Why all the blond wood?

[tullemor1]

I am so looking forward to our holidays on the canals, that every spare moment I have, I look at canalboat and read blogs.

 

And I am wondering about one thing. Why does all the canalboats have blond fake wood on the inside? Doesen't those plates you cover the walls with come in anything else than blond wood? The boats are so colorful on the outside and one should think that traditionally they couldn't have had that material on the inside because blond wood is not something you produce a lot of in UK and those plates were not invented, the people along the canals were all poor and as we know real wood is expensive specially in UK.

 

Blond wood is also typical Scandinavian but not all typical English. And of course we know that blond wood (pine) is better for the world than wood from the rainforest. But we talk about fake wood here, you should be able to have it in any wood type you like, why not fake mahogny, which is a material used a lot in boats.

[Chris J W]

I suppose it because it makes the interior feel roomier and airey, and is better for reflecting light so making it much lighter in the boat.

 

Personally, I've oak floorboards and oak-faced ply which I generally love, but have been times when it's felt a little 'gloomy'.

[BlueStringPudding]

It's followed interior fashion, that's all. Furniture, kitchens etc have been in blond woods for the last ten or more years. It's just starting to change in interiors, with glossy coloured kitchens, dark wood floors and patterned fabrics comign back in. That'll happen with boat interiors too.

[Strads]

would agree - its about fashion / taste and what people feel is appropriate eg traditional looking / modern finish..

 

scumbling is always a mid oak colour to my mind so fairly traditional..

 

we are going for a combination to try and lessen the dark tube, but also have floors and work surfaces that are a sensible colour for purpose - darker so that they appear less tarnishded/stained etc by the passage of time..

 

still to paint or to varnish - that is the question...

[Gary Peacock]

It's all down to personal choice really, but the lighter finishes reflect light and make for a generally lighter boat.

 

The new trend seems to be to forget about the wood finishes and paint it, with the market being very much residential driven these days it seems to make sense.

[carlt]

The general population on the cut is an aging one.

 

They are more aware of their mortality than young folk and curiosity leads them to see what the inside of a coffin feels like.

[BlueStringPudding]

It's all down to personal choice really, but the lighter finishes reflect light and make for a generally lighter boat.The new trend seems to be to forget about the wood finishes and paint it, with the market being very much residential driven these days it seems to make sense.

It's true that the residential use of narroboats means they're likely to follow similar interior trends. One boat we looked at at Sawley last year, had been painted inside with silver ceilings and blue and white walls, IKEA blue and white shelving - looked like something from Changing Rooms; but it certainly made it feel more "residential" than boaty.

The general population on the cut is an aging one. They are more aware of their mortality than young folk and curiosity leads them to see what the inside of a coffin feels like.

[tullemor1]

It's true that the residential use of narroboats means they're likely to follow similar interior trends. One boat we looked at at Sawley last year, had been painted inside with silver ceilings and blue and white walls, IKEA blue and white shelving - looked like something from Changing Rooms; but it certainly made it feel more "residential" than boaty.

Thank you for all your answers. I especially liked the one with the coffin (which is what I think about blond wood). Then I have a father who offered (and got yes) to panel at least one room (and mostly more) in all the places we have lived with Norwegian wood. It gives me a bit of claustrophobia, so I have spent a big part of my life painting old blond wood (which behaves just like blond hair - as it gets older it turns into mousy brown, but unlike for hair, you can't get bleach for it) in all the old houses I have lived.

 

And we have a Scottish sailboat from 1972 with it's original "looking-almost-like-mahogny" finish in both the interor and outside, which is a point a lot of people find very attractive about that boat and it is. But then again, there is no reason to try to make a 22 sailboat look roomier and change it. It's cramped quarters no matter what you do. Actually I am looking for a nice tartan for the beds to finish the "Scottish" look, in spite of the fact that I know that it will be even darker. We live in Norway and only use the boat in the summer - and then dark is nice! I want no "fashion statement" for my boat, I am not going to change those covers more than once in my life!

[Speedwheel]

Why is pine 'fake wood'?

 

Remember not all boats are the same. I have (solid) mahogony beams with pyranah and pitch pine 3/4 inch thick 6 inch wide boards.

 

Edit... also don't forget that thanks largely to Ikea, Scandinavian is the new English

Edited February 29, 2008 by Satellite

[blackrose]

I am so looking forward to our holidays on the canals, that every spare moment I have, I look at canalboat and read blogs.

 

And I am wondering about one thing. Why does all the canalboats have blond fake wood on the inside? Doesen't those plates you cover the walls with come in anything else than blond wood? The boats are so colorful on the outside and one should think that traditionally they couldn't have had that material on the inside because blond wood is not something you produce a lot of in UK and those plates were not invented, the people along the canals were all poor and as we know real wood is expensive specially in UK.

 

Blond wood is also typical Scandinavian but not all typical English. And of course we know that blond wood (pine) is better for the world than wood from the rainforest. But we talk about fake wood here, you should be able to have it in any wood type you like, why not fake mahogny, which is a material used a lot in boats.

 

Haven't you been watching those property programmes over the last 10 yars or so? It's all about neutral colours - everything's got to look bland so that when you come to sell it doesn't take too much imagination for the prospective purchaser to picture themselves there. Think boat ladder!

 

Actually I've got fake oak lining in my boat and that's not blonde.

[Keeping Up]

Our wood certainly isn't blond. We've got T&G pine stained to a warm golden colour, plus plenty of lovely Iroko and Afromorsia. That's how we wanted it when the boat was built 16 years ago, and it's still how we want it. It's old-fashioned I suppose but I don't care: I hate the pale washed-out plywood you see inside most boats these days, but in the end it's just down to personal taste.

[Chertsey]

Tullemor, you should have a look at some traditionally painted back cabins if you can ... see what you think of that.

[tullemor1]

Tullemor, you should have a look at some traditionally painted back cabins if you can ... see what you think of that.

First of all, I don't think pine wood is fake at all, and it looks so nice when painted! Plastic covered plates in a freshly chopped pine finish, I call fake.

 

I have looked at canal boats for sale, and every one of them had that looking-almost-like-new-pine finish. I think the blond wood rave came with IKEA in the 70s but even they have let themselves be inspired by Carl Larsson (the Swedish painter) who painted all his pine, so I guess IKEA not only meant for us to assmble the furniture we bought there, they obviously also had in mind that we should paint it (like traditional Scandinavian furniture). Which we started doing here by the end of the 70s!

 

We get a lot of British TV here, and one of the shows I find "fascinasion of the horrible" (because I would kill if anybody did that to me) is a show called 60 minute makeover. They go in to people's homes and make up four rooms in they're house. The people get eveeything new, including "personal stuff" like nick nacks and china. When the TV team is finished, they have often transformed perfectly cosy English style houses into Scandinavian nightmares: Minimalistic and modern places in blond wood and icy colors! Which, by the way, we can afford to heat up to cosyness here (although we too favour much cosier interiors than that - and we paint!), but you can not. Electricity is way to expensive for that in UK, which I guess is why your traditional style is much cosier. You can make a room look (and feel) warmer by having carpets, cushions, curtains, stuffed furniture etc.

 

But like someone here said, the boats might be easier to sell in nutral colors. White is both neutral and gives more light than blond wood, and I haven't seen boats that have been white on the inside either.

 

So can anybody guide me towards pictures of how a traditional canal boat used to look like on the inside? And may be a new one in a more Bed and Breakfasty style?

[cheshire~rose]

So can anybody guide me towards pictures of how a traditional canal boat used to look like on the inside? And may be a new one in a more Bed and Breakfasty style?

 

That is a good question!

 

I thought it would be easy enough to find a few images of the inside of a traditional boatmans cabin ...... perhaps I am looking in the wrong place?

does anyone else know where there are some?

[grunders]

There are some pictures here of the inside of Hadar's boatmans cabin.

 

OK, so it's a new build, but I think it shows what the traditional boatman's cabin should look like.

[tullemor1]

There are some pictures here of the inside of Hadar's boatmans cabin.

 

OK, so it's a new build, but I think it shows what the traditional boatman's cabin should look like.

 

 

What a lovely boat. I could move in there tomorrow. And exactly what I mean, no need for you guys to copy IKEA when it can become so lovely with not only English, but typical canal boat style even. And a lot of wood there also, but more the oak or birch (trees more common in UK than pine I guess) variety. Modern but in the style of the canal boats.

 

Thank you.

 

Who ownes the boat by the way?

[grunders]

What a lovely boat. I could move in there tomorrow. And exactly what I mean, no need for you guys to copy IKEA when it can become so lovely with not only English, but typical canal boat style even. And a lot of wood there also, but more the oak or birch (trees more common in UK than pine I guess) variety. Modern but in the style of the canal boats.

 

Thank you.

 

Who ownes the boat by the way?

 

 

Keith and Jo Lodge own Hadar. They have a blog at http://narrowboathadar.blogspot.com/

Edited March 5, 2008 by grunders

[cheshire~rose]

And a lot of wood there also

 

Well done Grunders for that awesome picture show! It is a lovely boat..........

 

A lot of what at first appears to be a hard wood especially in the boatmans cabin is in fact scumbling and so it is very possibly pine underneath the paint.

Its been beautifully done though.