I've always wanted to attempt this project, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I can't wait to share how we did it, and tips and tricks for your DIY.
You can use these tools and suggestions for various projects as well. I will include a list of ideas at the bottom.
I chose this wall to design because it was such a large wall, and I felt that it needed some dimension, even after I had fully styled it. I started by choosing the style I wanted on this wall, there are so many feature walls to choose from, but I liked this specific style because it matched my interior door design.
After I chose a design, I drew it out on paper, then measured my wall. I had to determine how high up I wanted my boards to go, and I knew I wanted them a little higher than halfway. My ceilings are 9 ft tall, so I chose 63 inches to be the top of my top board.
Then, I used the level to measure off 63 inches across the wall.
The next step was choosing how many battens I wanted across the wall. I felt like 6 was a great number to really add the design look I was going for, and knew I wanted two on either end to border the design.
Here is the formula I used:
I knew I was using 1x4 boards everywhere.
6 battens x 3.5'' (actual width of 1x4 boards) = 21
141 (Length of wall) - 21= 120
120/5 (the number of spaces in between the boards)= 24 inches
24 inches is the number we used to in between each batten thanks to this handy dandy formula!
Mark on your wall where you want your battens to be, then measure your exact height of your batten in between your baseboards and your batten. Your wall may turn out to have the tiniest differences of each batten, so it's important to measure twice, then cut your boards to fit. Also, because we used 1x4 boards, our boards would have overlapped the baseboards, and I didn't want to have to take the baseboards off of the wall first, so we cut the bottoms of our boards at a 45 degree angle to bevel them to the baseboard. This is not a necessary step if you use a thinner piece of wood.
Once you have cut your 1x4 batten to size, use construction adhesive, or liquid nails to adhere your battens to the wall. Finally, take your nail gun and secure at both ends and if you feel it needs it you could add some nails to the middle.
Another option you have here is to you could add a chair railing on the top board by adding a 1x2 board at the top. It just creates a more craftsman tailored look. I chose to leave this off because I knew I would be adding art on my wall on top of the board and batten and didn't want the art competing with the railing.
Once you have secured all of your nails. You will need to fill holes with a paintable wood filler. Once the nail holes are filled you can lightly sand off any excess with sandpaper.
Next, caulk all seams and corners with a paintable caulk.
Finally, paint your board and batten wall. If you didn't use a pre primed board, you will need to use a primer on your bare wood.
I love a contrast between a light and dark wall, but for this project I chose to use Sherwin Williams Interior Acrylic Latex paint for trim and doors, semi gloss, extra white. My walls are painted in Pure White so the glossy white next to a shade darker white makes the board and batten really pop and gives it that tailored, polished look I was going for.
I am so happy with how it turned out, I'm already imagining my next project.
I wanted to share the details of what I used on this project. I will link everything below. Since we owned most of these items, we were all in at less than $100. Investing in these tools has been so fun, because we've been able to make items such as a shiplap wall, farmhouse signs, diy plant stands and so much more!
You will need:
Miter saw
nail gun, we used 2 inch nails
air compressor
wood filler
paintable caulk
construction adhesive or liquid nails
1x4 boards
painter's tape, paint, paintbrushes and rollers
This is the exact saw we have $129
Air compressor $129
This is our exact nail gun $121
Wood filler
Under $7
If you use this tutorial for your next project I would love for you to tag me @athomewithalli
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