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Wooden panels, wooden flooring and wooden tops are all the rage these days! Used appropriately, they add an uber chic and flavor to your house. However, if you overdo it, you’re in for some really high maintenance costs. Now, let’s see the many ways to use wood in the house in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Typically, wood is used for the following purposes:
Ways to use wood in the house’s Structure
Timber is commonly used in construction. Log homes and cabin walls are built with timber visible from both the inside and the outside. With timber-frame homes, one can opt to leave interior or exterior structural elements such as support posts, rafters and beams exposed, showcasing the elements of featured handcrafted and skilled joinery.
The use of timber in interior design is also very commonplace.
In Pakistan, most wooden houses are built up-north where the temperatures are much lower. For the rest of the country, ways to use wood in the house primarily include in interior accents and for the great outdoors.
INTERIOR ACCENTS
There are countless ways to innovatively introduce more wood materials into your home, from elegant and modern wooden designs to purposefully exposed wood. The use of wood in modern interior design has been personified with an elegant feel.
A star feature of any home that is often overlooked is the flooring. A wooden flooring design adds a natural warmth, softness and organic feel to the space as a whole. You can use the color of the wood to your advantage; a lighter shade will open up small rooms while darker shades can make large spaces feel ‘homey.’
Not only loved for its aesthetic appeal, but wooden flooring is also strong and durable and has natural insulating and sound-absorbing characteristics to boot. Wood ceiling and wall cladding are another easy way to add detailing to home interiors with log siding accents, wall cladding, roofs, ceilings and exposed roof beams. Not only do they look great, but the timber also makes for a great natural insulator.
For other interior wood trim accents, look towards features like a fireplace or bay windows, or a central feature such as a front door or staircase along with a handrail or baluster system.
One can even add subtle timber detailing such as door tracks, architraves, dado rails etc in varying styles to create attractive and appealing detailing without overshadowing an entire room or space.
OUTDOOR LIVING
Design an exterior porch or patio areas, pergola, pool house or garden shed to give your new or existing home a touch of contemporary wooden design. These days decks and patios are creating a lot of noise amongst home owners for their design, versatility, and ability to increase the value of your house.
A deck, typically made of wood or composite product, is a raised structure, most often attached to your house. Wooden decks can be a few inches or several feet above grade and require a supporting structure underneath. This structure is most often also made of wood but can be made with poured concrete pillars for extra strength.
By comparison, a patio is more often made of concrete or stone. It typically sits at grade but can be raised if your property is on a slope. Because a patio needs less structural support, it can be built next to your home, or elsewhere on your property to give you an opportunity to enjoy a garden or a pool, for example.
Moreover, you can build a small wooden den if you have the space. These are all the rage nowadays, and can offer you privacy and comfort within the confines of your house. Outdoor wooden furniture will further amplify your aesthetic appeal. But if you live in a relatively hotter region, then these tips will help you keep your furniture brand new.
Concrete V/S Wood: Which Is Better And Why?
Now that we’ve told you about all the ways to use wood in the house, we shall now consider why for eg in Pakistan the use of wood in structures is not so widespread. One of the top qualities of concrete is its pliability and high strength. Concrete is hard when dry, yet flexible when wet; enough to be molded into any shape. This lends it the dimensional stability needed for both, outdoor structures and indoor installations, and allows for creative expression.
Concrete tends also becomes stronger over time, further fortifying the structure. In comparison, wood is less dense and thus, less durable.
Another advantage of concrete is that it can be manipulated to any desired strength and casted on site, thereby making it an economical choice.
Additionally, it can withstand winds of up to 250 miles an hour. Concrete houses also have deeper foundations which makes it suitable for zones vulnerable to tornadoes and hurricanes.
In comparison to wood, concrete is durable, sound proof, energy efficient, and is cost effective. Concrete saves in insurance costs by way of maintenance and incurs lesser cost in construction.
But, that’s not all! Wood can be used in a number of ways where it wins an advantage over concrete. It looks chic and doesn’t erode. Wooden flooring, especially in the kitchen is a pleasant edition. Look at our guide for timeless appeal in kitchens, and decide whether you should go for such a flooring or not. But, bear in mind, as beautiful as the wooden floors are, they require a lot of maintenance. You can find all such tips of maintaining wooden floors from our guide. If you already have these at home, you can check out this guide on refinishing your floors.
By now, we hope to have convinced you for installing wooden flooring in your homes. Wooden stains are hard to remove, but easy home remedies will help you remove stains from your wooden furniture or pieces.
This is all for our blog on the ways to use wood in the house. Go over our guides and decide what suits you best!
Keep reading more home décor tips and tricks on Zameen Blog. We’d also love to receive your comments and suggestions on the posts at blog@zameen.com.
