Shiplap Accent Wall
Before
My family and I have moved to a new house recently, so I’m full of decor ideas right now. The first project Josh and I took on was brightening up the dining room. I simply love the color scheme of the walls but the beige in the dining room looked pretty dark in the light that the room got. So, I was excited to brighten it up with a shiplap wall.
I love Joanna Gaines’s modern farmhouse look.
Wooden and metal accents on top of a clean black and white palate with accents of natural greenery is totally my jam. A bright white wall is just what this room needed.
I was surprised how easy and frugal the whole look was, as well.
The whole thing was an easy weekend project and only cost us $103.40.
Here’s how we did it.
Putting Up a Shiplap Wall
First, the wood.
There are two options. If you want the super frugal way, you can cut and paint plywood to look like shiplap panels and nail them on to the wall. Or you can buy actual shiplap panels that have the tongue in groove setup for ease and uniformity. Since we were only doing one wall and doing the whole move ourselves, time and efficiency was important to us. So, we decided to go ahead and get the shiplap panels.
Josh put up the wall, so he is going to step in here to give us his tips and tricks. The hardest part was planning out how the panels would fit on the walls. Josh found 12 ft. x 5-1/4 in. x 9/16 in. boards that covered most of the wall. He fit the rest with 1 in. x 3 in. x 8 ft. edging.
Once planned out, the wall went up in a couple of hours. The tongue in groove paneling makes it really easy to stack the panels on and get the perfect spacing between each of them. Three finishing nails to hold it in place and you’re set.
Next, we filled in the nail holes and had to let the filler dry overnight. Without the dry time, we could have probably done the wall in one day.
The next day, the patches were sanded to created a smooth finish.
Finally, I painted the panels with Benjamin Moore Simply White. My little guy helped, too. For more uniformity in the room, I went over the chair rails, crown molding, and baseboards in the room with the same paint.
Materials
Shiplap: We used 9/16 in. x 5-1/4 in. x 12 ft. Radiata Pine Nickel Gap Ship Lap Boards. Cost was $9.75/board but got a deal because they were wrapped in packs of 6 and the cashier thought the price was for the set of six. In the end, I bought 24 boards for $39 plus tax.
Edging: Used Trim Board Primed Pine Finger-Joint (Common: 1 in. x 3 in. x 8 ft.; Actual: .719 in. x 2.5 in. x 96 in.): Bought 4 for $7.35 each totaling $29.40.
Paint: A quart of Benjamin Moore Aura Simply White Paint: $34.99.
Tools
Measuring Tape
Level
Stud Finder
Table Saw (borrowed)
Nail Gun with Compressor (borrowed)
Finishing Nails
Miter Saw
Jig Saw
Orbital Sander and Sand Paper
Paint Rollers and brushes
Paint Pan with Liner
Wood Filler
Tips from Josh
Start with taking accurate measurements of the area you are going to be working on. Make sure you take molding, chair rails, windows, etc. into account when determining how much material you will need. I always plan for more than I think I need because inevitably I make mistakes in cutting, mounting, or not remembering to think about switches and outlet plates.
Do some online shopping for your materials to help come up with a game plan for what you want the wall to look like. Watch Youtube videos about the project and look at different types of cuts, patterns, and finishes. Also, most of the larger hardware stores will list how much stock they have of certain materials in each store so you won’t have to travel from place to place looking.
When sourcing tools you don’t have on hand ask friends, family, and neighbors to borrow. This will help eliminate rental costs.
Always start by finding the wall studs. Then, use a pencil and level to mark the center of each all the way up the wall from the base. That will make securing the boards much easier.
Measure twice, cut once!!!
Remember to always cut “outside” of the mark you make on the board. The saw blade has a width and if you cut “inside” the final piece of the board, it will always be shorter than you intended.
Start with the top piece and work your way down the wall or start at the bottom and work your way up. Tension from the existing piece will help to hold each subsequent piece in place and make positioning and securing to the wall easier.
If you can, use narrow molding strips to cover where your boards meet the walls. This will help to cover cutting imperfections and gaps. Otherwise, use a small amount of wood filler where the shiplap meets your edging.
Use ear and eye protection when using power tools, trust me.
Tips from Disha
I love Benjamin Moore paints. The high resin quality and finish are unbeatable. For me, the extra $20 is totally worth the upgrade in look and washability.
Most of the wall can be painted with a roller. You’ll need a brush for the grooves and other details.
For painting trim/rails/crown molding, I prefer to use a high quality angled brush and wet rag instead of taping. I find that taping takes forever and doesn’t produce any better results than painting with a brush. If you’re painting freehand, you can easily wipe off mistakes with a wet rag from most surfaces (except carpet). With taping, if there’s any leaking, it’s not apparent until the tape comes off and the paint has already dried. At that point, it’s hard to fix. Painting freehand without taping takes a little finesse, but is so much more efficient.
The Final Result
We finished the project with a metal clock and chandelier a la Johanna. Josh built that table for us a couple of years ago. Lastly, I added some greenery.
Ta-Da! All done. Brightened without breaking the budget.
Till next week.
Stay frugal, y’all!
Disha
Have you thought about putting up a shiplap wall? Or have you done it in the past and want to give some pointers? Comment below!
Standard Disclaimer: Not meant as individualized financial or medical advice. Take on DIY projects at your own risk. Despite the many name brands I mentioned in this article, it actually contains no affiliate links. #shiplapwall #shiplaptutorial #horizontalwoodplankedwall #shiplapaccentwall #shiplapping