Isn’t this ceiling so good? I’m going to teach you how to do it in your house! You don’t need a tray ceiling; you can do the herringbone on a flat ceiling and then if you want you can add some faux beams on the edges.
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Supplies Needed
- Table Saw and Push Stick
- Miter Saw
- Tape Measure
- 1×6 MDF boards (the number depends on the size of your ceiling)
- 3/4″ Oak Plywood
- Speed Square
- Caulk Gun
- Construction Adhesive
- Brad Nailer
- Base Cap Moulding
- Jigsaw (if you are installing around a light fixture)
- Safety Glasses
- Mask
Instead of trying to measure your ceiling to figure out the cuts you want to make, you can measure the area of your ceiling and then tape the dimensions out on the ground.
TIP: Extend the tape beyond the rectangle to make drawing your cuts easier later on.
Then you can figure out about how long your first piece needs to be and cut a bunch to that size. I think mine were around 20 inches. To figure out the position of your first piece, mark the center of the area and mark the center of your first board. Then align the two marks ensuring the board is at a 45 degree angle with your speed square. From here, laying out the rest of your boards is super simple.
Align the next board perpendicular to the first board, aligning the right side of the second board with the top of the first board. Continue placing boards perpendicular to the previous board. for the empty “triangles” above the first and second board you will just place boards parallel with the other boards and they will end up being cut at 45 degrees on both ends.
If you have a wider ceiling and need to add more rows of herringbone (mine only has 1 row), you will decide on a length of your boards and cut them all to the same size. Then after laying your first row (shown in blue boards above) you will lay the adjacent rows (shown in red above) by placing the pieces perpendicular to the previous row and at the second side of the piece.
Now you can take a straight edge and draw a line down all the boards on all four sides at the location of your tape. Here is where extending the tape beyond the rectangle is helpful. Since your boards will be covering the tape rectangle, if you extend the tape out, it makes it easier to align your straight edge to draw your lines. Once the rectangle is drawn on your pattern, you can take each individual piece to your miter saw to make the cut. EVERY cut you make will be a 45 degree cut. Now your pattern is ready to be transferred to the ceiling. Remember that since this is on the ceiling and you laid it out on the ground, you will have to flip the pattern upside down so the primed side of the MDF is not against the ceiling. Alternatively you could have laid your MDF right side down when you were laying out your pattern. If you are using pine or primed pine, you won’t have to worry about this since it is the same on both sides.
If you are installing around a light, you will need to cut out a circle in the design to accommodate the fixture. Make sure to cut it the same size as the light box (usually between 3 and 4″). Mark the location of the light fixture (most likely the center) and then draw the circle around it. Use a jigsaw to cut out the circle.
This next step is the most important! Mark the center of your ceiling on the side your pattern starts on (the top). Then align the center of your first board with the mark and use your speed square to make sure it is angled 45 degrees to the wall. Then you can attach the board with construction adhesive and brad nails. After the first board is placed you will easily be able to place the rest of the boards.
After all the boards are placed, there might be some gaps around the edge but this can easily be covered with trim pieces which I will show later on, but first I will cover the first tray edge with plywood to look like a beam. You can wood fill the nail holes and then you are ready for paint!
If you are doing this on a flat ceiling or a single tray ceiling, you could leave it here or you can continue on by making faux beams along the edges.
The first step is to measure the depth of the first tray to the top of the herringbone pattern. Then you will run your plywood through your table saw with the blade at a 45 degree angle to create strips. To determine the size of your strip, the width to the short end of the bevel is the depth of the tray from the edge to the herringbone board. Then you will need strips cut to the width of the tray. The width of the strip to the short end of the bevel will be equal to the width of the tray.
The layout above of the angles you will need to cut your plywood is upside down. In the first picture, the white paper would be the ceiling where you put the herringbone. Once you have your strips you need to miter them. For the vertical pieces, you will cut the miters with the board oriented vertically. Measure the width and length of the ceiling and these will be your long end to long end cuts. Make sure you cut your miters with the bevel facing the correct direction (see third picture above). For the horizontally oriented strips, you need to cut the miters with the boards laying flat. Measure the length and width of your second tray- these dimensions will be your long end to long end measurements.
Insert the vertical boards first and secure with glue and brad nails. Then you can attach your flat boards matching the miters and the bevels. All the angles might be confusing but once you understand how they match up and that you are working upside down, it is doable! Try cutting scraps first to figure everything out before you cut down your plywood strips.
To cover the gap between the plywood and the herringbone, I just added base cap moulding around the inside, cutting the pieces long end to long end to the width and length of the tray at 45 degrees. I attached with brad nails and then painted the same color as the herringbone.
And that’s it! It may seem hard and complicated but I actually completed this project in a day and a half. As always, let me know if you have any questions. My instagram DM’s are the best way to get in contact with me!
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