• Home
  • About Me
  • Holidays
    • April Fools
    • Birthdays
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentines Day
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
  • Get Organized
    • The Household Organization Diet
    • Cleaning
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Design and Decor
    • Recipes
    • Fun for Kids
  • Home Tour
  • Shop My Favorites
  • Contact Me

Clean and Scentsible

DIY Planked Wall Tutorial

213 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

One of the things that I am learning as I get older is that I really can’t do it all {no matter how hard I try!} and I need to focus on the things that I do best and enjoy doing.  For that reason, I have an awesome contractor, Rob, that comes in to do a few projects around the house every now and then {you can actually see him on his HGTV Canada pilot Forever Home} so I don’t get so overwhelmed.  He’s worked on our kitchen and powder room and most recently added a plank wall to our front entry.

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

I love that shiplap, Fixer Upper style and have been wanting to add another planked wall ever since we did one in our bathroom last year.  I think that it just adds some subtle dimension and character without being too much.

Planked bathroom wall with DIY storage ladder. Love this farmhouse style feel!

I was feeling like our entryway was a little blah and have been playing around with a few ideas over the last couple of months.  I switched out some decorative accessories and tried a few different furniture switches, but nothing was really coming together like I wanted.  In the end, I decided to actually simplify it a bit {less is more, right?} and make the wall more of a feature by adding the planking.

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

For those of you that would like to tackle this project yourself, I thought that I would document the basic steps for creating our planked wall.  With just a few tools, it’s a pretty straight forward project and could be done in a day for a wall this size.  There are a variety of materials that you can use for your planking including actual wood boards, tongue and groove boards, reclaimed wood,  or cut down plywood.  We went with pre-primed 5 1/2 inch trim board for this project – it saves a step on the painting {since I wanted them white}, was thin enough to use with our molding, and just seemed like the simplest option.

MATERIALS

  • 5 1/2 inch trim boards {ours were pre-primed}
  • stud finder
  • nail gun and compressor {you could just use a hammer too but a nail gun is so much more fun!}
  • finishing nails
  • table saw or jigsawpaint
  • paintable wood filler or spackle
  • paint {Simply White by Benjamin Moore in a semi-gloss}
  • caulking
  • Jigsaw {if needing to cut around any permenant fixtures such as electrical outlets or windows}

TO DO

  • Cut your boards to the desired length.  I wanted the boards to be all one length across the wall rather than having staggered. The trim was removed around the window and added back after the planks went, but a jigsaw was still required to create cut outs on the boards around the window itself and electrical outlet.  The top board also had to be cut down lengthwise to fill in the smaller length at the top of the wall.
  • Decide on spacing.  Our boards were pretty much butted right up to each other, but others prefer a slight space between the boards.  If you do want your boards spaced,  just use some pennies or nickels between the boards to ensure that they are all spaced evenly and double check with the level every few boards to ensure that things are still staying level.
  • If you have a dark colored wall or plan on using a spacer between your planks, you will likely want to paint your wall the color of your boards prior to getting started.  We didn’t paint our wall {since the boards are butted together} and you can’t see any of the old wall color poking through from behind.

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

  • Mark out the studs on your wall so you know where to secure the planks.
  • Many of the tutorials that I have seen start by laying the first board starting from the ceiling, but since we already had our thick baseboard in place and it was level, we added the planks from the baseboards up.  If you are starting from the ceiling {or not sure if your baseboard is level}, double and triple check that your first board is straight using a level or laser level.  Most ceilings aren’t perfectly straight so don’t go by the ceiling lines and don’t worry if there is a slight gap.  Attach the planks to the wall at the studs using an air gun and then add extra nails as needed to ensure the boards lay flat.
  • Once all the boards are up, fill in the nail holes with wood filler and sand down.  Caulk along the edges of the wall and ceiling.

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

  • Now all that’s left is the painting!  Be sure that you don’t get too much paint in between the grooves.  If you see any blobs, run a think knife through the grooves to remove any excess.  We painted ours with Simply White by Benjamin Moore to match all of the baseboards.

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

 I still have a few little details and a couple of quick organization projects to do, and the entryway will be complete!  I’ll be sure to show you everything else once it’s completed. 🙂

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

 For more easy DIY projects, check out these posts…

DIY Storage Ladder

DIY Storage Ladder - such a great way to add extra storage to small spaces!

DIY Wood Crates

Simple DIY tutorial to create these rustic wooden crates. Add that farmhouse touch with practical storage!

DIY Wooden Tray

DIY farmhouse style wooden tray.

Easy DIY planked wall tutorial using trim - an inexpensive way to add that farmhouse style to your home.

Subscribe

« Thai Curry and Peanut Noodles
How to Remove Pet Stains from Carpet »

Comments

  1. Kristi says

    May 11, 2016 at 1:20 pm

    It’s gorgeous!!!

    Reply
  2. Celeste Coffman says

    May 16, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    This is so beautiful! I totally agree, by the way – there are times when a girl just MUST hire a contractor. I always try to teach my clients about delegating, but often have to remind myself. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Evija says

    May 17, 2016 at 10:47 am

    I love planked walls and yours looks amazing!! Thank you for the tutorial and for linking up to #OMHGWW, Evija x

    Reply
  4. mary says

    May 17, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    I Love how it turned out! It gives a little more interest to the wall.

    Reply
  5. Claire bondy says

    May 18, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    Okay… not only is the wall beautiful, but that purse hanging on the wall…mmmm!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 26, 2016 at 5:09 pm

      I love that purse – lol! I keep trying to find a similar one as I got it three years ago and it is starting to get a little ragged. Still no luck!

      Reply
  6. Meg says

    May 19, 2016 at 12:22 am

    This looks amazing! I’ve never heard of using trim board for shiplap projects, but that’s such a great idea!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 26, 2016 at 5:07 pm

      Yep! Super easy!

      Reply
  7. Paola @ do it with heart says

    May 20, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    Love the look and how it turned out! Great color combo too.
    Thanks for sharing on our Wonderful Wednesday’s Link Party!

    Reply
  8. Nicki says

    May 21, 2016 at 3:32 pm

    Love it! No shame in hiring a little help once in a while. We did the same with some outdoor projects recently because we just didn’t have the time to get them done in a timely manner. Visiting today from the Totally Terrific Tuesday party, I am one of the new co hosts who is joining the party. Please come back and link up again next week!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 26, 2016 at 5:07 pm

      It is amazing how much stress can be taken off you by hiring out a few projects! 🙂 Thanks so much for hosting!

      Reply
  9. Christine at Must Love Home says

    May 21, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    Your planked wall is just lovely! I have fallen in love with that “Fixer Upper” style with the ship lap and all….and have been thinking about doing this at my house! Talk about inspiration! I loved your project so much that I chose it to be featured at this weeks Wonderful Wednesday Link party! Come and check out the party and your feature at mustlovehome.com, every Tuesday at 4pm! Hope to see you there! Christine

    Reply
  10. Karren Haller ♥ Oh My Heartsie Girl says

    May 23, 2016 at 6:12 pm

    Hi Jenn, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that your post has been chosen by one of our hostesses to be one of our features this week on #OMHGWW and will be in a Slideshow and is on Youtube. Stop by and linkup again this week.
    Hope you have a wonderful week.
    Karren
    Host~Oh My Heartsie Girl

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 26, 2016 at 5:06 pm

      Wonderful! Thank-you so much for hosting Karren!

      Reply
  11. Lauren says

    May 24, 2016 at 12:20 am

    Great tutorial ! Love how your space turned out! Thanks for sharing it on Craft Frenzy Friday on Mom Home Guide!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 24, 2016 at 4:01 am

      Thanks so much and thank-you for hosting!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Put Your House on a Diet

The Home Organization Diet. Put your home on a diet for a clutter-free, happy, and healthy home!

Meet Jenn

Hi there! I'm Jenn, mommy to two busy {and very cute!} boys and wife to a very tolerant hubby. I love all things crafty and creative and have created this blog to share my ideas and favorite finds. I hope you enjoy your visit! Read More…

Connect with me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Get all our latest posts directly to your inbox

Looking for Something?

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Latest from Instagram

[instagram-feed num=9 cols=9 showheader=false showbutton=false showfollow=false]

Copyright © 2023 · Clean and Scentsible LLC · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy

213 shares