apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

At one point recently I was considering doing something like this in my entry way with 1x4 planks of stained and finished poplar. Routered with a t&g type joint with a small reveal. I thought the variation in the grain would look quite lovely and poplar is an affordable wood. I've seen a similar slat wall effect using some machined trim pieces at a restaurant, it looked quite good under ambient light but the appearance could easily change with different lighting conditions. Using the trim gave the wall some interesting depth and shadows. IMHO I'm not into the look of plywood on walls.

we put cherry flooring on some of our walls. you can see part of what we did here:

http://petermaslow.com/images/Apt_IMG_3788.jpg

it's also the flooring we used in the kitchen, so it looks pretty dang hot :)

I was also going to suggest engineered wood flooring. Have you considered beadboard. Nice effect and pretty economical. It isn't wood, but a super wallpaper would give a nice effect. I saw a wonderful effect a a friend's housie in Houston. They covered a DR wall in luan, then put a 2'x2' grid of lattice, and stained the whole thing. It looked really cool and very Asian. Wish I'd have taken a picture. Think the design on a wall... http://www.fifthwalldesigns.com/images/Basement.jpg

With a moniker like quiltmaster, you know I'd love this effect. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2801624032_478f18d3f5.jpg?v=0 You could do something similar with different color stains.

good friends used bamboo blinds laid sideways on the wall and used a chair rail and the floor molding to hide and smooth the edges. they look wonderful. i don't know what they did to keep them in a stable position but they have been up for a few years and are solid.

This is a look that my architecture firm likes to use a lot. To scale back the price and the time required, I'd recommend using 1x6 boards meant for decking, that look "finished" on all sides, and a 3/4" reveal. Fewer boards and larger spaces will take less time to install and also make it possible to clean between the boards when the inevitable dust accumulates, though the effect may be diminished on a small wall. Good luck!

I saw a very interesting slatted wall at the the Interior Design show in Toronto a couple of years ago that was quite similar to what Michelle in Montreal described. In that application, the boards were finished lumber rather than decking boards and were separated just enough to slot in other boards which acted as shelves for items that were not too heavy. The shelves were not fastened in place so that they could be moved around as you wanted. A longer shelf could act as your landing strip. If I remember correctly, the wall was initially painted in a darker colour (grey, I think) so that the reveal became part of the design and emphasized the shadows. I think this might work quite well in your space.

My library bought slat wall display shelving for the shelving end panels. It's designed to hold little book racks and other displayers (often used in clothing stores, too.) It is engineered and it's expensive. Just so you know... I wouldn't recommend it for a home application unless you want to show off small collectibles against the wall, and are prepared to pay muchos dinero for the option.

The LOOK of slatwall, however, is doable on a lower budget. I'd find a nice local carpetner and thrash ideas around with them, unless you want to DIY. Maybe there is reclaimed lumber abvailable for less than new, for instance... works with the loft vibe.

Reclaimed wood wall here
http://plastolux.com/modern-home-landscaping-sebastian-mariscal.html

Scrap wood wall here
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/7742

why not just put these up? they're pretty acacia wood and already spaced nicely

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60090639

I like the idea of slats, but what about something lighter and airier to introduce light into the foyer?

This is what we did:

http://blueantstudio.blogspot.com/2007/11/birch-panels-and-my-wall-of-clocks.html


joel pirela