The Ceiling Is Going In....Plank by Plank

Our last big flat bed truck load of materials arrived a couple of weeks ago and included in the mix was our 8-inch western red cedar T&G planks. We opted to go with the cedar because it's renewable, has natural resistance to decay and insects (including termites), and is naturally mildew resistant. Plus, it smells incredible and looks amazing. Because I'd like to stick with a very light, bright, neutral palette, we also decided to white wash them, choosing Benjamin Moore's white Linen diluted 1:1 with water. This pic is an inspiration photo. Since our new space is entirely vaulted, we'll be placing our planks on the ceiling, but they also look pretty cool on the wall.

This plank ceiling looks nice and rustic and appears more gray. It's a nice juxtaposition with the white walls and warm toned farmhouse table.

I love this ceiling, too. And for awhile, considered going very dark with our wood floors.

This plank looks a bit more rustic and is a nice match with the material used on the bath tub, which is from Waterworks.

Another pretty ceiling. I'm loving this color palette. So relaxing.

Now, back to our reno. Here is a shot of the ceiling planks going in our son's new bedroom.  That lower window is the transom, which goes above the pocket french doors leading to the kids' bathroom. My plan was to allow for as much natural light to bounce around in here as possible. Hence, the decision to white wash the ceiling and install as many skylites as possible. This room used to be a cave.

Here's a look at the area just above our son's sleeping nook. More planks. And that little square cut-out is actually a "secret" hatch that offers a short cut up into our upstairs loft area. With this angle, you're getting a sneak peek at the built-in bed we've started to craft using the front door from our "old" house. We kept the door knocker and peep hole just for fun. To create the structure of the bottom of this bed nook, we're planning to use the lower half of our old kitchen island. It has some nice built-in cabinetry and shelves for storage, so fingers crossed this works out. You'll notice we sanded the door lightly and I'm thinking of painting it, but the worn look is just so interesting, we might just keep it. What do you think? The texture reminds me a little bit of an old leather bomber jacket.  

Ah, our old bathroom got just a tidbit of the ceiling planks when we installed the "loft" just above it. It adds some architectural interest that this room lacked before. What you don't see are the vapor barrier under these planks and the sound-proofing insulation. That should keep it a little quieter down here when kids are upstairs running around. And we still have to coat these planks with a marine sealant since they are right above our shower.

Here's another snippet of the ceiling just outside the bathroom. This little nook used to be the entrance into the second bedroom, but we closed it off to use the space for our new stackable washer/dryer. Again, we included soundproof insulation in this space to keep things quiet.

After our ceiling is installed, we'll be adding 4X4 beams at four foot intervals. I've been flummoxed by what color the beams should be: natural, white, gray, stained or a more brown color wash? I would have loved to use old, reclaimed wood, but these beams were way too pricey. I do like the look of these beams shown above and below. How do you think they'd look with our white-washed cedar planks? 

Love this color palette.

Love these beams. Wonder if we can achieve this look by painting our beams. The new wood is far too orange-yellow, so perhaps a stain or paint would work to get this weathered, time-worn wood tone. While we're busily white-washing more planks in the driveway this weekend (we only have a few hundred left to go!), we'll also try experimenting with some color options for the 4x4s. I'll report back later.