I haven’t added our dining room tour to the Our House tab in our menu bar yet because it’s still a bit of a work in progress. That being said, the room has changed a lot since we bought the pumpkin-colored place in 2007…
And boy have we had a lot of fun working on playing with it over the past few years!
We had fun creating the “wonder wall“…
…and even more fun decorating it for Christmas last year…
We even had fun using the room as a bedroom, while ours was under construction…
But at some point, we ran out of steam and never really finished the ceiling or the floor in there, so we took advantage of another burst of DIY energy a couple weeks ago, and went back to work on Project: Dining Room.
Kev started by taping himself in there one day and sanding back the original hardwood floor (that was originally covered up by laminate flooring)…
(That awful old kitchen tile is gettin’ the boot at some point too!)
Unfortunately, he sanded his palms back a bit that day too. Zoinks!
So while Kev’s pummeled palms healed up, I got down to business and sealed the floor with three coats of semi-gloss Varathane from Lowes, and after that, we turned our attention up to the ceiling.
Unlike the planks in our guest bathroom and reading room, the wood we uncovered up there was always just a liiiiiiittle too rustic for our taste.
We didn’t have the funds or energy to deal with it when we originally uncovered it, so we just slapped on some primer and leftover blue paint (Sea Salt by SW).
It did the (temporary) trick, but last month I had one of those infamous “I can’t take it anymore” moments, so Kev and I put our heads together to figure out how we could fix it… for around a hundred bucks.
Our first idea involved attaching big sheets of something called eucaboard (from Home Depot) to the ceiling. It was thin, it was inexpensive, and it seemed like a great idea. Keyword: seemed. I thought we could attach them in a big grid-like pattern, and cover up all the seams with some kind of thin, wood trim. Keyword: thought.
Let’s just say that little project didn’t go quiiiiite as easily as planned, and that there may or may not have been some uncomfortably intense moments at the Palmer household as we tried to hoist and hold up the first 4′ x 8′ sheet of eucaboard while one of us nailed it into place. And let’s just say the intensity may or may not have intensified when said nails proceeded to slide right up on through that first 4′ x 8′ sheet of eucaboard at the exact moment someone’s arms turned to wet spaghetti.
Oh yeah….that was a real good time.
Anywho, our (intense) adventure ended with a 4′ x 8′ sheet of eucaboard out by the curb, and a trip to Lowes to see what else we could cover the ceiling with.
Here’s what we decided to try (the second time around)…
It’s a V-groove, wood plank product by EverTrue, and there’s six 8-foot long planks in each pack.
Each pack costs $10.93, and we figured we’d need about 10 of them to cover our entire dining room ceiling. (Much cheaper than any other ceiling plank option that we looked at.)
The planks are super thin, and very light weight. Keyword: light.
We didn’t buy all eight packs right away, because after the whole eucaboard debacle, we weren’t sure if anything was going to work and we were skeered. We took home one pack of planks that day, and I promptly laid them out on a drop cloth and gave them two coats and primer, and two coats of leftover Moonlight White (BM) paint.
Our dining room ceiling is 9′ – 7″ wide, and the planks are only 8 feet long, so we decided to do a little staggering of the seams.
Using our nail gun, we attached one full-length board to the ceiling, and then cut a smaller one to finish off that “row”. Then on the next row, we did it the opposite way, so the “pattern” will look sort of like this when we’re done:
Turns out you can barely see the seams after all, but we just thought it would be weird to have all the shorter planks on one side of the room.
Here’s where we’re at today…
(You can still see some Liquid nails up there from the eucaboard experience…grrrr.)
We’re not quite halfway across the room, and there’s still LOTS of nail hole filling, touch up painting, crown & trim molding attaching, and wall trimming, painting or papering to do- but we’re okay with that. It’s the 4′ x 8′ sheets of eucaboard we have issues with.
PS- We’re hoping to finish the ceiling up soon so we can turn our attention back to the drywalled walls. We want to do something really different there too! (Just have to figure out what that is- LOL!)
Looking great! I have wanted plank ceilings in my house for a long time, but the expense was holding me back. This product might just be my ticket to new ceilings!
Love it Layla and Kev. Although my husband will now hate you for putting new ideas in my head.
By the way, I thought you had laminate wood flooring in your kitchen.
Hi Wendy! We did have laminate flooring in our kitchen, but it was laid right on top of the old ugly tile. So when we ripped out all the laminate in the house we were left with that tile again. 🙁 Next up is “Project Kitchen Floors!” Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
yall r so darn smart! never seen this before. thanks for being here to teach us all new things. It looks great.
Thank you Debbie! 😀
Huge project!!! I do love your wonder wall… It is perfect!
Well Layla and Kevin, it was so nice to FINALLY meet both of you today. I really enjoyed our little chat and getting to know both of you. Here’s to a new friendship and hopefully getting to know each other more as time goes by. (Tell Kevin I’m saving him all my styrofoam cups!)
I’ll be e=mailing you those pics later today….thanks again!
Judy
Judy!
It was so great meeting you today too! I’m so glad we bumped into each other, and I can’t wait to see your pics! 😀
I hope you got my pics I e=mailed….can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Judy
That looks fabulous!! Sorry you had a run in with the eucaboard 🙁 I am SO going to do this in my 1941 Saltbox house with the corridor kitchen. Had a water leak last year upstairs and since the bathroom is right above the kitchen and since the kitchen ceiling is wall papered… well, you get the idea. The ceiling is minus some wall paper. This will look fantastic in there. Can’t wait to see your finished product!
Love it so far! Ceiling work is the pits. Not a fan of the neck and shoulder ache that always accompany it. Lookin’ forward to seeing the finished product! It will be beautiful, as always! Take care! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this idea. We are about to start a big Kitchen redo and will need to do something with the ceiling! This will be perfect. Yours looks great.
Hey guys! The ceiling is looking fab-can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeves for the drywall! Hope to have my ceiling tear-out and redo done any day now-man these ceiling projects are hard work!
I was just thinking about doing this in our little bathroom. But the roof is covered in that “lovely” popcorn stucco. Do you think I could just nail this right over top? (I am 7 months preggo with #3 (=tired!) and so am looking for an easy fix!) Thanks!
Hey Cathryn! I think it would work over popcorn ceilings, we’re actually going to try it over some popcorn ceilings too. We may use some liquid nails on the underside of each plank (in addition to the brad nailer) to make sure it holds since we won’t be nailing into wood. We’ll let you know how it turns out! 🙂
Thanks!! I might wait to see what happens with you guys…I don’t want to start a project and regret it!! (my husband might not let me near a nail gun again!) 😉
My arms got tired just reading this post! I think it will look great when you are finished and you will certainly appreciate all the hard work you will have put into it.
I have been itching to cover my awful popcorn ceilings in my kitchen with wood and this could be the answer!! Have to take it up with my “handyman”… can’t wait to see how the whole thing turns out!
It looks beautiful! Thanks for always giving us such great resources that don’t break the bank!
I have never heard of Eucaboard, so naturally I am curious. Can it be used for flooring? We’re redoing our attic, and since we are on a major budget, I don’t want to spend too much. I saw a floor made out of particle board, which was later “varathaned.” It looked REALLY interesting.
Thanks for the new resource. I can’t wait to check it out.
Would love to do this in our home. We scraped the popcorn and are left with really ugly sheetrock. Would prefer this over re-mudding the rock, etc. I had my hubby read your post and he loves the idea but says it will only work on ceilings that are already wood – like yours. How can we do it when we are attaching it to sheetrock? Thanks for your answer in advance. LizzieBeth
Hi Lizzie! Layla and I have actually talked about putting this over some of the popcorn type ceilings in some other rooms in our house. The planks are so light weight that I think they would hold when we use our brad nailer to put them up, but we talked about maybe using liquid nails on the underside of each plank so when it dries it will really hold. We’re going to try it out and see what happens. Our popcorn ceilings are so ugly that I’m not worried about messing them up, they’re already messed up! Ha ha Thanks for dropping by today!!!! 🙂
Thank you Kevin! I so appreciate you took the time to respond. I can assure you if we’d thought there was some other alternative we would have left the popcorn alone and covered it up! I’m sure you’ve got a good idea what a tremendous nasty mess that was! 🙂 However, at the time, we thought redoing the rock was our only solution. I’m thrilled at learning about this. Thanks so much.
Looking good-and I really appreciate you guys testing it all, since my “big ideas” generally end up with the same degree of success as your eucaboard experiment. Juat ask my husband. Hee hee.
Love it! White…so gorgeous!
I love it! It looks so great. You two are so amazing.
in love with the xmas displays!
Don’t worry about the intense moments during DIY sessions, there is apparently a whole new therapy experts just focusing on that: Renovation Therapy. Not joking! I found out after we drywalled the laundry room, spent two nights cutting drywalls, inhaling the dust, meanwhile arguing and crying! And after we were done, what did I see in the next issue of This Old House?: An article by a renovation therapists who focuses on getting the couples back on the track after a hardcore renovation:)
I had to laugh when I read this post. Some of the worst moments of our whole marriage have been when we are holding something up over our heads.
Love it! Such a great idea. I can’t wait to see it with the floor.
Cannot wait to hear back on the ‘popcorn’ experiment, if anyone gets it done before you guys and finds out it does indeed work, would LOVE to hear about it. Looks fabulous! Thanks for the great idea and post 🙂
Looking awesome…hang in there, will SO be worth it. Been through LOTS of those remodel jobs. Will be so worth it.
I think your second time will be the charm – it looks fantastic already!
Wow, that looks great. I cracked up at your first go at the ceiling…not laughing at you but rather in complete understanding as in,…been there, done that. I can’t wait to see what else you come up with to create a wonderful, different look from drywall.
You and Kevin are always so creative and inspiring. I’ve been doing so much more DIY thanks to you two.
Karen
I put up heavy drywall with my husband we made these large T-shaped braces We would raise up the dry wall and the brace would hold it up while we nailed them up. it worked pretty good and the ceiling was a cathedral angled.
it looks so gooooood!
Love it! I see these planks over my popcorn ceiling in the near future. Thanks for inspiring (as always).
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I’ve been checking every day for this post ever since you mentioned it. I’ve been wanting this type of ceiling for months, and REALLY appreciate y’all ‘splainin it all so we can do it!!! YAY Kevin & Layla….looks fabulous!
FYI… For those of you who are wanting this look in your bathroom Home Depot sells a product almost identical only its vinyl. It is also reversible, plank look on one side and smaller beadboard on the other. It’s also great as a backsplash in the kitchen. And it’s white. Super low maintenance for the wet areas. You can practically just hose it down.
Are your rattan dining room chairs from Ikea? They look like their Majby chairs. I’ve been considering purchasing 3 of them for my kitchen nook, however since I’ve only seen them online, I have no idea how sturdy they are. Are you happy with them?
Yes! And we’re totally happy with them! 😀
This is the perfect solution for my super old/super tiny cottage that got a ceiling redo somewhere along the way. It may have been an improvement at the time but now doesn’t really match the beadboard I’ve used to cover fiberboard walls. The ceiling is that weird stucco-like texture that’s not very pretty and hard to paint. I like your idea WAY better. 🙂
Thanks for solving yet another problem for cottage lovers!
Janita
Ah yes, nothing like a good ol’ DIY project to bring you some moments of “intense fellowship” (at least that’s what we call them!) I can’t wait to see the finished project.
Kevin –
What type of nail gun do you use? I am in the market for a new one and would like to know what you think of yours. I’ll be using it for similar jobs as your ceiling and a board and batten project. Thanks!
Hi Maria!
I use a dewalt nail gun. I bought a kit that came with everything including a brad nailer, and a nail gun. It was a little intimidating at first, but it has been such a wonderful purchase! Projects are sooooo much easier and faster! Here is a link to a video tutorial I did when I first got it! 🙂
https://theletteredcottage.net/how-to-use-a-nail-gun-a-video-tutorial-sort-of
Ouch on the hands will be worth it once finished though!! Love the walls how you have the different shelving you have just given me some Inspirations for my lounge thanks heaps 🙂
PLEASE come to texas and do this in my dining room!! i’ll even bake you a cake (or cupcakes or a pie or cookies or whatever you fancy in the way of sweets!)!!
Looking Good. I think you will love the finished product… I love the coastal look…
Have fun…
Thanks so much for this post!! I’ve been wanting beadboard ceilings for awhile now in my bedroom but I wasn’t sure what is good for ceilings. I kinda wanted to take beadboard sheets and nail em up there (how easy would THAT be?) but whenever I look at the fine print- “not for ceiling use”. Womp Womp. Out of curiosity, do you know what beadboard sheets people are using on their ceilings? Or should I never ever try it because the whole thing will fall on my head while I sleep at night?
Oh yeah, and duh- I know yours aren’t beadboard sheets- they are the wood plank things, just thought if anyone would know the answer, you guys would 🙂
Christina,
My husband and I just had an “intense” moment as Layla says when we attempted to put up beadboard panels on our ceiling. We were thinking the same thing easy just some liquid nails and a few sunken wood screws and good to go. Not so. We had the 4 X 8 boards and they were sooooooo heavy and the walls are not square in this 14 yr old house which presented a nightmare for those of us who are a bit OCD about straight lines. Needless to say the board went up and the board came down a few hours later as I continued to walk in and out of the room noticing the not so straight lines. If you made the boards straight then where it met the wall it was obviously (note here: hubby said mainly noticable only to me!!) that it was not square with the wall. I took the board down then spend almost an entire day attempting to get the massive amounts of liquid nails off the ceiling (also a “spaghetti” arm moment!!). I finally ended up getting some paintable beadboard wallpaper that I put on the ceiling and it turned out great. I could adjust it easily to look more even and painted white it looks like real panels. However, I do have a few spots that look like bubbles that are actually the areas that I could not get all the liquid nails off but I can live with that. If only I had seen this post a week ago I would have gone with this option!! Good luck with you project!
Thanks, Erin for your reply!!! I was tossing around the idea of the beadboard wallpaper as well. I hadn’t seen it used in person so I wasn’t sure if it looked “real” or not. I’m thinking this would probably be my best option for now. Thanks again- it’s always good to know the good, bad, and ugly of a DIY adventure 😉
Hi Layla,
Love your ceiling choice, and I really enjoyed looking at your photos! Your “wonder wall” is amazing. I love what you did with your space last Christmas!
I know yall lucked in to having the wood plank for the wonderwall, but do you think this groove plank paneling would work for on the walls to create a wood plank wall??
Sure! I think it would work great! 😀
I love the ceiling! We have just uncovered under two layers of ceiling tiles, a pressed tin ceiling in our dining room. I can’t start tearing it down yet, as it is our bedroom at the moment, but it looks like they nailed pieces of wood up to put of the lovely mint green tiles. Has anyone revamped a tin ceiling, do ya paint em’, any ideas?
I love this!!! I was actually looking at these last week at the store. I’m going to use it in the upstairs hallway now that I know it looks that good. Thanks for sharing.
do you have any tips for a sheetrock ceiling? install over? remove?
oops! Guess I wasn’t the only one with this question….
Love this! Going to use this idea too. Seriously, your blog is a gold mine! My all-time favorite!
I’m curious as to why you went in the same direction as the old planks. I thought that when resurfacing, you went in the opposite direction ?? Or is it that you just go in the opposite direction of the joists (which in this case would be the same as the old planks)?
This one of the reasons I appreciate your blog. You both are so creative and money conscious. We have an older home (100+) and while the main rooms have beautiful wood & character, the bedrooms are lacking a little. It takes a little more creative thinking to renovate when budget is part of your vocabulary. Thank you for sharing your fabulous ideas! I cannot wait to try on our playroom ceiling!
After a month of climbing ladders we just finished hanging the same product on our main room ceiling. We looooove how it looks! With some white paint and trim it goes a long way to making our house the little beach cottage we envision. Thanks for showing us your project!
Yay! So glad to hear you’re happy with the finished product!
Did you hang it over a wood or drywall ceiling…or perhaps a popcorn ceiling? Inquiring minds want to know!
😀
We hung it over a yucky popcorn ceiling. We started by finding the joists in the ceiling and screwing furring strips into them. That way we could use the pneumatic finished nail gun to hang the actual boards.
We have also used this product in our bathrooms, on the walls this time, to hide damaged drywall. It works if you hang it vertical and horizontal, because I cannot ever do anything the same twice! K
Layla!
I love those wood planks. I am wanting to cover the walls in our new addition with wood, but hubby says we cannot afford it. Do you think those planks would look good on my walls?
Do have any other suggestions for inexpensive ways to cover walls with wood?
Also, I would love to get some old gymnasium wood flooring like you did in your guest room. Do you know where I could get some? And was it really expensive?
Okay, no more questions. I promise.
Love you!
Traci
Hey Traci!
Those planks would definitely look good on walls! I think that’s actually what they’re made for! 😀
As for the reclaimed gym flooring- click on the Our House tab at the top of our blog and it’ll take you over to the post we did about the reading room. You’ll find a link to Southern Accents there…that’s where we got the gym flooring!
Love you!
Your ceiling looks so much better, I can tell it’s going to look great when it’s finished. Well done for sticking with it.
I love your blog, I find you inspire me to get household fixing finished (I’m terrible for starting and then getting distracted, or tired), I’ve got some tiling in my kitchen that’s been half-done for (ahem) years. I’m going to finish it today (no, seriously, today).
love Claire from HandmadebyClaireBear.com
OMG I have been looking for this post for days. I remember reading it but could not remember where. Long story short. We have 2 bathrooms and laundry room that the ceilings are a disaster and since we are remodeling the whole house and on wk 20, I am running out of steam. I was telling my husband about this wood for our ceilings and now I found the post and showed it to him. It is a go. wood plank ceilings..
Thank you .