Why is flooring installed on the ceiling?

Generally, it's not.

Why do you ask?

Sounds like a prank played on someone that frequently becomes intoxicated.

I'm assuming you mean "wood look" products (like laminate, vinyl, etc)? Simple. People wanted a quick "cabin" look or feel without having to pay the proper price for raw wood that is installed, sanded and finished in place. That's where we get "laminate on the ceiling". Ain't DIY ideas grand?

"...Why is flooring material installed on the ceiling?..."

I've been giving this question a lot of thought...and I think I've found the answer:

You'll appreciate it when the great gravity inversion event comes.

Blame

Thank God HGTV finally did something truly useful...

Or did they...?

My third floor is exposed rafters and sheathing, but it's pretty clearly not flooring.

But I have seen what is clearly flooring used all over the place, particularly in flips. Across the floor and up one wall as an "accent" (along with various other Pinterest doo dads) seems to be popular with one company.

As does a tiled "shower niche" at the top of the stairs, with another company. Nothing surprises me anymore. Except very good craftsmanship.

No need to stop at oak flooring, which, btw, must really wear well.

@Worthy--Now that you Canadians have legalized pot, I'm guessing carpeted ceilings will be back in vogue and Lionel Richie's "Dancing on the Ceiling" will be back on the charts.

My parents put wood planks on the ceiling back in 1988. Contrary to the posts here that ridicule everything (the snark only works if you have “it” btw), it looks great.

Usually wood plank ceilings don't look like flooring though, they look like exposed cladding. (This is what my third floor is). But the HGTV thing looks like prefinished flooring on the ceiling, not exposed cladding.

Wood planks, decking and siding, versus wood flooring are very different things.

I see no issue providing it's an engineered wood flooring plank. At the end of the day they are just veneered plywood planks. As long as this is for interior use only you can use them on floors, walls or ceilings. Being prefinished the job is going to be quick and they offer far more choices in wood/veneer species and finishes than most other materials.

jus chillin' with my doobie, Dude. Now I know where I can put that 1,600 sf of laminate that's been taking up garage space for eight years.

Wha ya think?

My interior designer is big on the whole running the flooring up one wall in the powder bath thing as an accent. We haven’t decided whether to go along or not.

I was more or less wondering it the planks where used to eliminate drywall for a reason.

I get that beams where used for structural purposes and folks want to emulate that look but I've been wondering about the flooring material on the ceiling and walls.

It that simply taken from the cabin looks that eliminates most drywall?

In some situations its intriguing in others it looks very odd. Usually when its a small drywall drop down with the material inset in it.

The prefinished semi-gloss or other finish of many flooring materials looks very odd and out of place on walls and ceilings, IMO. While one may appreciate a "clean", polished look to one's floors, the same finish on walls and ceilings is distracting.

And yet, just in from Dwell...

(At least, it's a selling point for my garage find!)

*****

While one may appreciate a "clean", polished look to one's floors, the same finish on walls and ceilings is distracting.

Context counts.

Seriously, what’s the point of these snarky posts ridiculing so many ideas on this forum? Don’t y’all have other outlets to be “funny”?

Using materials in non-typical ways can be very interesting and yet, the “Pro”s keep trying to be Sophie with a third rate attempt to be funny. Is that the point of a home building forum? At least she knew what she was talking about.

I don’t have painted drywall (or drywall period) in any room in my house, not the walls and not the ceilings. With the current regulars on this site who trash basically everything that doesn’t fit their narrow idea of a house, why would anyone try to get advice on here? To learn that one should put up off white drywall everywhere???

The vermont pic feels like a dark force is looming over your shoulder. Not a fan but to each their own.

Some of the doom and gloom folks here again...

galore, do you know why there isn't any drywall? Did it have to do with durability, look, local material availability?

I suspect some of it is that people want to do wood clad walls or ceilings but don't know how to source the material to go about it. We'll have a wood clad ceiling in our main living area, and the material will come from the millwork company. I'm not sure I would have guessed that if I were trying to figure out where to source itmyself (which is why I have an excellent builder).

annied75

Maybe you were just a bit too young to truly appreciate the versatility and beauty of shag carpeting. Now that cannabis has been legalized here in Canada we might just see a shag carpet revival.

its an easy was to cover up popcorn ceilings !!!!!!!!!

That Vermont wood plank ceiling is most likely by design. For many great examples of the use of wood planking on ceilings and walls just check out the interior work on many of Frank Lloyd Wright designs.

Short term trend, we had plenty of these in the past... Wood paneling, popcorn ceilings, olive appliances, olive green OR pink carpets, shaggy mats in a bathroom, wall of metal /glass tiles kitchen, glass block showers, flowery room border wallpaper, all white houses with all white kitchens and bedrooms, accent walls [with uncoordinated color], lets not forget carpeting in the kitchens and bathrooms, clocks everywhere, wall of tree trunk parts sliced .5" thick, narrow plank wood floors, parquet square tiles, HDTV made at home in 10 minutes decor [only looks good from certain angle]

Let's not forget cedar shake ceilings.

I think it's often a matter of not understanding the original purpose of a building element. Before drywall was a thing, some houses had planks rather than later and plaster. It's possible to replicate this look now, with real planks painted with thinned paint to give an air of age.

Where it goes awry is when someone looks at this and decides that it means lvp will work just as well. And then the next person decides sheet vinyl would work, too.

The more steps you get from a design element having an actual function, the shorter it's lifespan in the design.

Hmm, I had wallpaper put on a ceiling once--stripes and down one wall as an accent. My painter said it was absolutely au courant. (It was an 1880s home, so in retrospect I'm not so sure!)