When it comes to home improvements and renovations, floors and walls get a whole lot of attention. But making your room look great means making sure that frequently overlooked “fifth wall” gets upgraded too.
Add Warmth and Wow with a Wood Panel Ceiling
If you’re not using your ceiling as a design element, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to reinforce the room’s style or add interest to an otherwise neutral space. Wood ceiling panels are a stylish and versatile way to add warmth and charm to virtually any room, and you might be surprised by just how many design styles they work with. Let’s look at how you can use faux wood panels to give your ceilings a custom style you’ll love.
Reinvent Your Ceilings With Wood Panels
While “wood paneling” traditionally makes you think of walls, wood ceilings are growing in popularity — particularly over the past two years or so. Wood can bring warmth to a room that you won’t achieve with paint or wallpaper, and it lends a natural touch to any environment.
Wood ceilings are just at home in a traditional interior as in a modern one, so it’s easy to find a look you’ll love on your favorite design website or in your favorite home magazine. And you don’t have to worry about it making your home feel dated; wood has a classic-yet-current appeal that makes it a good long-term design choice. Here are four ways to use wood panels for your ceilings:
- For a homey, relaxed feeling in a family room or living room, try reclaimed barn wood shiplap panels. They add a charming touch to the ceiling. (This can work particularly well when paired with a faux stone or rock fireplace and a reclaimed wood accent wall.) Because our reclaimed wood panels come in three different colors, you can choose the one that best complements the rest of the room and prevents it from feeling too dark — or too bright.
- Add some farmhouse charm to a basic bedroom or kitchen by adding a white wood panel ceiling. This is an easy look to achieve. Simply paint our unfinished wood panels or planks and install it in the room of your choice. It’s also a good option when you want to create a breezy, tropical look in a sunroom, sitting room or enclosed porch.
- Create the feel of a modern loft by pairing Chevron Wood Panels with exposed metal beams. You can create a more industrial feel by exposing the ventilation and/or plumbing in the room, and you can even add touches like industrial lights in copper or stainless steel to make it feel more chic and modern.
- Don’t forget the hallway! While often ignored, hallways are an excellent place to add flair to your ceiling. Adding wood panels to a hallway ceiling adds dramatic interest to the space.
Ensuring Harmony Between Ceilings and Floors
Opting for an all-wood look in your home can create a beautiful space, but designers offer a few words of advice as you plan. First, while wood panels can be used in any room, they tend to look better in taller rooms — although a wood panel drop ceiling could be a nice addition to your basement renovation project if you stick to light colors and incorporate plenty of lighting. When used properly, wood panels can give any room a whole new look and make it feel more inviting.
If the floor, walls and ceilings will all be wood, experts recommend using dark shades for the floor and making the walls and ceilings a lighter shade. If the entire room is paneled in dark wood, you risk having a room that feels small or downright gloomy. Even a well-proportioned ceiling may seem low if it is considerably darker than the rest of the wood.
One way to “open up” a room that has a lot of wooden elements is to add faux wood beams to the ceiling. The beams add interest and texture to the ceiling and keep a wood-paneled room from looking too boxy or boring.
Wood ceiling panels also pair well with tile or stone floors, and dark wood ceilings can work well in rooms with high ceilings and whitewashed walls. In a high-tech kitchen, the warmth of a wood panel ceiling can provide a beautiful complement to the bright, glossy environment.
You have many options to choose from when selecting the look of your room, so be sure to explore the many possibilities before settling on the look that is right for you.
Why Choose Faux Wood Panels?
Once you’ve decided on the look that you want for a room, you’ll have to choose whether to use a real wood or a faux wood option. It’s important to know what you’re getting with each one to be able to make the decision that’s best for you.
Real wood is a popular choice because of its unique patterns, colors and textures. However, in addition to being more expensive, heavier and more time-consuming to install, real wood ceiling planks or panels are susceptible to water damage and rot. They also are vulnerable to wood-devouring insects like termites, which means you may need special protective treatments to maintain your ceilings.
Real wood also absorbs steam and moisture, so without proper care, it may change color or warp.
Faux wood panels have several advantages over real wood, particularly if the panels are made from polyurethane. These lightweight panels are durable and resistant to splitting, fading, warping or rotting like real wood. They also won’t invite termites and other wood-damaging insects.
Because faux panels from Barron Designs are created using molds made from real wood, they have the warm look of real wood, including the texture and color variations. In fact, when placed side-by-side with real wood, it’s virtually impossible to tell the difference. But even though they look like real wood, faux wood panels are a fraction of the cost and are easy to cut and install — even for a beginning do-it-yourselfer.
If you’re ready to add a faux wood panel ceiling, visit barrondesigns.com, or contact one of our in-house design experts at 800-651-4223 to talk about your project.
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