DIY Shiplap Accent Wall

Defining your living room with a farmhouse DIY shiplap accent wall does not have to be costly or difficult. Learn how to make your own faux shiplap from plywood and create an easy and affordable statement wall for any room in your home.

 When we first closed on our house, I knew that even though it was newly built, many upgrades needed to be done in order to make it feel like home. We decided that the first room we needed to define was our living room with this DIY shiplap accent wall.

While looking for ideas we came across shiplap fireplaces, but the expense of actual shiplap wasn’t in our budget. We also had to keep in mind that we had very little room to spare in our living area, so whatever we planned to do had to be both, cost-effective and could not take much space.

We came across the idea of using 1/4" plywood to create the look for less and only took 1/4" of space!

This is how you can make your own Diy Shiplap Accent Wall...

Step 1:

 The first thing you will need to do is figure out the size of the fireplace wall. (You can easily do this by measuring the width of your current wall, along with the TV or fireplace you want to use and add 12-24 inches to allow for some wiggle room if you, later on, decided to upgrade your appliances).In our case, we went with 80 inches since our current TV is only 60 inches wide.Step 2:

Decide the width of your planks.(Shiplap planks are usually between 6-8 inches wide) Since our wall is 12 feet tall we decided to go with the 8-inch planks. You can adjust the width according to your wall size and preference. This will help you figure out how many underlayment plywood sheets you need to get, prior to heading out to your hardware store.Supplies:

• 1/4" underlayment plywood (we used 3 and hand plenty leftover)
• 1/4" trim
• Finish nails
• Construction adhesive 
• 1/8" spacers - (we used a piece of 1/8 wood strips leftover from another project)
• Wood filler
• 150 grit sandpaper
• White flat paint - ( or any paint of your choice) 
• Paint roller and brushes

Tools:

• Pneumatic Nail Gun or hammer
• Table Saw – to cut the board into planks (local hardware stores can also help with this)
• Level

Step 3:

Cut all of your shiplap boards to size and give them a light sanding on all sides. This took less than 5 minutes since we were going for more of a distressed finish. You can sand more or less based on your preference.Step 4:

Then, apply one coat of flat white paint to the plywood planks using a roller. This coat does not need to go on perfect since you will be applying another coat once you put the planks on the wall.

While the paint dries, go ahead and find the studs in your wall. You can use a stud finder for this. Then, proceed to mark them with a pencil.

Step 5:

Now the fun begins! Start by applying a generous amount of construction adhesive to the back of each wood plank and place the first plank on the wall. 

Starting at the top, flush with the ceiling.(Pro tip: use a level on the first plank to align it, since it will serve as a guide for the rest.) 

Step 6:

Next, nail faux shiplap down using 2 finish nails with the pneumatic nail gun or hammer at the ends and at every stud.

When applying the next plank and all the remaining planks use spacers in between to create the gap seen in authentic shiplap panels.

If you come across outlets, you will need to cut around and/or cut the pieces to size. Since we were mounting our TV on the wall and had a fireplace insert, we cut the planks to size as we got to those sections. Step 7:

Then, apply 1/4" thick trim to the ends using construction adhesive and the finish nails-to give the faux shiplap wall a more polished finished look.

Step 8:

Next, apply wood filler. Fill in the areas where you used nails and where you joined the trim and give it a light sanding after it is dry. 

Step 9: 

Finally, give the DIY Shiplap Accent Wall one more coat of the flat paint. 

Now you are ready to enjoy your EASY and AFFORDABLE DIY farmhouse shiplap fireplace wall !!!

We love how our DIY Shiplap Accent Wall turned out, hope you do as well.

 We spruced it up with a  FAUX WOOD BEAM MANTEL, fireplace insert, and a  DIY WOODEN DECORATIVE LADDER.

This DIY Shiplap Accent Wall can work with any decor.

Where in your home have you used shiplap? We would love to know in the comments below...