Hey hey friends!  After giving our youngest sister a fun makeover, we decided we didn’t want to leave our other sister out of the fun 🙂  We tackled her entryway and gave her a DIY Board and Batten Wall! Check out the video! Just click the Play Button below to watch!

Didn’t her space turn out great??  Look how cute!

DIY Tutorial to create a board and batten wall
Board and Batten Video Tutorial

This is one of our favorite ways to create a board and batten wall.  It’s very low profile, and the materials used are really inexpensive.  Plus, it’s EASY… Best part 😉

DIY Board and Batten Wall Supplies!

You will need to measure your own wall to determine how many of each of these you need.  Each wall is a different length.  This space was a bit short, so we decided to space our battens closer together.  When we did this treatment to out other sister’s longer wall, we spaced them further apart.  So, do the math before heading to the store!

2′ x 4′ 1/4″ MDF panels – You can find them HERE on Home Depot

1/4″ Bender Board -You can find them HERE on Home Depot

5″ Base Moulding

Panel Adhesive – This is a good brand

Caulk Gun

Jig Saw (if needed)

Miter Saw

Nail Gun

Hooks(optional)

First thing first… Think about what you are starting with.  Our sister has existing base boards that we don’t want to mess with, so we are building everything on top of them.  You can do the same with yours, or you can add a base board first if you don’t have existing base boards.

After measuring out your wall, you want to check for existing outlets, switches, returns or other things that will need to be planned around.  We do this panel by panel as we are adding them.  Our first panel did have the A/C control as well as a return, so we made the cuts to that panel first.  We did this by measuring from the ground to the outlet/switch.  Then, we used a jig saw to cut that space out of the MDF panel before putting it on the wall.

cut away outlets
cut around outlets

We also spaced each of the boards about 2″ apart to allow for swelling.  This will keep the panels from buckling off the wall in the future.

first panel for wall treatment
panel treatment on wall

Be sure to use a level as you are lining these up!  Old walls and floors can be wonky!  We added several lines of panel adhesive to our first panel and attached it to the wall using 1.25″ brad nails with our nail gun.

ryobi caulk gun

Once the first panel was attached, we continued with the next one.  Again, look at each space as you are adding the panels to decide if there are outlets that will need to be cut around.  We attached all of the MDF panels this way.  You may need to trim your end panels or last panel.  If so, just mark it with a line and use a jig saw.  It cuts this MDF like butter!

Now for the top board.  We are going to add this one before measuring and adding our battens.  We lined ours up with the top of the panels that were attached to the wall.   Be sure to use your level on this part as well.  We attached this board with panel adhesive and 1.25″ nails as well.

Once you have your top board done, it’s time to add the battens.  This is where you can decide how many you want and how far you want them spaced.  We are attaching these the same way with panel adhesive and nails.

attach battens
nail battens with nailer

For this wall we spaced our battens every 10.5″.  Here is the whole wall ready for the top board!

board and batten wall

Now we are adding a base moulding on top of this.  We attached it upside-down to give it a different look.  We will be adding hooks here in a later step.

nail top to board and batten

Once you have that done, you are almost ready for paint!  Before painting, be sure to fill all your nail holes with putty.  This will give it an even better finish.  This is where we left and let our sister do the painting 🙂

painted wall

Final optional step is adding hooks!  We wanted to give her a place to hang bags as they walk in so we added some hooks. And… let’s not forget about the lights…  How great are those??  The exact lights that we bought are no longer available but you can find similar HERE!

decorating board and batten

Get the FREE Printables for the Feather Wall Art HERE!

decorate wall

But, we have to say the best part of the whole makeover was this right here… And it always is!  LOVE the reaction!

Shanty2Chic Sisters

And a few more shots just for fun!  We found ALL the goodies to decorate this new space at At Home!  It’s one of our VERY FAV spots to find just about everything…. Frames, pillows, baskets, blankets, you name it!  You can check out their site here to find one by you!

ah-logo-2015-2
How to make a board and batten wall

You can find the FREE $25 Farmhouse Bench Plans HERE!

DIY Board and Batten Wall by Shanty2Chic

Thanks so much for stopping by guys!  Be sure to check out the video HERE on YouTube and SUBSCRIBE!!

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11 Comments

  1. Couple of questions…

    Is the top bender board flush with the vertical bender boards? If so, I assume added something behind the bender board to make it flush? Perhaps excess fiberboard? Lastly, the molding (5 inch base board) on top, is that flush at the joints or does it overlap? Maybe slightly right? If I tally up the thinkness of the top bender board + the fiberboard, that’ about .46 where as the molding at the top is about .50. Thoughts?

    1. Did you ever figure this out? I was so excited to find a tutorial with a backer board that showed it all even and gave and gave exact products… But it seems like a step is missing here.

  2. I’m comparing this board and batten and your previous one (in Ellyots room). If I don’t want to rip out the baseboard, do you recommend just starting above my current baseboard or adding the bottom piece like you did in this video? my fear is that the MDF will stick out over my builder grade baseboards

  3. I’d love to know where you got that vent cover?! Also, what color was used and what color grey is on her walls? I love the combo.

  4. LOVE LOVE LOVE This. Any advice how I would attach this to brick walls? My 70s house has half brick walls in the basement and I would love to cover them with board and batten. Just not sure how to attach to the brick.

    1. Thank you! You should be able to just attach the MDF panels with masonry:multipurpose screws (I would prob use 1/2″ MDF) then put the 1×4 boards over the seams so that the screws are covered. Just use 5/8″ brad nails so they don’t hit the brick. Hope this helps!

  5. This is beautiful! I did this in my entryway after one of your previous board and batten makeovers. Thanks for the inspiration! I’d love to know where you got those cage lights?! Love 🙂