10 creative ideas with wood
From doors to floors, timeless and versatile timber will add warmth and texture to your interior.
#1 OPTION Make a game of it!
A wooden installation makes for an eyecatching feature above the fireplace in Catherine Crawford’s Cape Town home. It was created by the team at Svencraft who interlocked cuts of two different shades of iroko which, together with the wood’s natural horizontal grain, creates a striking visual effect – not unlike a backgammon board! The previous homeowner, architect Sean Mahoney, commissioned the piece; the addition of the round mirror adds texture.
#2 OPTION Pallet perfection
The team at Dala Paints wanted to create a striking entrance to the art studio at their head office in Killarney Gardens, Cape Town. They enlisted the services of Hoity Toity Pallet Chic who made this door using reclaimed pallet planks. They were painted a variety of colours and glued to MDF board cut to fit the doorframe. >> Chair from Chair Crazy; carpet and plant pot from MRP Home
OPTION #3 Divine by design
Doreen de Waal was so inspired by the design of a slatted wooden cupboard she spotted at Weylandts that she decided to use it as a feature in one of her self-catering holiday cottages in Cape Town, InAweStays. It was originally a clothing cupboard but Doreen had the clever idea of using it to conceal the fridge in the kitchen – it’s a perfect match for the poplar countertop and floating box shelves. Doreen had the cupboard custom-fitted to accommodate the fridge and then had the fridge doors attached to the inside of the wooden doors with hinges. Cupboard from Weylandts; pendant from Builders
OPTION #4 Even on your kitchen floor
When Colette Nel renovated her Stellenbosch home in 2008, old parquet tiles were lifted from the entire top storey of the house, including this kitchenette, to be restored and re-used. The tar used to lay them in the 1930s was removed from underneath; they were then sanded, stained and varnished. Colette had the tiles laid in a herringbone pattern to fit in with the French theme in her kitchen. While not a typical choice for a kitchen floor, Colette says the parquet hasn’t presented any problems. “It’s very durable and simply gets washed with a damp, soapy mop.”
OPTION #5 A new look with cladding
Bryan and Celesté Smith were unimpressed with the dated feel of the kitchen wall tiles in their new Port Elizabeth home. So Bryan used pieces of wood from old crates to clad the bottom half of the walls. He secured the planks by drilling screws through the wood and into the tiles and wall behind it. The top and bottom screws were cleverly concealed with a white, wooden border; the middle screws were left as is to fit in with the rustic feel of the kitchen. A lick of paint is all that’s needed if the Smiths want to change the look.
OPTION #6 Forever flowers
When Carla Burger saw these laser-cut wooden flowers on TV, she immediately ordered some from Purple Puppy for her own home in Oude Westhof, Cape Town. Instead of arranging them in a vase, she fixed them to a wall above an oak shelf so that they appear to be growing out of the wood. So clever! >>
#7 OPTION Texture in the bedroom
Werner and Mariaan Botha have always loved the look and feel of Oriented Strand Board, which is lumber made by compressing layers of wood flakes and adhesives. When they couldn’t find it locally, they imported it to make the headboard for the bedroom in their Pretoria home. As it’s not very thick (about 2cm), the couple attached it to a pine board before securing it to the wall. The couple received so many compliments from their friends and family that, together with Werner’s father Gerhard Botha, they’ve since opened up their own woodworking and furniture company, Lumber & Foundry.
#8 OPTION Best for books
Sumari Krige of La Grange Interiors was tasked with designing a bookshelf for a 10-year-old bookworm in a bedroom with limited space but plenty of height. The look had to “speak the same language” as the rest of the understated Bantry Bay home but also be fun enough for a child’s room. Sumari positioned custom-made oak book boxes (grey-washed to match the headboard) above the bed in a seemingly random fashion; more boxes can easily be added as the need arises. >>
#9 OPTION A new dimension
Interior designer and project manager Lei Lester created this 6m² guest bathroom for a Cape Town client. As it’s for guests, the homeowners wanted something a bit different to the rest of their contemporary home. “I love the softness that wood brings to a space,” Lei says. “It immediately tones down a very contemporary look and adds a new dimension. I don’t think there’s a home that can’t incorporate elements of wood in it.” The wooden cladding behind the toilet was recovered from the home’s original floorboards during a renovation. Lei found a piece of wild olive wood while out shopping and when she brought it back, her client decided it was a perfect fit for the bathroom vanity; it was treated with Bostik Marine floor sealant.
OPTION # 10 A visual feast
When Gordon and Lucy Beckett first moved into their Irene home, the guest loo was totally outdated: much to their horror, the floor was carpeted! Inspired by the reclaimed basketweave parquet flooring in the rest of their home, they opted for a striking 3D effect after they’d been shown a sample by their friend and owner of Gablor Woodworking, Braam Burger.
“We would have used this effect in other rooms but it’s an incredibly time-consuming task, so we limited it to our guest loo,” Lucy says. A combination of partridge wood and Zambezi teak offcuts were used to create the effect, while kiaat was used for the border. Braam compiled the tiles by glueing three diamond-shaped pieces together, using various shades of the wood. The couple laid the tiles themselves using water-based adhesive Pekay W598 to secure them in place. “We then sanded and buffed the floor and applied three coats of Woodoc 25 Polyurethane Floor Sealer; we sanded between each coat,” Lucy explains.