What you have to get right…
Whenever I start a project, I always ask myself “What do I have to get right?” Its a great question to help immediately prioritize and address the biggest design moves of the space. For the A-frame this was obvious… it was the ‘A’ ceiling - and by extension the stunning wood ceilings throughout the house - the reason I loved it in the first place. You mess these up and you’ve lost the best part of the house. No pressure. Secondarily I wanted to engage the outdoors as much as possible and add a 70s kick without it feeling like a time capsule. The vibe would be warm but modern.
With this design direction solidified, my plan fell into place:
First, get the bones right…
Above all else, update the layout for how we want to live and our specific needs
Refinish the wood ceilings throughout with a lighter more modern finish
Replace laminate floors with wood in line with the rest of the house
Enlarge windows/doors wherever possible for light and landscape views
Then Modernize…
Update the kitchen and baths with modern amenities but keep it within the vibe of the house
Add a fireplace - the living room is screaming for it
Set the tone…
add a few accent details/materials that give it a subtle 70s vibe but aren’t too aggressive (always have to think about resale value!)
mix in sourced vintage and vintage inspired lighting/furniture as a subtle nod to the era
all lights on dimmers - always!
Let’s start with the bones of the house - the ceiling, walls and floors that run throughout - and how we plan to address them…
The Ceiling
Current Ceilings (view looking straight up)
Current ceiling with a major sanding effort (by me)
This ceiling is one of the main reasons we bought the house and has been the biggest obstacle. We affectionately describe them as ‘50 shades of brown’ as there are various stains used throughout the house. The goal is to lighten them but keep the beautiful grain. With the lighter color it should feel more fresh, airy and modern - and less cabin-y.
First, we need to bring them back to their original color…
I have found two ways to do this. The first way would be to sand them down. This will likely be very time consuming and thus, costly. As you can see - the tongue and groove pine ceiling has a beveled edge and all of those edges would need to be hand sanded. From the amount that I sanded, I volunteer not to be the sander!
The second option I found came from days of scouring the internet screaming ‘there must be a better way!?’ Alas, there appears to be. It’s called Walnut Blasting and I now know more than I ever wanted to about the process. Apparently the word ‘sandblasting’ is the Xerox of the media blasting world and you can ‘blast’ a wide range of things. Walnut blasting is a great option because it is environmentally friendly, gentle on the wood and takes the finish off in the same way power washing your house takes off the dirt. It’s that fast. It can also get into those little crevices. It is extremely messy and creates an absurd amount of dust but does appear to be the most cost effective solution. Based on my research, this should be about 5-7K and take approximately 2 days.
These images show the promise of what the wood could look like after a good blast:
Walnut Blasting in progress on an a-frame with similar tongue-and-groove pine and Douglas fir beams.
Great example of the desired outcome of the Walnut Blasting for our ceilings.
We’ll be working with a GC to select which option makes the most sense but likely we’ll be walnut blasting.
Next we refinish the wood
We plan to first treat the wood with Lye. Wood lye is a mild, non-corrosive liquid that is applied to wood to minimize the natural occurrence of the wood yellowing over time. Its Scandanavia’s secret trick to the perfect bleached floors. There are several companies that make it. If you’re interested in trying it yourself check out Woca and Bona. This is what it looks like in progress on a floor application - you can see how effective the Lye is at removing the ‘yellow’ pigment in the wood:
Once we have this done, we’ll finish off with white oil. This is the look we’re going for:
The Walls
How do you make a space feel ‘bright and airy’ while still feeling warm and moody? Texture. This is a lesson best learned from Kelly Wearstler’s Malibu residence…
What I take away from this reference is not a specific piece, finish or other visual cue; but rather, the overall ambiance and how it was created - a mix of bright whites and layered textures. Applying that same concept to our space, we have a great start with the texture on the ceiling so I want to add a subtle texture to the walls in a white tone. To achieve this, i’m planning to use a limewash paint. It adds a touch of moodiness and ambiance to the space. Here it is in a pale nude tone at The Greenwich hotel:
For our application, we’re looking to keep it pretty white…
This is a great finish that gives you a plaster feel at a fraction of the cost. There are three companies I’ve found (Domingue Finishes, Bauerwerk, Portola Paints) that are doing this and offer a wide range of colors. I’ve seen a lot of great saturated rooms done in this finish that are stunning.
The Wood Floors
Finally, we’ll be replacing the laminate floors with 10” wide Douglas fir flooring. We’ll be finishing it on site the same way we are handling the ceiling. We’ll treat with lye and finish with white oil. Here are the inspiration images I referenced when speaking with the flooring vendor:
I do want to make a note about utilizing Douglas fir flooring. It is a softwood so it will dent much easier than hardood. A high heel or heavy chair leg will leave an indentation. that being said, it is used in museums which are pretty high traffic. I don’t mind a bit of wear on my finishes (with the exception of upholstery). I love a good patina on brass, the scuffs on marble as it is used and I don’t mind little ‘extra character’ in my wood floor. But - it’s not for everyone. If you don’t like a little bit of wear and prefer your floors to always look brand new, you may want to work with Oak. You can treat that with Lye as well if you want.
Now that I have the plan organized, it’s time to render it all up and go through samples to narrow down the precise finishes. Stay tuned for renders next week and samples in the coming weeks!