At FauxWoodBeams.com, we’re always excited to receive pictures and videos from customers who’ve used our products to transform their homes. One interesting thing we’ve been paying particular attention to recently is the clever use of contrasting lengths of our faux timber beams – which can give dramatically different visual results.

Carol used tiny lengths of our synthetic timber beams to give the impression of structural supports.

Take this new build in Amarillo, Texas, for example, that included a towering, cathedral roof. Clever customer Carol Potts used very short lengths of our synthetic timber beams to give the impression of ancient, supporting timbers poking through the plaster roof. It was a great way to give a discrete, but significant edge to the room’s aesthetic.

Because our timber beams are molded from durable polyurethane, it meant Carol had the freedom to cut a single full-length beam into three angled pieces with nothing more than a regular wood saw. That made installation a breeze, kept her costs down and still gave her the astonishing results she was looking for.

In complete contrast, Alabama native Ron decided that longer was better when it came to transforming the living room of his Union Grove home. The 60-year-old worked off a scaffold to install over 200 feet of our synthetic wood beams; and gave the impression of seamless lengths of timber by covering up where one beam met another with our rubber beam straps.

Ron used immense lengths of faux wood beam to span his enormous ceiling; far longer than would be practical with real wood.

Because our beams are uniform in width and fit, Ron was able to create a beamed ceiling design that would have been impossible using authentic timber – that length of beam simply isn’t normally available. What’s more, he could install it himself, in two days, using nothing more than a circular saw, knives and an electric drill.

That’s really the long and short of it – a dramatic example of how two different customers took two different approaches to using our faux wood products – and they both worked out brilliantly.

Do you have any thoughts on beam length? Or, better yet, some photos to show us of our beams in long, or short, action? Let us know at info@fauxwoodbeams.com. We’d love to feature them here.

Simona paired the artificial wood beams with wood veneer for a really rustic look.

“Ever since we bought it, we wanted to create a warm cozy and welcoming feeling to our property,” writes Simona, enclosing pictures of the completed project. “We wanted to turn it into our home, not just our house.”

“My husband brought up the idea for the rustic wood beams on the dining room ceiling, to give it more elegance and character instead of having a plain, boring ceiling. Well, after many searches and few visits to the supply stores, we quickly realized it’s impossible to hang up real lumber beams – because they’re too heavy and expensive.”

“Fortunately, I happened to come across www.fauxwoodbeams.com. What I found there was very reasonably priced – and, more importantly, seemed easy and quick to install.”

“We received the order right on time – and the installation was as easy as promised, because the beams are very light to handle! You simply manufacture the best product for our decorative needs.”

Now they’re up and installed, Simona is thrilled with the result.

“Everyone that visits our home is fascinated by how tasteful and elegant our house has become. It’s stunning! None of our guests ever notice that the beams aren’t real wood. They can’t take their eyes of them – they just keep looking up and staring!”

What sold Simona and her husband on artificial wood beams was how vividly realistic they were.

What was really important for Simona was that her husband liked the artificial wood beams as much as she did.

“My husband is a fine artist, and because of that it wouldn’t be easy to convince him to use some poor quality cheesy stuff. He has a demanding vision and mindset, and is extremely picky when it comes to materials in decorating our home.”

That’s where receiving a free sample in the mail made such a different – convincing Simona’s husband that the beams would look authentic.

“That was what ultimately sold us on them,” she explains. “Their great, natural look.”

Faux wood outlookers are a great way to add a rustic look to your roof

Fortunately, many ultimately escaped with relatively minor damage; flooding basements, roof damage, fallen trees and other inconveniences that were chilling warning about how much worse it could have been.

And while cleaning out waterlogged basements and hammering in new shingles is time consuming and expensive, many homeowners are taking regular repair projects and expanding them those home design schemes they’ve been putting off for a while.

Our faux wood ceiling beams and other faux products are great tools for making those repairs turn into impressive redesign projects.  Our faux wood beams look great in finished basements, and our outlookers and rafter tails can transform the appearance of the exterior of your home.

And, even better, you’ll be able to instantly save 5% this Labor Day when you order using a special Labor Day sale coupon exclusively available from FauxWoodBeams.com.

Labor Day sale coupon

It’s easy to use. Just fill up your online shopping cart and enter the Labor Day sale code at checkout – SMP11.

This savings code is valid throughout September 5, 2011 – and must be used at the time of purchase and cannot be combined with any other savings or sale offer.

Let us know what you buy! And if you send in before and after photos of your project to info@fauxwoodbeams.com, we’d love to use them on our blog.

Reclaimed Wood Beams aren't just as good-looking as "the real thing." They ARE the "real thing."

For some people, even the intricate detail and realism of our polyurethane-molded faux wood beams is not enough.

They’re the customers we created our reclaimed wood beams for – but why choose reclaimed over new wood?

Here are some top reasons:

• They’re more affordable. Our reclaimed real wood beams are sourced from authentic salvaged wood from turn-of-the-century American buildings. Because a single authentic beam can be used to make several of our reclaimed wood box beams, they are considerably more cost-effective.
• They’re easier to install. Solid timber beams can weigh over 400lbs. By contrast, our reclaimed wood beams often weigh in at less than 50lbs. That makes a big difference – installing them doesn’t require any special equipment, and you don’t need to reinforce your ceiling as you might with a solid, timber ceiling beam.
• They’re more practical. Our reclaimed wood beams are built as a u-shape or 4-sided box, which means you can run wires and pipes inside them. That gives enormous flexibility in installation, allowing you to really capture a period look and feel by hiding modern wiring and piping.
• They’re adaptable. Because you can run wires invisibly through our reclaimed beams, an entire host of installation options open up that wouldn’t with a solid real wood beam: How about recessed lights, for example? You can also order the beams closed in on all four sides, which means you can make some exciting tresses with them.
• They’re authentic. The final reason why reclaimed beams are a great choice is because they don’t just look real – they are real. Although our faux wood beams are practically indistinguishable from the real thing once installed, our reclaimed beams are the real thing. Nothing looks better – not even solid timber beams.

Frank had the added challenge of fitting his faux wood beam around an existing ceiling fan

“My wife and I purchased our home 21 years ago,” Frank wrote. “The bedroom had a cathedral ceiling and when the home was new, the seam looked good. However, as time has aged the house, the seam became increasingly difficult to keep intact.”

It has been repaired many times and due to the slight shifting of the ceiling, due to heat and cold, the crack would always come back over time.”

Due to the steaming summers and brutal winters common in Pennsylvania, Frank noticed a reoccurring crack opening up in the apex of their ceiling. “It’s been repaired many times, but due to the shifting ceiling always comes back over time.”

His solution was a simple one – covering the crack with a wooden beam – but the practicalities of this great home improvement idea were daunting.

“My wife and I talked about a beam, but because of the weight and amount of work involved, I kept putting it off.”

Eventually, Frank’s wife came up with a solution: A faux wood ceiling beam.

“She said that maybe we could buy a beam on line and keep it simple. Taking her advice, I looked on line and found www.fauxwoodbeams.com.”

The first challenge Frank encountered was the length of his cathedral ceiling: “Our room was longer than the biggest faux beam by about 8 inches.”

Fortunately, he had a brilliant idea about how to solve this problem – and we were happy to help.

Alan used a sample length to complete the illusion of a single, seamless wooden beam

“I requested a sample of the beam we were considering,” Frank wrote. “The typical length of sample was around 6 inches. I requested a sample about 9 inches and Fauxwoodbeams.com was very accommodating.”

After checking that they were happy with the sample, Frank went ahead and ordered the full-sized beam – one of our Regal Ceiling Beams. “Sure, the shipping was expensive, but worth it. It came in one long piece and undamaged.”

Now, with the 9 inch sample and the beam itself, he had the beginnings of a beam long enough to cover his cathedral ceiling. “I glued the two pieces together and let it cure. Afterwards, I used an automotive “Bondo” material and filled in the part lines. I sanded and primed, and repeated as necessary.”

Installation was straightforward – for the most part.

“The trick was how to get the beam into the bedroom in the first place, located on the second floor. In the end, we managed to bring it in through the bathroom window.”

“My wife, son and I positioned the beam close to the ceiling and I secured it with glue that I purchased from fauxwoodbeams.com and a power nailer.”

Once installed, the finishing touches were straightforward. “All that remained to be done was to fill the nail holes, caulk the edges and have the room painted. Now it was up, installed and looked beautiful.”

“My wife could not have been happier. “Mission accomplished” and now there are no more cracks in the cathedral ceiling joint.”

Jack had already used our faux ceiling beams and mantels to great effect.

Jack’s beautiful home is an impressive display of interior design. He’s used our Rough Sawn Ceiling Beams to elegantly enhance the sloping ceiling, and matched them with faux wood mantels and corbels on the wall.

But the touch that really impressed us was the way Jack also framed an interior staircase with our faux ceiling beams – building an artificial lintel from leftover Rough Sawn Ceiling Beam pieces and our matching Rough Sawn Corbels.

“Sheet rock was simply cut away from an underlying beam,” Jack explained, when he sent us pictures of the terrific job he did, “and then a left over piece of beam was slid into place.”

“I utilized sawn corbels, and also split off the faces of another partial woodland beam to back fill behind the ceiling beams, since they originally had a small gap that I wished to see filled.” The results are impressive – giving the impression that a length of exposed wooden beam frames the staircase and corridor.

Almost as impressive is how long this subtle, but significant redesign took (or rather, didn’t.) “It took about an hour. This was a very easy job requiring only minor adjustments.”

The additional wood beam makes it appear as if the ceiling is supported by the beams, and not the other way around.

The home design details were complimented by other improvements Jack had planned: “We added a granite and marble floor. Now the room really feels warm.”

So far, Jack’s been pleased with the reaction his hard work has garnered. “Those who have seen the results can’t believe them,” he admitted – and also added that he has further plans for improving the room.

“I’m looking forward to completing my “old world look” design,” he wrote, “and have a faux rock wall on the opposite side of the room planned for next year.” Just as he’s looking forward to completing his redesign, we’re looking forward to seeing the results. Make sure to send us pictures, Jack!

Built overlooking the Sunshine Coast, Michel’s home is nothing short of a contradiction – built using the latest materials and techniques, but designed to resemble more traditional homes built decades – or even centuries – earlier.

Period fixtures compliment the Faux Ceiling Beams

That theme is most evident inside – where hardwood floors and enormous windows combine to give a real “country manor” air to the property. It’s an ambiance matched by period-style furniture and medieval collectables hanging from the wall.

Very clear is that a home like this would look completely out of place without the solidity of wooden beams hanging from the ceiling. This is presumably why Michel ordered them before the first bricks had even been laid.

“The beams arrived on time for our new house construction,” Michel wrote, when he sent us pictures of his faux Timber Ceiling Beams after they were mounted. “They were installed in one day and the effect is stunning.”

We don’t disagree – and think that Michel’s done an equally stunning job making sure that these brand-new beams look like they’ve hung from the ceiling for a century or more.

That authenticity is what Michel admits he was going for. He seems to take a lot of pride in admitting: “None of our friends believe that they are not real wood.” You can’t blame his friends, either. His Timber Ceiling Beams are intricately molded from authentic, hand-hewn timbers – and Michel went a step further by perfectly staining them to match the décor. It’s this extra touch which makes the beams so difficult to pick out as “not the real thing.”

Although built recently, faux wood beams make Michael's property appear much older and more venerable.

Just like with every other aspect of his homemaking, Michel completed the faux wood illusion with a little accessorizing. If you examine the photographs, you’ll see that one of the reasons these Timber Ceiling Beams look so authentic is that they’re all accessorized with a pair of color-matched Timber Corbels.

That look mimics how older buildings would have had similar beam supports sticking out of the wall; poking through the plaster that traditionally covered timber framed interior walls.

Michel’s use of our faux wood products is incredibly impressive because it shows real vision on his part. Even before his stunning new home construction was completed, he’d worked out how to use modern design components to mimic traditional construction techniques. The result is brand new home that looks absolutely traditional and original.

That’s a rule reinforced by the incredible job Duane did transforming the ceiling of his room with our faux wood Rustic Ceiling Beams.

BEFORE: Duane's ceiling was broad and bare.

As you can see from the “before” pictures, Duane’s beautiful Maine home had a stunning arched ceiling that looked kind of bleak. A ceiling fan, dark wood furniture and hunting trophies created a beautiful rustic vibe that didn’t quite live up to its potential, overshadowed by the wide expanse of plain, white gypsum board on the ceiling.

Duane’s answer was that simplicity I mentioned: Installing five rows of faux wood ceiling beams to help add depth and gravitas to the arched ceiling and match the rest of his stylish décor. That’s where things go complicated, though. Settling on faux wood was easy – but which particular beams to go for was a little tougher!

“The number of products available surprised me,” Duane admitted, when he sent us pictures of “before” and “after.” “That meant the ability to order samples was extremely handy.” Eventually, Duane selected a row of our Rustic Ceiling Beams, which were molded from an authentic, hand-hewn wooden beam.

Rustic beams are available pre-finished, intricately detailed to perfectly resemble real timber beams. Duane, however, wanted his to match the rest of the wood in his home, so ordered them unfinished.

“The only problem we had was with the color formula for staining. The color as mixed at our local store was not just right.” Fortunately, this was another problem Duane was quick to find a solution to. “The clerk was able to add the right amount of colorant to get the color close enough for us.”

AFTER: Faux wood beams add a beautiful rustic touch

The results speak for themselves – and almost as remarkable is the short length of time they took to accomplish. Installing real wood beams would be a lengthy process, involving several big, strong men to lift the weighty wood into position. Duane’s incredible ceiling design took just three days, instead.

“We spent three days on the project: one day for staining, one day for laying out the ceiling blocks and one day putting up the beams.” It’s astonishing just how much the room was transformed in such a small space of time – and it’s clear that Duane and his family are very satisfied with how it turned out.

“We are very happy with the product,” he signs off, “and it gave us the look we wanted in our great room.”

Have you had results that rival Duane’s? Why not do what he did, and send in your pictures. We’d love to feature them right here!

Our artificial wooden beams are an environmentally-responsible alternative to real wood

There are many practical reasons why you’d want to choose artificial wooden beams over the real thing. They’re more practical, affordable and look as good than the real thing.

But you might be unaware that artificial wood beams are also better for the planet. Here’s why:

• They Save Trees

The most obvious benefit to the environment is that our artificial wooden beams don’t require a tree to be cut down to make them. Although molded from real wood timbers, our beams are actually made from tough, durable polyurethane.

• They’re Clean

Our state-of-the-art manufacturing process doesn’t use any chlorofluorocarbons – the compounds that deplete the ozone layer. We also use sophisticated machines that cut down waste to a bare minimum, which is better for the environment (and makes our artificial wood beams more affordable.)

• They’re Healthy

Our polyurethane wood beams are chemically inert, making them totally safe for installation inside the home. This is an improvement over composite beams, which can contain chemicals like formaldehyde, or artificial beams made out of Styrofoam – a possible human carcinogen.

Faux wood beams are also finished with water-based stains rather than solvent based ones, and weigh a fraction of what solid timber beams do – saving gas and reducing emissions delivering and transporting them.

But perhaps the most important benefit is that artificial wood beams offer a faux alternative to rare and endangered species of wood, like our pecky cypress beam.

Pecky cypress is a type of lumber riddled with holes caused by rare type of fungus – one only present in the oldest of cypress trees. These irreplaceable trees are currently being over-harvested to the point of extinction because of their beautiful holey appearance.

Our artificial alternative allows you to enjoy the rustic beauty of pecky cypress in your home, without contributing to the demand for this endangered wood or driving it closer to extinction.

So whether you’re adding faux wood beams, a simulated wooden mantle or wooden corbels, you don’t just have the satisfaction of knowing you got the best looking product for your money – you also know you got the product that’s best for the environment as well.

Timber Simulated Wood Beams

That’s because those top TV interior designers keep a few tricks up their sleeves to work their onscreen magic – and here’s one of the best: Look up.

Look up, because your ceiling holds the key to one of their most effective design secrets. In fact, just a few changes to that commonly overlooked (or is that under looked) part of your room have the power to transform your living space.

The irony is that most people’s ceilings never get much more than a fresh coat of paint during a home remodel – and by ignoring their roof, most homeowners ignore the opportunity to transform their room.

Ceiling Beam Choices: Real, Reclaimed or Simulated Wood?

Woodland Simulated Wood Beams

For those living in older homes, exposing existing wooden beams is a fairly simple affair. You’ll need to pull down the plasterboard or beams covering them up and invest in new plasterboard.

And even those living in more modern homes can benefit from the design details wooden beams bring. Obviously, you won’t be able to expose existing architectural beams if your ceiling doesn’t have them – but you can always add your own.

Depending on the style and décor of your house, adding wooden beams to your ceiling could be nothing short of an interior design inspiration. Give your design plan some serious thought before hand; and if you think they make a match, you have two options:

Reclaimed Wood Box Beams

Your second, more practical option could be the use of simulated wooden beams. These are hollow wooden beams created specifically for mimicking the look of exposed beams, without the installation headaches.

There are many options to plump for when it comes to simulated wooden beams. For lightness and cost, you could choose polyurethane molds of real exposed timbers, which perfectly match the look of authentic wooden beams. Alternatively, go one step further with hollow beams made from actual reclaimed wood – which takes the exposed beam aesthetic one step further.

Simulated Wood Advantages

There are more advantages – not just regarding cost. The use of simulated wood beams also offers you a much broader choice of color and style and the ability to match many beams perfectly – which isn’t such an easy task when using full size, timber beams. These advantages mean you can cost-effectively match all your beams to the style and décor of your redesigned room.

Of course, simulated wooden beams aren’t for every home. They work best in larger rooms with higher ceilings – offering a new visual dimension that makes your living space look larger and broader. For smaller rooms, they can often make things cozier and more closed in (although, design gurus, perhaps that’s the look you’re going for?)

Regardless, if you’re considering using simulated wooden beams in your latest design project, check out our photo gallery, which features many styles of their simulated wood beams being used in kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and even further afield. They’re a great source of inspiration – and even better, the pictures are accompanied by design tips and tricks you won’t find on those home improvement shows.