DIY Board & Batten Wall
This faux board and batten wall is an easy afternoon project that will totally transform your look. It's incredibly simple because it doesn't utilize the "board" (meaning, you don't have to cover your walls first), and can be applied directly onto your drywall. If you love this project, you can find more DIY projects for the home on my blog, Love & Renovations.
Start by framing your wall out (except for the bottom, since you'll already have baseboards) with your 1X3 boards. To attach them to the wall, you'll just use a line of construction adhesive and then some brad nails. Be sure to use your level to ensure the boards are all straight.
Add your vertical boards. The amount will depend on the size of your room and the pattern you'd like. For this 10X10 room, I did a total of 5 vertical boards (including the two at either end of the wall). Attach using the same method as before.
**See the full blog post for details on how I handled the part where the vertical boards meet the baseboards, along with other options for what to do there.
Once your vertical boards are in place, add horizontal boards approximately 3/4 of the way up the wall. Be sure to use a level to ensure they're straight and measure twice to be sure they're all at the same height!
Finally, caulk all of the seams where the boards meet each other and the wall, then paint the boards the same color as the wall (you'll notice I painted the wall before adding the boards - you could do it either way but it's a bit simpler to have the wall painted first).
See more details (and more finished photos) on the full blog post!
Resources for this project:
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Comments
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I absolutely love the board/batten and shiplap look on walls and in entry ways into the home and mudrooms. It is so practical and looks awesome. Leave it white or paint it for a bit of color and you have a spectacular looking wall. A job to be proud of.
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We just built our house this year and I wanted to do the exact same thing for my husband's home office. To have it part of the build would have been over $5k, I did a 15x17 room for $375 (I cheated, saw was still packed and bought wood the width I wanted and had Home Depot cut the wood to the lengths I needed. They don't charge for that but if you are doing as much as I did you need to go in early in the week when its slow) . Oh and everyone it is really easy and fun. Something that when you step back and look at it, makes you feel pretty proud!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
I love your wall! I'm curious if anyone has done this type of wall with walls that are slightly textured? Our walls are vintage 1975'ish and have (thankfully) a low-level orange peel-type of texture. It doesn't stick out a lot, but it is noticeable when you're a few feet away. I'd love to do the board & Batten somewhere, but just not sure if I should cover the texture with a real board or I can do your process. thanks!
In the prep photo it looks like you have single vertical boards and smaller lengths of horizontal boards, but in the final photo you have one single horizontal board with smaller lengths of vertical boards. Are my eyes deceiving me? I like the one horizontal board look best, but am confused because that isn't what I'm seeing in the prep photos...