DIY Kitchen Wood Accent Ceiling
I completely demolished my kitchen! Now, I am slowly building it back to make it the kitchen of my dreams. This DIY wood accent ceiling fits my space so perfectly and brings the space to its original 9 ft height!
Table of Contents
Finishing Up Demolition
This tray-style wood accent ceiling is going above the kitchen island that I built last year. My entire ceiling was torn down to the beams. Some areas of my ceiling have plumbing in the way, so I can only bring the accent up to the 9-foot height in one spot.
Framing for the Wood Accent Ceiling
Once I have the space for my ceiling accent cut out, I am framing the edge to create a perfect rectangle. Then, I am adding 2×4 supports across the middle and screwing them into the ceiling joists. I had to shim these up to be level because the plaster ceiling is not level at all. In some spots, I shimmed as much as an inch. It is important that these supports are level because they will be what is holding this wood accent ceiling up.
Prep Work
Now that my ceiling is ready, it is time to cut and prep my plywood. I am starting with a big 4×8 sheet of 1/2-inch thick maple plywood. Next, I am cutting out holes exactly where my lights are going to hang. I found this by holding the plywood sheet up to the ceiling and drawing the circles with a pencil. The sides of the accent will also be plywood, but my dimensions of the opening are 10 feet by about 5.5 feet. For the 10-foot sides, I could not find 10-foot-long plywood, so I joined a few pieces together using a bevel joint, pocket screws, and wood glue.
The sides of this accent are supposed to slant upward towards the 4×8 sheet of plywood. To create a slant I am cutting an angle, like a bevel, on the edge of each piece of plywood. I am making these cuts with my table saw.
Paint Wash for the Wood
Once all of my wood is cut, I am creating a paint wash. This wash is just a little bit of paint in a lot of water. Paint wash allows you to control the finish more than a stain does. In addition, it kind of masks some of the wood grain below. My plywood is not all maple; some of it had to be birch. I knew if I stained it would end up different colors. Making it all match is so important! I also think that this is going to help me blend the seam from connecting multiple pieces of plywood. I am applying one coat, and after about 10 minutes of it soaking it I am going in with a cloth and wiping up the excess. This color matches my island finish so well! When it is fully dry, I am going in with a high-grit sandpaper and knocking down the raised grain. After this, I am sealing it with a spray-on matte poly.
Installation
For the installation of this wood accent ceiling, I had to enlist the help of my husband. These pieces are not easy to hold over your head! To help us, I came in with a 4×4 plank and tensioned it between the sheet of plywood and my kitchen island counter. This worked and let my husband drop his arms. To attach this, I am using panhead screws, and they are going into my wood supports on the ceiling. Now is the moment of truth!! Time to see if my bevel cuts line up with the edge of the sealing and the plywood. When they were pushed into place, the seams were TIGHT. This allows me to just nail my finish nails right through the piece of plywood into my framing and the plywood. I had to do a lot of trial and error with my end pieces, so I recommend using scrap wood first.
Trim Work for the DIY Kitchen Wood Accent Ceiling
Now I am cutting custom trim work. This is for the edges, to cover up where my beautiful plywood tray ceiling meets the drywall. I want to make this edge look pretty; the trim is going to make it look so polished and finished. These have to be cut custom because nothing in the stores fits what I want. I am using the furring strips that I took off the ceiling to make this trim. To get the look I want, I am cutting 30-degree bevels into them and carefully using my table saw to make trim that is 1/8th of inch across. To make these furring strips look good, I have to fill SO many imperfections in the wood then sand them smooth. I am using a primer to seal them.
Finishing Work
Before I can install any of the trim I have to completely finish the ceiling. This includes caulking all of the corners and edges. I am using color-matched caulk to make the edges blend in and disappear. I am also resealing the whole wood accent ceiling with roll-on satin poly. Once this is dry, I am installing my trim. I am installing with a miter joint! Now, I finally get to add the hanging light pendants from Lowe’s. This really brings the whole ceiling feature together!
I hope you love this wood ceiling accent as much as I do. I think it completely transformed my entire kitchen! If you want to see more accent ceiling designs I have done, I have an entire roundup!
