I’ve been waiting to create this shiplap wall, and this post for quite some time! Do I even need to preface this beautiful wall technique? We’re all obsessed with it! But, what I think we’re all nervous about, is actually creating it. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t that bad. I swear! Honestly, the most tedious part was the painting, if you can believe it. And, the price of the wall, which is 8 H x 9.5 W ended up coming in under $100. I can definitely dig a DIY DEAL like that!!
Now, go get your shiplap on!
Shiplap Supplies
• Wood – we used 1/4 in Plywood. Tip: don’t go too thin, or it’ll start chipping/splitting
• Nail gun
• Liquid nails or wood glue (optional)
• Nickels for spacing
• Table saw or Miter saw
• Jigsaw
• Stud finder
• Primer paint
• White paint or color of your choice
• Small roller and paintbrush
• Corner finishing piece
• Putty
• Sandpaper
• Painters tape
1. Buy the wood.
We found the Plywood at Lowe’s. You can either have them cut it down (for free) or bring it home to do yourself.* We went wth 5.5″ strips.
2. Prime the wood.
I made the mistake of NOT doing this first, and it took much longer to try to get in between all the cracks while on the wall. If you’re putting the shiplap up on a dark wall color, I’d suggest painting the wall first too, so you don’t see the color through the cracks when you’re done. Ours was already a light beige/grey so we didn’t need the extra step.
3. Find your studs.
Use the stud finder, and mark them clearly with a pencil.
4. Cut the Wood.*
If you’re cutting the wood yourself with a table saw or miter saw, and your wall is longer then the plywood, you may need to have seams. This is the time to decide if you want them staggered, or how you want them to look. We had the seams on the outsides, every other beam.
5. Hang the shiplap.
I suggest starting from the top, so if you end up with too little or too large of a space at the bottom, you can customize the size. No one is going to be looking at the bottom of your wall. If anything they’ll see the top before, so definitely follow this tip! Align the first board with the ceiling and go to town with your nail gun, making sure you’re hitting in at the top and bottom of the board in the location of the studs. You can add liquid nails or wood glue behind each panel if you desire. Or if you don’t have studs to keep it tight to the wall.
6. Place the nickels.
Put the nickels between the top board and the next one. Continue the process. You can take the nickels out after the board below them has been nailed in.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 7.
If you have corners that need to be trimmed, or soffits (in our case), this is where the jigsaw will come in handy. Don’t let these special cuts scare you! Just get out a ruler and make your marks!
8. Fill the nail holes.
Any hole filler works, and I just applied with my fingertip. Once it’s done drying you can sand each hole down.
9. Paint.
I had to do 2 coats of the white paint. We used the same color that our baseboard and doors are.
10. Do a happy dance-you’re finished!
Now I just need to decide what to put on this wall! I have a round mirror I thought would be nice, with some sort of sideboard underneath? Suggestions are encouraged!!
Send us pictures of your completed wall! We’ll do the dance with you 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Laura xoxo
