DIY Board & Batten
I've been seeing a lot of people online creating beautiful walls using wood and trim. I was dying to do it myself but was a little hesitant because my walls are plaster, not drywall, and I thought it would be really difficult.
I was wrong! It was super easy and I wish I would have done it earlier.
I decided to finally try it in my basement craft room, which was cluttered, stuffy, and felt like a basement. I put up some cute wall decals a few months ago, but kind of left it off there. I finally got inspired this weekend and took the plunge.
I was going to go with a square pattern, but since the ceilings in the basement are relatively low, I decided to go with board and batten instead to emphasize vertical lines and eliminate all horizontal lines. It definitely makes the ceiling seem higher and makes the room feel less like a basement.
TIP: to make a ceiling feel higher, emphasize vertical lines and eliminate or camouflage horizontal lines
BEFORE
I used:
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Wood trim
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Construction glue
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Carpenter's nails
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White paint
STEP 1: measure the wall and decide where you are going to place the trim. I did mine with 53 cm in between each 4 cm piece of trim. I had to measure several times because I wanted to avoid the light fixtures, switches, and plugs because it makes it easier and because I did not want to break up the vertical lines.
STEP 2: Using painter's tape, place the trim in the desired spot.
STEP 3: Once you are happy with the placement, use construction glue to adhere the trim to the wall. If you find that parts of the trim are not flush with the wall, use a carpenter's nail. Let dry at least overnight.
STEP 4: Paint the trim and allow to dry
Board and Batten:wall construction that gives the appearance of wide vertical strips with intervening recesses or projections by means of (1) wide boards rabbeted on transverse edges and lapped not to the entire width of the rabbet on one side or (2) wide boards alternating with narrow and thin battens usually fitting into grooves in the wide boards or (3) wide boards covered at the seams by narrow usually 2-inch battens. -Merriam-Webster
I am so happy with this DIY. It made the room feel more "finished," and the vertical lines made the ceiling feel a lot higher.
Check out this and 30-second videos of all my DIYs on my Instagram Reels.
