For years now I have day dreamed of having an old farmhouse with a shiplap plank wall. The wrap around porches, the character and history and the SHIPLAP. Don’t get me wrong, I love our home and that we are making it ours, step by step. But often times it means getting creative. Something I don’t usually mind and often times look forward to.
We have to do remodels and updates in stages as time and money allow. Most improvements I have tackled myself. One of the most simple and inexpensive ways to update a space is with paint.
My Favorite White Paint
I recently discovered my new favorite brand and line of paint and that is Behr Marquee brand found at Home Depot. It has amazing coverage and I found my new go to white in this line. “Cameo White”. In my opinion, it is the most perfect shade of white. This color was on my wood paneling in the living room first and I instantly fell in love.
I have become a bit of paint snob after painting furniture for 4 years and this line lives up to its name. Coverage, durability and ease of use is important to me. We ended up using the same paint in our master bedroom on the shiplap and I couldn’t be happier with that decision. It brightens up the room and even when my dogs fling mud on the walls, I can clean it off with ease.
When we decided to install shiplap, we knew we needed to do it on a very tight budget. I needed to know how to make shiplap boards.I originally considered using plywood but while in the lumber aisle of Home Depot, we spotted something very similar. Its the 5mm utility board. Those ran about $6 less per sheet. Many will say that Home Depot will cut the wood for you, but we were informed that their saw doesn’t always cut in exact measurements. I may or may not have OCD and there was no way I could live with uneven boards with with diy plank wall.
Marking the Studs for Installing the Shiplap Plank Wall
I began the process by locating the studs. A large level was used to mark those studs all the way up the wall from top to bottom. Using the level guarantees that you remain on the stud while marking them. We used a table saw to cut the panels into 8″ boards.
When we brought the wood inside we had to decide how we wanted the pieces to lay. I decided to do a staggered look. Long piece first then short piece and then on the next row up, the opposite. I say start at the top because if you ended up having to saw a smaller board, the odd size will be at the bottom of the wall therefore less noticeable and easier to conceal.
You can opt to remove your baseboards, but I left mine on due to cost cutting. We used a battery powered nail gun and used 1 1/2 inch nails. Make sure you start your board and end your board on a stud to guarantee no end pieces end up lifting up. We used an oscillating multi tool with a wood blade to cut the holes for the outlets and on corners around the door frame and windows.
Trimming Shiplap Planks Around Outlets
There is a different of opinion in spaces between boards. I decided to go with 1/4 inch gap. Many use a penny or nickel to determine their space. If you decide to go with a larger gap between boards, I recommend painting the wall prior to installing. To hide the seams and nail holes, you can do so using caulk. Just make sure to sand it down after dried and prior to painting. I left mine as I wanted more of an aged feel.
One of the best things about using the utility board is they come already primed. Because of this, paint application took much less time than I imagined. As mentioned before, we used the Behr Marquee brand paint in “Cameo White”.
Painting The Shiplap
All four bedroom walls received a shiplap install. The reason I decided to do this is because we have cathedral ceilings in our master and shiplap added that missing “detail” that sometimes comes with a higher ceiling.
So there you have it! Including nails and boards we spent around $300 total to shiplap our entire bedroom. Not too bad considering the amount of wall space!
Completed Shiplap Plank Wall Project DIY for Cheap
Have you added a shiplap plank wall to your home? Would love to hear how you installed yours!
If you’re a fan of this project, come check out how I painted these stair spindles the easy way!
Thanks for stopping by! It always means so much to me to have you here.
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I love this look! I’ll have to do this in my new house.
Amanda Shuman | Carrylovedesigns.com
Thank you so much Amanda! It’s worth the work!
I’ve been wanting to do this in my bathroom! Great tutorial; I’ll be saving it for sure!! Your wall looks fab!
Thank you so much! It makes such a difference in a room!
Gorgeous room! You made that seem way too easy!
Thank you! I wish it were easy! I would do every room!
Awesome tutorial!
Thank you so much!
love this!! it really makes the room extra cozy!!
Thank You Ashley! I love how it brightened up the space!
I just love this style you have implemented to this room. I so want that headboard, it would be perfect for my own room. #happynowlinkup
This looks so great!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
I love this! My husband and I are in the process of buying a “fixer upper” and I love this look! I am pinning and already know this is happening in the master bedroom! We just started the Whisk It Wednesday link party and I thought you might be interested in sharing there too! Thanks, Carrie
Just can’t get enough shiplap! Love this! Thanks so much for joining us at the To Grandma’s House We Go link party. Your link has been pinned! Please join us again next Wednesday! Cheers!
WOW great job. I love the final pic of those walls. Thank you for the tutorial. It brings so much character to make that bedroom gorgeous. Saw your post at the bloggers pit stop party:)
What a pretty addition to your home! We used underlayment to install a shiplap-inspired headboard last spring. Thankfully, the store did a pretty decent job with straight cuts! Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Wow, love the look!! Trying to do the same thing to our basement!
I love the look of shiplap! I really want to try doing some walls with it. Your walls turned out very, very nice! Looks great! Thanks for sharing at Party in Your PJ’s. I pinned to my Home Ideas board!
The walls looks amazing <3 Pinning for later. This is something I dream of having in our future house we plan to buy
Wow ! It looks awesome, Loved the work. Will definitely try it.
Laura, that was a helpful tutorial & your walls look fantastic! Good to have the tip about the paint you liked too. I believe I’ve liked Behr when I’ve used it.