job so far!
sherree says
I vote for same color stain.
If done darker they may seem like they were an “afterthought” instead of original.
I just love what you have done; I hope we can see it finished!
Carol says
Hi
I grew up with a room like this. Ceiling was the same color. I think a darker ceiling would be too dark and distracting.
Pam Kueber says
Looks to me that this will be what is even more precisely called a “chamfered” ceiling.
I need to do a story about low v. high ceilings. Today’s mainstream American crowd has been sold a bill of goods that suggests that high ceilings are Everything. I do not agree. Low ceilings make you feel more cozy, more protected.
Kathi says
And so much cheaper to heat! A former owner added supplementary electric baseboard heaters to our vaulted family room and they’re very necessary for a few months of the Iowa winter.
Allison says
I think you mean coffered ceiling, Pam.
The “chamfer” is where the (beam or timber) edges are angled rather than straight. A coffered ceiling can certainly be chamfered, and I suppose you could call it a chamfered ceiling then.
Pam Kueber says
yes, that’s likely!
Christy says
Pam,
Perhaps you are thinking of “coffered” “ceiling?
It would look good staine in a darker shade of the same amber color. Ready for some bicentennial chic!
Pam Kueber says
yes, possibly
Joe says
You are so right! My house was built in the 20’s and has 10′ ceilings. I think it’s that happy middle ground between today’s ridiculous heights and the uncomfortably low 7-8′ ceilings popular in the 60’s and 70’s. That whole McMansion look caused so much bad design trends: 20′ ceilings caused people to complain their furniture was out of scale, so furniture manufacturers switched over to making overscale furniture with upholstered pieces that looked like inflatables. Then people complained that the overscale furniture made their traditional-width rooms feel cramped, which led to that godawful fish-in-a-bowl open-concept design! I’m waiting for the next generation of home-flipping tv shows, where they lower ceilings and add walls for intimacy; and strip kitchens of the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and dark woods.
Pam Kueber says
Okay, but I will push back and say: The ceilings in our basement — including the family room and two bedrooms (which we use as home offices) are 7′ high. These are my favorite spaces. They are cozy.
I need to measure the upstairs. I need to do a story.
Dan Kensinger says
My basement also has 7′ ceilings and I do like the fell of that (although I do get a little nervous when walking under the ceiling fan LOL). As for the upstairs rooms, I’m happy with 7’6″ ceilings but I would not be opposed to 8′. Anything more to me would seem to cavernous in my opinion.
Laura Ainsworth says
My thoughts EXACTLY. And that day is coming. They’ll be lamenting the ridiculous trend of tearing down all the walls and will just have to put some back up. I’m always so happy to see the occasional house-hunting show in which the client says “I want a separate kitchen! No way do I want to be able to see the kitchen sink from the front door!” They’ll also be saying, “Ick, all this gray,” and “What a boring, dated kitchen — all this white, gray and stainless steel.”
Dan Kensinger says
My thoughts exactly on the gray! To me it looks so industrial and blah!
linoleummy says
Glorrrrious, Dan! Absolutely perfect! Got me pining (hee-hee) for a wall like that. I agree with your idea of since the beams are not knotty pine make them a shade darker.