Faux Wood Workshop

Simona Dombrauskaite, from Florida, sent in a video of her kitchen remodeling project that shows us experts how it’s done!

Simona’s family installed our faux wood Timber beams in record time.

When it came to redecorating their beautiful kitchen, Simona’s family decided to go all out. They created a full-wood look by pairing laminate roofing with our Timber beams – and then installed them in record time. You can see the results in the video below. It’s pretty impressive!

In our defense, the time-lapse probably helped. But regardless, Simona’s video illustrates just how easy our beams are to put into place. While installation took just a few seconds on video, it only took minutes or hours more in real life – showing how the whole process can be accomplished over the course of a weekend, or on a day off.

Unlike the real things – which can easily weigh over 100lbs – faux wood beams can be moved into position by a single person, and they attach to ceilings with mounting blocks and regular screws. They can also be mounted to a variety of ceiling surfaces; which is something Simona and her family took full advantage of.

They decided to give their kitchen ceiling the full-wood look by pairing the beams with laminate boarding, similar to the stuff many people use on their floors at home. They installed the laminate first, plank by plank, then drilled mounting blocks straight through which they installed the Timber beams on.

The results look great, largely because the laminate they picked matched our Timber beams perfectly. Another option they could have gone for, though, was a full ceiling system from FauxWoodBeams.com; one that includes matching faux wood panels which can cover a larger area than laminate beams, and looks just as good (if not better.)

We love to receive videos and pictures from customers about how they used our products in their homes. If you have a video you’d like to share with us, make sure to drop us an email at info@fauxwoodbeams.com. We’d love to feature it here!

Leah, from Pennsylvania, wrote to us with a question about how to install our faux ceiling beams for her kitchen remodeling project:

“My husband and I have decided that your faux wood beams are just the thing to suit the sloping ceiling in our new kitchen – but we have a question. Our kitchen is about 20’ long. How many beams should we install? And how far apart should they be?”

This is actually a common question – and there’s no right or wrong answer. That being said, we’ve got some information that might help:

Spacing beams is the key to making your faux beam project look authentic

Our beams are molded in tough and durable polyurethane to look exactly like the real thing; so obviously we recommend installing our artificial wood beams in a manner consistent with how “real” wood beams would appear on your roof or ceiling.

Traditionally, wooden beams were structural – so the distance between beams was more about how much support a ceiling needed, rather than what looked best.

If you’re considering installing faux beams, you should consider that when deciding how far apart you want to space them. Check out our guide to spacing faux wood beams.

The beams are also available in a range of thicknesses, so keep that in mind when planning how to install them.

In real building, thicker beams obviously gave more structural support – so you’d need fewer of them. That should be mirrored depending on the size of the beams you’ve ordered.

As a good rule of thumb, our most popular faux ceiling beams are sold in thicknesses of between 4” and 6”. In real design, you’d probably space structural wood beams about four feet apart if they were of that thickness. Therefore a convincing look can be achieved by spacing your own beams that far apart.

Thinner beams, like our 2½” beams, are created to mirror the interior ceiling beams used between the stories of older houses. These would generally be placed no more than two feet apart from each other, to give adequate support to the floorboards.

Finally, our thickest beams are the same size as sturdy structural wood beams that could practically support the entire weight of an older home. For a look that stays true to the way ceiling beams were traditionally used, you can separate our largest beams by as much as eight feet.

Remember, though, that you have a major advantage traditional builders didn’t: You’re not a slave to physics or architecture. If you feel what sounds right “on paper” won’t look good when they’re installed on your ceiling, you should adjust your installation to suit.

Ultimately, this is what Leah did when we gave her some advice on installation.

“My husband and I measured out the entire ceiling and marked the dead center line between one end of the room and the other. This was where we installed our first beam.”

“From there, we measured out the remaining space on either side of this central beam and considered what would look best. We were installing your 6” x 4” Faux Chamfered Beams and were aiming to separate them by at least four feet.

In the end, through, we realized that would look kind of goofy and asymmetrical; with the second row of beams closer to the wall than they were to the central beam.”

“So instead, we split the difference and added second and third beams midway between the wall and the central beam – a distance of 5” either side. It looked great and once they’d been installed, they looked just like they were authentic supporting timber beams.”

Our faux ceiling beams have many advantages, but perhaps the biggest is the freedom to install them how you want, according to your taste and design ideas. It’s one way in which faux wood doesn’t just look like the “real thing” – sometimes you can make it look even better.

If you have any suggestions or tips on how far apart to space your beams, let us know. Send an email and pictures to info@fauxwoodbeams.com.

There are many elements that need to come together to make a kitchen appear cozy and welcoming rather than utilitarian. Cupboards, flooring, lighting and countertops are just a few of the things that need to be considered for the heart of the home. But what about the ceiling?

Brenda and her family from Santa Rosa, CA installed Woodland faux wood ceiling beams in their kitchen as an “easy and a fun project to do together”. Brenda sent us these photos to show off the beautiful final result. Way to go!