Wood – Making exposed structural wood look nice

attichardwoodwood

I built a loft/bed in a bedroom. It uses structural 2x which will be exposed once the room is complete. The structural 2x (a vertical 2×6 post and horizontal 2×12-2 beams spanning 75% of the room) doesn't look awesome, but the loft is solid as a rock 🙂

Some ideas I have for making it look nice:

  1. Drywall the beam and post — wife veto'd that idea. She wants the
    look of wood.
  2. Attach 1x hardwood (maple/birch) to the 2x with glue/brad nail(s)? The problem with this is a) it's really expensive and b) I can't find a solid 1×14 to cover the 2×12 11.5" face and c) it seems wasteful to be attaching 1x to an already solid beam/post just for looks.
  3. Sand and paint — could do this, but the 2×12 has the standard cracks and rough finish that makes it difficult to deal with on a raw basis. It would be easier just to throw 1/4" drywall on it (but see #1)
  4. Apply some kind of veneer. I don't know how to do this, nor if it would look good wrapped around a post or beam.

All four sides of the post are exposed. Only one face and the top/bottom of the beam are exposed.

I'm leaning towards #2, eating the expense and attaching 1x hardwood to the post/beam in a box kind of configuration. Are there any other ideas out there before I continue, and if not, what are some good ways of attaching the 1x to the structural wood?

Here's a picture of the wood that will be exposed. That big beam and the post at the far end (and the beam that can't be seen attaching the post to the wall on the right).

Unfinished loft

Best Answer

Aesthetics of a home design is very personal. I like the uniqueness of your Structural bed frame. I don’t think it needs to be covered with wood trim or gypsum board.

I have two fireplaces in my house...one is a large brick fireplace and the other is made from logs off the beach. Everyone that sees the brick fireplace comments on this one unique brick that is extremely twisted. They love it. Everyone that sees the log fireplace comments on the rusty steel connector located at one end. They love it, but everyone misses the rest of each fireplace.

My point is: make it unique. Go ahead and finish the rest of the bedroom but leave the structural wood exposed. I’d finish it with transparent stain...don’t paint it and try to “cover it up”.

There’s a “thing” in design that says put opposites next to each other...they’ll accent each other’s qualities. That is to say, putting a piece of wood next to a gypsum board wall, will make the trim stand out and the gypsum board look monolithic.

We design custom homes that are all white in a natural wooded environment so that the house says, “I’m unique to this environment.”

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