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Thread: Can There Ever Be "Too Much" Wood?

  1. #1
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    Can There Ever Be "Too Much" Wood?

    I've been working on a kitchen remodel for my neighbor for the past few months. His brother, who is a realtor, says he will never be able to sell the house because there's too much wood. What do you think?

    Standing at new kitchen bar (tigerwood on the left, maple veneer plywood on back wall)


    Panning to the right


    Turning 180, pecky Bolivian walnut face frames on bar cabinet face frames. Drywalled wall will have horizontally run zebrawood


    To the immediate left of the above picture - Window frame on right is bloodwood. There will be two (2) bi-fold windows replacing the insulboard. Tigerwood paneling on the left. Awning windows will be framed in bloodwood.


    Looking from other side of the kitchen bar - Tigerwood under bar. Zebrawood will be on left wall but not over patio door. Bar top will likely be live edge Norfolk Island pine.


    Too much wood? Not enough? Just right?
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  2. #2
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    I'd have to see pictures. From the written word it sounds like a lot of different materials in a small space. While exciting to woodworkers this can be an onslaught to the unenthusiastic eye. There is also the matter of personal taste. I do get tired of people who say things like "you'll never get your money out of it" or "you're killing your curb appeal" as if the only reason we bought a home was to sell it. I buy a home to make it my own. If that means "Tigerwood paneling on the left. Awning windows will be framed in bloodwood" then that is what I will have. Some people watch too much HGTV and think resale value is the driving force behind what we do to our homes.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #3
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    I'm all for the wood look, but the realtor is partially correct. They will recommend "brightening" it up by painting the wood before they list it. Makes me sick to think about it. Oh the miles of beautiful old period correct oak and SYP trim that i've thrown away because it was painted into oblivion for similar reasons.

    That being said, it's the current owners house, who cares what the next will want.

  4. #4
    Some people like the look of wood, but it can be overwhelming from an aesthetic standpoint.

    Its all about trends and styles, this is where the realtor is coming from. Way back, certain styles of homes like craftsman had ton's of wood panelling and built up mouldings. Our house was built in the early 60's all the base and doors were beautifully stained tight grain fir with heart pine floors. The entire kitchen and all the doors were fir veneered.

    Now its all replaced with "modern" painted trim, 6 panel solid doors, and the floor is covered over with engineered flooring. My hickory kitchen is getting refaced and painted.

    Painted kitchen cabinets used to be a sign of a cheap kitchen, not anymore!!

    But to your question, he probably would have been better off with painted cabs.
    Last edited by Robert Engel; 02-24-2021 at 9:46 AM.

  5. #5
    Simple answer is yes.

  6. #6
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    "Too Much" is very much a subjective thing. But how it's designed and done matter, soo. All wood can become "too busy" if care isn't taken to balance the "busy" with "not busy". If one uses highly figured panels in the doors, straight, rift-sawn material for rails and styles balance the "busy" with the "not busy", for example. So yes..."too much" can be a factor if there's no balancing influence from a design/style perspective.

    That said, in real estate it can be one of those things that makes a home attractive to a 'special buyer" but not attractive to many others. Trust me, as an owner of a very unique home, it does decrease the buyer pool as well as not reflect easily for appraisal since it makes comparable sales harder to identify.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
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    No.. (as long as 95% of it is painted white)

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jared Sankovich View Post
    No.. (as long as 95% of it is painted white)
    You win the Internet today.
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    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    Basically, people that are woodworkers have no problem with seeing lots of wood. However, the "style" on the home improvement shows is no wood or paint the wood so it doesn't look like wood. For example, if you put up wood, it has to be " Ship Lap" even though half of the people don't even know how ship lap actually made. I watch a show just last night where they painted cherry cabinets white and removed a bunch of them to be replaced with colored painted cabinets, because wood isn't "modern".
    Lee Schierer
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  10. #10
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    If the owner is happy that's all that matters. I've never thought about resale value when I decided to do something inside or outside my home. Kitchens and baths are the most remodeled rooms in a house. Whatever you do now will be gone in 25 years or less regardless.

    John

  11. #11
    My house has all hardwood floors and the great room walls are all old vertical softwood boards - all the way to the 16.5 foot ceiling. At the insistance of my ex wife two of the walls, the ones with the most openings, are painted. But the two larger wood walls are still wood. The kitchen cabinets are also commercially made stained wood. Bathroom are a mixture of painted and real wood cabinets. Mostly painted. Trim is all painted and all uniform throughout (one of the changes I made). Both staircases now have stairs within code in dimensions with natural oak treads and painted (white) risers. I think that there is room for some variety in finishes but what you describe sounds like too much. I have no intension of painting any more walls in my great room. But I do not hate the fact that two walls are the same color as all the other walls in the house.

  12. #12
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    Good realtors know these things.

    You just have to decide whether resale is important. It is to almost everyone I know. Wood colors and patterns can be hard to match with furniture, carpet, wall decor, etc. That means a knock down in price as a buyer calculates what it will cost to "fix" it.

  13. #13
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    somebody will buy the house when it goes on market
    some will tear the kitchen out and replace all of it
    some will paint everything in it white or other neutral color
    someone will love it and buy the house JUST for the kitchen IF they are one of the first ones in the house
    When WE bought my house new in 1999 it had gray carpet, WE liked the carpet and how the house laid out, by the time our old house sold and we put a contract on this house, enough other people complained about the color of the carpet, the builder stated go to showroom and pick out whatever new carpet you want. Told the builder we were staying with what was here, got a $4500+- discount on house, house had 10% off of list price already because original people walked away just before completion . Made the builder replace the vinyl floor due to damage and went with same vinyl
    SO when time comes just need the right person to walk thru that house
    Ron

  14. #14
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    The owner is delighted with it. He's like a kid in a candy store now. Things started out with him just wanting to get it done no matter how it looked. Since I introduced him to these different woods, he's hooked.

    This is how it's come along since yesterday. Hope you can see the pics

    The zebrawood wall (there will be a cooktop and range hood here)




    If anyone can't see the pictures, here's a link to the album here: https://sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=971
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    The owner is delighted with it. He's like a kid in a candy store now. Things started out with him just wanting to get it done no matter how it looked. Since I introduced him to these different woods, he's hooked.

    This is how it's come along since yesterday. Hope you can see the pics

    The zebrawood wall (there will be a cooktop and range hood here)




    If anyone can't see the pictures, here's a link to the album here: https://sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=971
    I don't see any pictures, nor does the link work.

    John

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