Zero VOC wood floors + “naughty” pine ceilings {2nd floor}

How incredibly handsome is this Steamline Luggage? With a wink and a nod to the good ole days ~ when traveling was a luxury ~ Steamline is totally on-point with these gorgeous travel pieces. How I’d love one for weekends in the country! But for now, I will have to settle with my laundry basket and my m0851 postman bag. Glamorous, I know. *winkwink* BTW: I discovered these pretties thanks to a blog called Lake Jane. Such a fab find! Since they floors are wet, I had to get out of The Country House for a few days. The Rubio Monocoat went onto the floor upstairs yesterday afternoon. Wood floors cover the steps as well as the entirety of the second floor. Our only full bathroom is up there and I need to give the floors a few days to fully dry and harden. I like this product because it is a natural oil wood floor finish. It is VOC-free and completely non-toxic. The wood flooring specialist tells me that it is extraordinarily durable and that it’s super easy to fix scratches. I heard that and said “Sign us up!”We chose the Castle Brown color. It’s got medium tone warm brownish-grey highlights, but still shows through the gold pine color which speaks to the ceiling in the master bedroom and bathroom. Speaking of the ceilings on the second floor… I have been chatting with my interior designer friends on Twitter about them. The question: do we paint the ceiling in those rooms high-gloss white, or do we leave them natural?Off my point for a moment: The man who sold us the house guaranteed me that my painters would not know how to do the artisan installed plaster work on the second floor. He sent me the link to the faux finish artist who is based in Brooklyn. ($$$ cha-ching! $$$) He strongly recommended that I hire her to come all the way to Northwestern Connecticut do the repairs. Unfortunately, hiring a artist out of New York City to do repairs on our plaster is not in the plan. I’d have to pay for her travel, food, and hotel. Ugh – That is what they call a budget buster!! In the end, think our painters did a lovely job matching the finish and they didn’t charge us a dime extra. Back to the ceilings…
The online Twitter consensus was to paint it white. I was all but settled on white until after they painted our bedroom walls with the first coat. Both me and the Mr. were drawn to the cozy feeling of the knotty pine – or as my friend Jonathan Legate likes to call it “naughty” pine! As a side note: you must check out his beautiful website! Jonathan certainly knows his stuff. I can’t believe that I am going against his impeccable taste and recommendation to paint it white! It’s funny to me, in some light the walls look warm grey, and in other light they have a blue undertone. I couldn’t be happier with the decision to paint them Kendall Charcoal – either way, I love the color. It’s incredibly cool, yet cozy! As suspected, the Shaker Peg Rail gives a nice white break between the walls and ceiling. That was exactly what I was going for when I installed them. Hooray = design success!It’s come time for me to settle back into the City for a few days. The Blogher conference is going on this week, so there are a lot of blogger and twitter meet-ups happening. I was lucky enough to share the elevator last week with Nate Berkus at the So Haute event. Nate himself invited me to a cocktail party this Saturday night. How wonderful of him to ask, right? You bet I said “YES, with pleasure!” to that invitation – what an awesome opportunity!

Posted by Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo / Personal and The Country House and Uncategorized and What's on?

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12 Responses to “Zero VOC wood floors + “naughty” pine ceilings {2nd floor}”

  1. Belly on 05 Aug 2010 at 11:59 am

    First- your photos are gorgeous!
    And now- I’m really glad you’ve reached a decision re the ceiling. I may not agree with it (LOL) but there’s no doubt the natural wood does give a cozy feel, especially with your stunning wall paint color. That way both you and the Mr. are happy=design bliss.
    Can’t wait to hear more about the party, including what you chose to wear, of course!

  2. Laurie March on 05 Aug 2010 at 12:10 pm

    Love the way that room is coming together! It looks like you could easily go either way with the ceiling. You can always live with the warm, ‘naughty’ pine and then paint it later if you feel like it’s time for a change.

    Have an amazing time at Blogher and with mister Nate Berkus! woo!

  3. ABC Dragoo on 05 Aug 2010 at 12:37 pm

    Laurie! Thanks for being a first time commenter on ABCD! I know we’re friends on Twitter, but it is always fun to hear people chime in – in more than 140 characters. xox

    Chedva, you’re not the only one who wanted white! I don’t know why I am compelled to buck the trend of all my stylish designer friends. Maybe I will start the resurgence of “naughty” pine?

    Gosh, it’s just a house in the woods after all, I can’t help myself!
    xoxABCD

  4. Ludmila {creamylife.com} on 05 Aug 2010 at 12:48 pm

    Love the wood in your home, it’s so warm and inviting! Have fun in NYC!

  5. Jonathan Legate on 05 Aug 2010 at 2:18 pm

    It’s Mr Legate here chiming in.

    I see you have decided to be a “naughty” girl and stick with the pine.
    I’ll support you regardless of my opinion, after all I do preach what we should live with the things (and finishes) we love.
    I think I may have OD’d on “naughty” pine in the 70′s from friends basement “wreck” rooms to my own childhood home’s VERY “naughty” pine kitchen. My mother always loved pine and other light woods because they didn’t show dust…. (where did i come from?)
    I’m actually lucky enough to have a collection of rare antique Nova Scotian pine furniture which looks great with my more contemporary pieces. I just choose to keep the “naughty” stuff off my ceilings and walls. Blame the 70′s.
    much love,
    J
    xo

  6. m on 05 Aug 2010 at 4:16 pm

    This is my first time ever commenting on a blog but I finally cannot resist telling you how much I am enjoying your house remodeling project as well as the diversity of your other interests and articles. I loved your New York apartment and, over the past few months, your blog has become a daily favorite.

    The luggage you mentioned reminds me of Globe-Trotter luxury luggage, which is made in England but now available in the US through J. Crew.

    Thank you for your detailed information about paint types and the selections you make as I am currently “working” on my bungalow and, unlike you, I am having a really difficult time making decisions. I would love to have white cement floors but I cannot see it doing much for the resale value of my house. I love your wood floor paint selection but as far as I can tell it is only available in eastern Canada and I am in the west, even so, you may have saved me weeks of research so, again, many thanks.

    I wonder why you have not considered lightly whitewashing your pine ceilings. You would retain the wood quality of the pine but would brighten up your room. Hopefully that would satisfy both your and the Mr.’s wishes. I am not fond of that orangey pine colour but also find that solid painting removes all the wood’s character and you might as well just plaster them over. Whitewashing can be very sophisticated and is commonly used in Europe (for floors, furniture and walls). However, it seems to have developed a bad reputation in North America probably due to all those ugly washes used in the 1980′s. Apartment Therapy and Sarah Richardson (Sarah’s Cottage – television show and website) have good examples of this whitewash look. Sarah also provides paint samples and even tells you how much to water down the paint so that the whitewash is done with a very light touch. Whatever you choose, I know that it will be lovely as you have a fabulous aesthetic sense.

    Best regards, m

  7. sandy@oohlafroufrou on 05 Aug 2010 at 4:40 pm

    Thanks for sharing! I feel like I just walked through with you at my elbow pointing and explaining the decisions … thanks so much for the step-by-step! Love it! You need a show like Sara’s House! :)

  8. ABCDDesigns on 05 Aug 2010 at 5:15 pm

    OMGosh Sandy! You’re too kind with your comment – sweet of you to say that, because I always wonder what people think of me doing such posts!

    Thanks for chiming in!

  9. ABCDDesigns on 05 Aug 2010 at 5:23 pm

    M,

    Thank you so much for (finally) taking the dive and leaving a comment on ABCD! I know you guys are out there who come, take a peek and quietly leave – it is so much fun to “hear” your voice! And the compliments, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

    Are you in Western Canada, or Western US? Either way, you should be able to get this oil – it is originally out of Belgium – and my floor guy uses it almost exclusively here on the East Coast. The floor is prepped (sanded down) and then the oil is rubbed in and left to sit. There is only one coat. I wonder if you google it – if you might find it that way — I know I linked to the US version of the website since that is where most of my readers are.

    As for whitewash – we have considered whitewash – but, since the walls are such an intense color and the wood work is all solid white, we don’t know exactly what the whitewash would look like. Once it’s done, it’s done. So that is how we decided to stick with the “naughty” pine.

    Another reason we stepped away from painting — you see how the ceiling is layered? One board on top of the other? That is so in the winter, when the boards shrink and contract with cold and heat that the boards remain in tact. If we paint, I will always be chasing down black lines on the ceiling — and THAT is a REAL drag! :(

    Anywhoo — come back again, and comment often! I *ADORE* hearing from you.
    xoABCD

  10. Diane Meier on 05 Aug 2010 at 7:40 pm

    Looking VV good!
    So yes, okay – we’re both sleeping in barns.
    It’s like that response to crude behavior — Where do you LIVE — a BARN??? Well, yes… actually..

    We are in a guest room, thank the lord, though not a huge guest room. With closets designed for guests who don’t intend to stay a year — and a year it’s been. But when I complain, FD reminds me that I could have been parked for a year in the Rocky River Motel if we didn’t HAVE a barn with a guest room. I stop whining at the thought of a motel with a view of the Nestle factory.

    Too wood or not to wood…. Hmmm. it’s a real question.
    The big barn, as you can see in the pics on my site, is, for the most part, completely unpainted and we let the original timbers age for 2 years so that they would harden and turn silver. They are pretty wonderful. But – I’m not such a fan of naked wood (“orangey” naked wood as your reader notes) either. The little barn, all new wood — is completely painted. And it just makes everyone smile. Cream, vanilla and cornflower blue. Very very glossy. The light plays in all the angles. We couldn’t be happier. And now we’re addressing the house. There was, as you’ve had, audible gasps when I said that I thought we should paint the wide wide board floors – Frank always liked the idea, but now that they’re painted Farrow and Ball’s “Tallow”, even the hunter/fishermen carpenters on the job think it’s just beautiful.

    But of course, I’m not living in your house. And you’re not living there alone. And part of being a couple is making our partners comfortable (if not deliriously happy). So – glazing or whitewashing could be a compromise. Or just finding a way to love what he does.

    Are you close to Kent?
    d

  11. Debbbie @TheHipHostess on 06 Aug 2010 at 8:00 am

    Although I adore the glossy white ceiling, I think your Mr. may be onto to something. How warm & cozy to be snuggled up under that gorgeous rustic natural ceiling. Heavenly! But perhaps you’ve had your fill of that from sleeping in the barn all these weeks! Either way you can’t go wrong.

  12. Hilaire on 06 Aug 2010 at 10:14 am

    I love love the look and feel the wood on the ceiling gives. It speaks romantic.

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