A Vaulted Ceiling: Oak Frame?

The last house that my husband built was an oak frame construction. It was beautiful, it was the house he was building when we first met and from that day on we deampt that we would build our own family house and it would be oak frame.

However, after buying nearer to the sea, rather than in the countryside I start to wonder whether an oak frame house was right for this setting? Would a more “Beach Barn” style home be right. or should be feel more like a lighter “Hamptons Beach House”…

We debated it for a long time. We asked friends, family, I even did a poll on Instagram. I think because oak frame is such a wow factor people are instantly impressed by the beautiful wood and the feeling of space that gives but people often don't consider where our house is - does being beside the sea with the oak frame really work?

Below are few examples of the two styles - maybe you have your own opinion

Last week we made the final decision not to go with oak frame which surprised us because it was something we wanted for such a long time. I really hope we've made the right decision, I do think the look we are going for is right for where we are building and as I keep saying in my other posts - we mustn’t live with regret, but accept that a decision made is right at that time.

We will still clad it with old scaffolding boards to give a more rustic beach house feel. We had also toyed with the idea of having painted beams in a Douglas Fir but we thought perhaps that was just a confused compromise.

Please let us know what you think, it might be too late now but always love to know your opinions. I do hope we have made the right choice!