Wood Flooring on Accent Walls
Using hardwood in design (in areas other than flooring!) allows unique ideas to be introduced to your clients to both change their perception of a living or work space. If you invite a client to push the boundaries of their comfort zone, you will enable them to allow their individual aesthetic to be introduced publicly.
Walls are one of the largest surfaces in any work or living space, and if you have a few extra planks left over from a flooring project, you might want to see if there is an accent wall in your home or work space that would benefit from a bit of added texture. Most people assume that adding wood will create a “lodge” or “rural” feel, but they would be surprised to learn that wide planks add a visual aesthete to the most modern spaces that takes it to the level of “cool”, and not retro.
3 Tips Before Adding Hardwood to Walls
The following three items must be reviewed before you add hardwood to your walls:
1. Is the wall in an open space to prevent a narrow hallway from becoming oppressive?
2. Are you able to use wide planks (4 inches or more) or very narrow planks (1/2 inch)?
3. Are the planks in great whorl and texture condition that allows them to tell a design story?
Remember, you may have an initial cost for your flooring purchase, but most contractors add an excess amount which can be an overage that would go into the dumpster. Instead, find a wall that might benefit from the excess and inform the contractor that you want it to be added to that wall area. Imagine reviewing that wall area and deciding to add it to other areas of your space instead of paint or wallpaper?
Hardwood floors are durable enough to last a lifetime, for both your flooring and your walls!
Robin Wilson is an eco-friendly interior designer and a lifestyle brand with products sold at Bed Bath & Beyond.com. She is an ambassador to the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America and author of Kennedy Green House (Greenleaf, 2010). She regularly appears on the speakers circuit, on television and offers commentary in print on wellness, sustainability and allergy & asthma issues. Learn more at www.robinwilsonhome.com