Seriously quick! We had this board and batten wall installed in a few hours!
I love white walls. They brighten a room and make everything else stand out. When we moved into our current home I immediately painted all the walls Sherwin Williams Pure White. After about a year of living with white walls, I wanted a change to add more depth to the room with an elevated look.
I researched different accent wall techniques, scouring Pinterest, and kept coming back to board and batten because of two main reasons:
- The design seemed easy to install
- The classic and timeless layout.
I love modern accent walls, but my husband and I wanted something simple that would stand the test of time. Not only was this an easy project, it was relatively inexpensive which is always a bonus!
Choosing Your Design
We used 3-1/2″ x .75″ MDF trim for our wall to match the existing baseboard trim we installed. This ensured the bottoms of the vertical slats would not have any hang-over or need to be angled to blend in with the bottom trim.
We used the same width boards as our other trim including the horizontal piece at the top. Some people may prefer the verticals to be a bit narrower. Also purchased, were two pieces of 1.5″ x .75″ trim for the top detail, which gives the board and batten a finished look.
Before you pick up supplies, measure your wall and figure out how many pieces of trim to purchase. It is also a good idea to add on an additional piece just in case you calculated something incorrectly or make a cutting error. Nothing kills your momentum like an extra trip to the store (learn from our mistake).
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may receive a small commission from qualified purchases. Please see my page for more information.
Supplies for this project
- Trim
- Liquid nails
- Painter’s caulk
- Brad (finishing) nails
- Spackle
- Painter’s tape
- Primer, paint & rollers/brushes
- Tarp
- Miter saw
- Nail gun (Optional)
Measuring & Cutting
Before going to the store you will need the following measurements to figure out how many pieces of trim/board you need for your wall.
- Height from the top of the baseboards for vertical pieces
- Width of the wall for the horizontal boards across the top.
- Width of wall excluding the widths of one board on each side (for spacing).
Divide the third measurement up to determine how much space you want between each section and include the width of the boards in your calculations.
Diagram of our measurements
IMPORTANT: Take note of any outlets and light switches. You may want to adjust your spacing to avoid having the trim land on these areas, or you can use a jig saw to cut around them. We chose to have our board & batten come up high enough to end above any light switches, just in case we continued it into another room.
Once you determine the measurements and how many vertical boards you need, make your cuts and lean them against the wall to visually fine tune your spacing. You can make small adjustments at this stage. Adjusting the lines by less than 1/2 an inch is an easy adjustment that will not affect your spacing visually.
Hanging the Boards
Once you finish all of your cuts, lay the boards face down and get ready to start hanging! Our spacing didn’t match up with the wall studs, so we used liquid nails to attach the vertical boards. You can use a combination of adhesive and brad nails if you have spacing that will match up with your studs. If you don’t have liquid nails, you can use any variety of construction adhesive.
Starting from one side, measure from the edge of the first board in the corner and mark the location of the start of the next board. We used the measurement of the space between each board to guide us along. You can either use a tape measure as you go, or cut a template board equal to the measurement and use that as a spacer while hanging the boards.
Apply painter’s tape across the boards to hold them in place while the adhesive dries. This was especially important when we couldn’t use nails. Next, hang the top horizontal board using brad nails making sure to hit the studs along the wall. (I will link a couple nail gun options at the end of this post). Use a level to make sure the top board is straight. You can fill any gaps during the finishing steps.
We added a 1.5″ x .75″ board along the top to create a finished detail. Attach this piece with brad nails along the top into the horizontal board. This is the last step in hanging. Hooray! Next up is filling the nail holes and caulking all of the seams.
Finishing Touches
Note: We have textured walls, and I was okay with the texture showing through the board and batten. If you prefer a smoother finish, cut and hang thin 1/8″ panel boards inside each opening. This step should happen before caulking and then the boards can be primed and painted to match the rest of the trim.
After everything is hung and the glue has set, remove the painter’s tape. Fill all of the nail holes with spackle and use the painter’s caulk to fill all cracks and seams. Use your finger to smooth and remove any excess caulking. Make sure you get the underside of the top piece and every area where the trim meets. After the caulking and spackle have dried, lightly sand any spackle to smooth out the surface and then wipe clean.
You can now prime and paint the wall your color of choice! We initially painted our board and batten the same as the existing wall to keep the white while adding some interest. I am now contemplating a darker color in the near future.
Once the paint dries you are finished! The most difficult part of this project was the measuring and planning to figure out the spacing. Once you have this figured out, the cutting and hanging is a breeze!
Comment below if you tried this project or have any tips for others who may be thinking of giving it a try. I am thinking I may try the picture frame paneling next, another easy project with a big impact!
Cordless Nailer
Air Powered Nailer
