A DIY Faux Weathered Wood Ceiling

My idea for the Tinygami Work Studio is to have the left half of the ceiling bright white as it will be the side I use as a mini photo studio. The walls and ceiling will be plain white and perhaps even part of the floor.

The right side is where my daily work/production area will be. I want it to feel like a private alcove, kind of cozy and comforting, like I'm tucked away from the world when I go there. I guess you could say I'm going for a rustic, Japanese, farmhouse kind of environment.

Since day one as I've driven around the Michigan countryside I've always been envious of the old barn wood I see on every highway I've traversed. How to get that look when I don't have an old barn to knock down and dismantle to upcycle those gorgeous weathered boards? Make them!

I sifted through a multitude of tutorials on Pinterest and came up with this:

Since I don't seem to be 100% back in the swing of blogging (the way I used to be) this tutorial is a little under-imaged but contains all the pertinent info you'll need to try this project yourself.

In a nut-shell I'd say it was both easy and fun. Since you're going for a worn and weathered look perfection isn't a requirement. It's more like a little slap it on, rub it around, wipe it off kind of  process that is quite forgiving as long as you remember to not create hard start and stop lines with the first coat of stain as they'll mark the wood with straight lines. In order not to do that I discovered two tricks:

1. The main one I used on each coat was this: Apply the stain in short 2 foot sections (starting at the right end of the board and moving left) by dragging the foam applicator from right to left so that where the stroke ends you have long streak marks instead of a hard solid edge. When I applied stain to the next section I'd zig-zag the applicator a bit then do the same. I constantly went back to the far right end of each board and would draw the applicator down as far as the last section I'd just stained. This kept the application of the stain nice and even.
2. On day two I did add a touch of mineral spirits to the foam applicator to apply the ebony which made the stain easier to apply. I don't know that I had to do this but didn't want to take any chances since the black-color was so dark.

Supplies:

1. 29 Pine tongue and groove boards for each half of the ceiling. I purposely looked for the boards with knots, swirls, and patterns that were loaded with character. The "perfect" boards I used for the painted white boards or slipped them back into the pile at the lumber store.
2. 1 coat of Minwax Jacobean oil-based stain applied with a 5" foam/sponge applicator and wiped off with a lint-free cloth. Allow to dry at least 24 hours until dry to touch.
3. 1 coat of Minwax Ebony oil-based stain applied same as step 2.
4. 1 coat of Minwax Classic Grey oil-based stain applied same as step 2.
5. I will most likely be using Minwax Clear Brushing Lacquer in the satin finish as my finishing coat because I really want a crystal clear finish, not a topcoat that turns amber over time. ETA: I have now decided I will either leave the wood unfinished or use a finishing wax as I don't want a shiny surface to the boards. I'd prefer them to look raw and unfinished. Because there is no plumbing in the studio, and during the winter I'll run heat, and the summer AC I don't think humidity is going to be a problem as far as moisture damage to the ceiling. 

 Optional items I used for this project:

• Rubber gloves. I got the chemical resistant kind at the hardware shop.
• Foam applicators. I used 6 start to finish. The first color took 3 to, the second color took 2, and the final color only used 1. This was because the more stain that was already on the boards the easier it was to apply.
• I used 2 lint-free rags total for wiping down the boards. I used the first one until it was so saturated with stain I had to start a second.
• 3 stir sticks, one for each color of stain.
• A breathing mask rated to filter out the stain fumes as I was working in a heated garage for 3-4 hours for each color/coat because it's winter.
• Paint thinner to clean up.
• I didn't until it was too late but I'd say to use lots of cardboard on the floor and at each end of the length of your boards to prevent splatters.

Optional ideas I read about but did not implement:

• Sand all hard edges before you begin to create a more worn look.
• Spot sand board edges between colors also to create a more worn and weathered.
• Beat the boards with random heavy objects to dent and ding them then sand the dents and dings to make them look aged.
• Use a combination of paint and stain to color your boards.

Some of the many pins I used for inspiration:

Build a Rustic Sofa Table & Make New Wood Look Old on PaperDaisyDesign.com
Wood feature wall on TheRaggedWren.Blogspot.com
MIXED WOOD WALL – EASY & CHEAP DIY on UncookieCutter.com
HOW TO MAKE NEW WOOD LOOK LIKE OLD DISTRESSED BARN BOARDS on RealityDayDream.com
DIY Plywood Plank Floors on CentsationalGirl.com

If you decide to try this and have any questions leave a comment or message me via my website! I'm happy to help if I can.

Oh, and these are the 29 painted white boards. They're primed then painted with one coat. The second coat will go on after installation. I'll admit I'm pretty excited to see them all go up!

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This post was originally published on my work-only blog Tinygami.wordpress.com.
For lifestyle + origami updates this (I Found the Place) is the blog for you.