Holland & Sons Construction
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Live Oak Stairwell Paneling

Jurupa Valley, CA

Read the full project story
The finished stairwell from the lower landing: painted shaker grid below, white oak slats above.
Location
Jurupa Valley, CA
Materials
Primed pine rails and stiles, glued at every joint and to the wall; prefinished tongue-and-groove white oak acoustic slat paneling from Hudson and West Temecula; white oak border milled by Holland & Sons; Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel in a custom color
Timeline
4 days on site (2 days carpentry, 2 days paint); no shop fabrication
Investment
$8,474

The Investment

$8,474

Turn-key total

4 days on site (2 days carpentry, 2 days paint); no shop fabrication

Start to finish, on site.

What drove the cost

  • Planning, layout and material ordering from the designer's plans, including moving one rail to line up flush with the stair cap: $250
  • Lower shaker-style grid in primed pine, materials and install: $2,650
  • Prefinished white oak acoustic slat paneling from Hudson and West Temecula, materials and install: $2,450
  • Custom-milled white oak perimeter border that leaves a shadow line: $724
  • Two days of paint by Aztec General Painting of Perris in Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, custom color match, caulk, fill and prep: $2,150
  • Site protection, ladder and plank setup, cleanup: $250
  • Not included: smooth panel backing behind the grid, solid white oak slat paneling, electrical or lighting changes, and design services; no permit required for this scope

The price is all-inclusive: design, materials, build, paint, and final detailing.

The story

How this project came together.

A two-story Jurupa Valley stairwell paneled from a designer's plans: a painted shaker-style grid below, prefinished white oak acoustic slat paneling above, and a custom-milled white oak border around the edges.

This home sits in a gated community in Jurupa Valley where every house is a one-of-one custom. It was recently built and nothing was broken, but the two-story stairwell, the first thing you see from the front door, was finished as plain painted drywall.

The owners wanted more character, so they hired designer Kathy Hernandez of Kathleen Ann Design. Kathy brought Holland & Sons in to build what she drew: a painted shaker-style grid on the lower walls and prefinished white oak acoustic slat paneling above.

On the plans, one horizontal rail landed at an awkward spot against a stair tread. Brian asked to shift the layout so that rail lines up flush with the top of the stair cap. Kathy said yes, and the whole grid was laid out up and down from a laser set on that line.

The plans ran the slats out to the edge of the wall, but slat panels have raw edges. So the crew milled a white oak border a little thicker than the slats and wrapped the whole perimeter, which leaves a shadow line all the way around.

The primed pine grid is glued at every joint and glued straight to the wall, so the wall texture stays visible inside each panel. Aztec General Painting of Perris then spent two days painting it in Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, in a custom color matched to wallpaper in another room.

Two days of carpentry from a ladder and plank across the stairwell, two days of paint, no shop fabrication, and no permit needed for this scope.

From the upper landing: both walls, the corner, and the oak border running the roofline.
Same hallway view after two days of paint.
What you see walking up the stairs.
The painted grid up close, in a custom color matched to wallpaper elsewhere in the house.
The white oak border sits a little proud of the slats and leaves a shadow line.
Day one. Horizontal rails going on, laid out from a laser line.
The laser line shows the rail landing flush with the top of the stair cap. Everything else was laid out from here.
The white oak border goes on first, so the slats have a clean edge to end against.
Nailing off the oak border from the plank.
Ladder and plank across the stairwell. This is how you reach a wall like this.
The view from downstairs with the slats up and the plank still in place.
The primed pine grid before paint. The wall texture stays visible inside each panel.
Looking down the long wall from the upper stairs, carpentry done, paint still to come.
Carpentry complete: oak slats and border above, primed grid below.
From the upstairs hall, before paint.
Looking up from the stairs once carpentry wrapped.

Services used

The craft behind this project.

Accent Walls

Chevron, board-and-batten, slat, and shiplap walls executed at a millwork level.

Explore service

Wainscoting & Paneling

Board-and-batten, raised panel, and applied moulding, proportioned to your room.

Explore service

Want something like this in your home?

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