Wood Planked Walls Tutorial

Our quest to relocate the television in my living room has given me opportunity to try some things I have had in my mind for a while. Mister has been a good sport and has been quite obliging.... I am not going to question it; just push on!

The wall the television is to be mounted on needs shiplap. Now, I have already had my troubles with the whole shiplap thing as far as trying to do it on the cheap. You can read about that here. My solution for that room was completely different from what I wanted for the living room.

I went to Lowes and found shiplap! Mister was surprised that it truly existed and that you could get in in Massachusetts.... it's not just a Texas thing.

We weren't ready to buy it yet and wanted to check Home Depot's prices. When we were ready to do that wall we ran off to Home Depot. They had shiplap but it had edges that were beveled. Can you see it in this picture? 

YUCK! I did not want that. It reminds me of place we go for breakfast that looks like it has not been remodeled since the early 1970's. 

While we were at Home Depot I called Lowes because I was now wondering if their shiplap had beveled edges, too and I just hadn't noticed. I got some young guy on the phone that confirmed their edges were beveled, too. (Warning flags should have gone off with this kid; it wasn't until days later that I realized I had taken pictures at Lowes and the edges were not beveled but I was at Home Depot and wasn't thinking about that when I was making executive decisions.) UGH! Home Depot did have wood that was pre-stained but it was thinner; only 6 inches. 

So, I don't want beveled and I didn't want the pieces that were only 6" wide, even though I loved the idea of mixing the stained pieces... so..... Think! Okay here is plan B: we purchased a gallon of paint to paint, 3 paint stirers and 12 pieces of 1x8x8. (That is 1 inch thick by 8 inch wide by 8 feet long.) We also picked up two pieces of lattice, 2" wide by 8 feet long and happily traipsed home. 

Mister painted the wall with the paint we purchased. We used a dark gray color. This is important if you're not using real shiplap. Once the paint was dry we started applying the lumber. We started with the top because, as I have previously talked about, our house is not level or square-anywhere. Wonkiness is the name of the game in this house and level doesn't look level when all is in place. Board one went into place with ease and Mister cut board two. Using two of the paint stirers as spacers we held up the second board and nailed it into place. The last board was ripped down on the table saw to fit.

Notice the paint stir sticks between the bottom two boards here! 

My youngest working along side of her daddy. Proud mama moment.

Oh, the dark paint-this is where the dark gray paint matters; remember the spacers? Well, if the wall was light colored you would see it between the boards, ruining your shiplap effect and it would be a bear trying to get a paint brush in there! That is why this was an important step. Once the boards were up Mister cut and nailed the two lattice pieces on either side to cover the ends, giving it a clean, finished look.  

This wall is 7.3 feet wide by 7.6 feet high. The cost to do this wall was a little extravagant for us considering it is such a small wall. The wood and lattice was about $125 and the paint (we bought a gallon but a quart would have done it) was $25-$30 (I can't find my receipt). 

That tv bracket swivels all over the place! 

Here the tv is level and you can see the it looks wonky against the wall. Notice the furniture lines against the wall, too. WONKY!

Here we shimmed (stuck a piece of 1-by under one side to show how much it would take to make it look right. WONKY!

Now comes the fun part of painting or staining this wall... but that will be another post but because we spent so much money on this little section of the room I don't want to mess it up. Stop back by soon to see what I did to the wood!

***UPDATE: You can see the finished project here.

If you enjoyed visiting with me please subscribe by email or follow along through Facebook or Instagram. I try to do Twitter by my Tweeting is kinda lame. 

Partying here: 

Finding Silver Pennies, Nifty Thrifty Things, Create With Joy, Ducks n'a Row, DIY Showoff, The Stonybrook House, My Pinterventures, Our Mini Family, Plucky's Second Thought, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Coastal Charm, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Skip To My Lou, The Dedicated House, Mad In Crafts, Strangers and Pilgrims On Earth, A Stroll Thru Life, Our Home Away From Home, Home Stories A to Z, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Lou Lou Girls, Celebrate and Decorate, The DIY Dreamer, Savvy Southern Style, My Repurposed Life, About A Chik, DIY By Design, Gratefully Vintage, The Vintage Nest, Joyful Homemaking, Share Your Cup, A Delightsome Life, Up To Date Interiors, Charm Bracelet Diva, Katherine's corner, The Pin Junkie, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, The Cottage Market, The DIY Village , Olives n Okra, Shabby Art Boutique, The Boondocks Blog, Chic On A Shoestring, Blooming Homestead, Ms.Toody Goo Shoes, Pieced Pastimes, One More Time Events, Craftberry Bush, Life With Lorelai, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Remodelaholic, Craft Dictator, Life On Lakeshore Drive