Are you looking to add a little character to a room in your home? Try adding some board + batten wall details to your space to create interest and depth. You could do one wall, or go around the whole room. I love the simplicity of board + batten and the impact it has on a space.
For our guest bedroom, I wanted to have a backdrop behind the bed and decided board + batten would be a great choice for this room. If you have the right tools, this project will not take very long; my husband and I completed it in two days! I’ll break down the steps for you to create your own board + batten wall, but first here are the tools you’ll need…
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Tools + Materials Needed:
- 1×2’s Select Pine Wood (you could use MDF or wood of your choice)
- 1×4’s Select Pine Wood
- Level
- Measuring Tape
- Nail Gun / Compressor
- Nails
- Miter Saw
- Wood Filler
- Putty Knife
- Sandpaper (I used 180 grit)
- Paint Brush
- Paint Roller
- Paint
- Paint Tray
- Caulk
- Stain
- Cloth
Step 1:
If you choose to paint the top portion of your wall a different color – as I did – then paint first. I used Behr® Black Bamboo for a dark, earthy contrast to the white board + batten.
Step 2:
Measure the length of your wall to determine how much material you’ll need, and to figure out spacing. Our wall is 12’ wide x 8’ high. Since I decided to bring the board + batten halfway up the wall, I had to determine how high I wanted my ledge to be.
I measured the bed frame to make sure our ledge would be the right distance away from the top of the bed, resulting in a comfortable height of 57”. Once I knew the height of the half wall, I had to determine how far apart to space the vertical (1×2) boards.
Accounting for the width of each board, we divided the total width of the wall by the number of vertical wood boards desired. In our case, we used nine vertical strips of wood.
Step 3:
Once the spacing is figured out, start by placing the two (1×4) horizontal boards, forming a top and bottom frame for your half wall. Check to make sure your boards are level, and nail them in place with your nail gun.
Step 4:
Next, place the vertical strips, starting with the edge of the wall. Measure the distance between your bottom and top boards and make your cuts with a miter saw. I recommend measuring the distance for each board as you go, because wood is rarely perfectly straight and there could be the slightest variation in your measurements from one board to the next.
Remember to check that your board is level and nail it in. Don’t worry about the seams; we will fix those once all of the boards are in place so that everything blends seamlessly.
Step 5:
Now that all the boards are in place, it’s time to cover up the seams and nail holes. To do this, I used wood filler and a putty knife. Spread the wood filler into the seam and smooth the putty knife over the seam to remove any excess. Don’t worry if it is a little lumpy, it will all be smoothed out once you sand it. Let the wood filler dry fully and then use sandpaper to sand the seams and nail holes until the surface feels smooth and even.
Step 6:
After everything is sanded down, make sure to vacuum up the wood dust to prep your area for paint. For the bottom portion of the wall I chose Sherwin Williams® Alabaster White. First, I went in with a paint brush and painted the wood boards and the inner edge of each rectangle, and then went back in with my roller to blend the paint.
Step 7:
Prepping and installing the ledge. You’ll need a (1×4) board. I chose to stain my ledge with Minwax® Early American stain. To apply the stain, I used a cut up piece of cloth from an old t-shirt. This step is optional; I could have just painted the ledge to match the rest of the board + batten wall but I wanted to bring in some natural wood tones. So choose what works best for you.
Once the ledge board is stained, lay it flat on your top horizontal board of wood and nail it in. For our ledge, we used two boards and wood-puttied the seam and stained the wood putty. Depending on the size of your wall, you may only need one board.
Step 8:
Your wood wall is almost complete! Next and final step: caulk the gaps. This step is optional but it gives a more polished look. Wood has a tendancy to bow out, so if some of your pieces weren’t perfectly flush to the wall and left some gaps you may want to go through and caulk this area. Just caulk along the seam and smooth it out with your finger, clean up any access with a damp cloth and let it dry.
Annnd DONE! It’s so rewarding when you complete a project and get to stand back and say ‘I made that!’ This wall makes me proud of all of the upgrades we’ve put into our new home on our own. I hope this encourages you to pick up some tools and create some spaces in your own home! If you give it a try, be sure to tag me on instagram [@bridgette.alexandra] to show me what you come up with!
