Board and Batten Wall-Easy DIY

You have probably seen the Board and Batten wall craze (easy DIY) all over the internet and let’s just say it may be the new shiplap. Ok, maybe not shiplap but it’s becoming very popular and many people are getting creative with their designs. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and added board and batten to my entryway/mud room wall.

This is the first time I have ever done board and batten, so we’re going to learn together. Once I get an idea, the OCD in me finds it hard to get it out of my head. I knew I wanted to create a wall that would “pop” since the area is dark and very hard to photograph while adding a modern twist.

After slaving away in search for the perfect idea to execute, my trusty internet and Pinterest, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Oh My God! So many options, so many tutorials, so many different ways to do it.

As you may have noticed by now, I love having projects to create and thank God my hubby is always up for my shenanigans. Well, not always but he is a good sport. He helps me with the measurements and of course the saw. While discussing my project with him, I decided that I didn’t want to rip out our baseboards and wanted to add color to the wall.

I am visual, I have to draw out my plan or at least hang a picture of the inspiration.  I told my husband what I wanted and he gave me a list of the items needed. I was determined to get everything done in one day.

Keep in mind that measurements and materials will all vary depending on the project and the look you are trying to achieve. For my project, below is the list of the items I used:

• Wood– we used Select Pine boards Sizes .75×1.5”x6’ and had them cut at Home Depot (lifesaver and faster) for the vertical boards
• Select Pine board size .75X2.5”X6’for the horizontal board on top and another .75X1.5 for the “lip” on top.
• Saw
• Tape measure
• Level
• Brad Nailer/ Nail gun (my fav)
• Caulk
• Wood filler
• Paint/paint brushes
• Wood stain

Since my husband doesn’t let me use the saw, I asked Home Depot to cut the boards for me to save us some time. I had them cut my vertical boards to 48” each. I didn’t let them cut the other boards because we needed to get them to work around the door trim.

We decided to cut the bottom of the vertical boards at an angle to give them the “flush” look against our baseboards. Then drew a line where the top board would be placed and used our level to make sure it was straight.

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Then we took each vertical board piece and lined them up on the wall according to the measurements. I used my Brad Nailer/nail gun to nail them to the wall. Some people used nail glue too.

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*Full transparency: We thought we wanted more vertical boards on the wall but then I didn’t like the look and the math didn’t add up. We ended up just using 5 vertical boards. It’s ok, if your original plan doesn’t work and you have to make changes. After all, you have to be content with the end results.

We then added the top piece to make sure it all fit and looked the way I wanted it. Since, the top piece and the “lip” was going to get stained, we didn’t nail it to the wall just yet.

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Once everything was placed correctly, I removed the top horizontal piece and started covering the nails with nail fillers and caulking the boards.

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While the caulking and the nail filler were drying up, I was in the garage staining the horizontal piece and the lip. I wanted to add a stain color to tie it in with my stair rails. I used a combination of Minwax Jacobean and Minwax Special Walnut.

I am typically not indecisive, but in this case, I was having a hard time selecting a color for the paint. My options were endless but I was longing for that special, show stopping moody blue. While I was at Home Depot, I brought back 3 colors samples to test them out. The samples were $2 each and were totally worth it.

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This area is kind of dark and the lighting is not the best. So, I decided to use an extra board and test out the colors near the board and batten wall. I am glad I did this because I had my heart settled on Behr NYPD but after testing each color and pairing the swatch board next to my finished stained board; the winner was Behr Norwegian Blue.

The next day, I went back to Home Depot and bought the paint. Rushed home to paint the wall, nailed in the top horizontal board and the lip and completely fell in love. That moody blue, the stain boards and the perfect board and batten wall is what dreams are made for. Completely mesmerized by the finished look.

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This project could have been completed in one day, but since I wasn’t sure about the paint color, it took me a day and half to complete. There is no need to rush a project unless you really have to. Try to enjoy the process as much as you can!

It’s amazing how a small and easy project changed this space completely. I truly believe that a design, a plan and your own confidence can make things happen!

What y’all think? Got questions? Let me know, I would be more than happy to help!