So, you have a boring room that needs some livening up. What is a simple, unique way to add character to a room? This was the dilemma with Chad’s office space. Lots of white walls, a dated receptionist area, honey-colored trim throughout. It needed some updating right away. My quick and easy go-to is a wall treatment. Upon entering the office now, your first look is a beautiful shiplap wall. Round the corner, into the waiting area and yet another unique wall treatment…

This small wall was perfect for this technique…

The key to this wall treatment is plenty of white space.

How to construct a large plank wall treatment to add character to a room:

Step 1: After painting your 2×12 pine boards, you’ll want to cut them short enough that you still have plenty of white wall bordering on both sides. Here’s the painting technique I used for these boards…

You can check out the blog post where I share how to get this look, here.

Step 2: Starting from the top, I measured 6 inches from the ceiling and marked it for my first board. Using a level, I made sure my board was straight all the way across and drove in my first nail with my nail gun. It’s very helpful to have another set of hands to assist in holding the board straight…especially while on the ladder for the top boards. Those boards are heavy and can get a little tricky AND dangerous on a ladder as a one-man job.

Step 3: Next, I placed my level vertically on the left side of my first board and made sure my second board lined up. You don’t want your boards to be all staggered. Draw a vertical line to keep the boards as straight as possible.

Step 4: Measuring 4 inches down, I repeated Step 2 and hung my next board.

**Repeat Steps 2 and 3 over and over, as far down as you want to go. I chose to stay above the electrical outlets. Just to make things a little easier and to accentuate more white wall.

Did you notice in some of the pictures above, the original honey-stained trim? Not a good look with that wall treatment. Therefore, we are painting all of the trim white. Isn’t it amazing how painting the trim white completely changes the look of this design?

SIDENOTE:

**I recommend using a nail gun for this project. Much faster and easier. My favorite nail gun is my Ridgid Finish Nailer.

It’s that simple…and now you’ve added character to a room and a little pizazz to a boring, plain wall. You can do this! Lots of fun and so easy. What kind of wall treatments have you done? I would love to see your before and afters.

Speaking of before and afters, as promised from my last post, here’s the before and after of the dark paint I spilled while completing this project…

Wow! Was I sweating it when that quart of paint slipped out of my hands and hit the floor!! But thankfully the carpet cleaners were able to come RIGHT AWAY and get it all out. Thank you, Jesus!!

Have a great week!

Until next time,

Happy Building!!

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