How to Shiplap Walls Using Pinewood and Why I'm Not a Fan

I’m a sucker for wall treatments and shiplap walls are my biggest crush. Throughout my home I have added both board & batten and shiplap here and there. As I talked about in my last post, there are so many ways to get the shiplap look. My latest shiplap wall technique tackled (now that’s a tongue-twister) was using pinewood. After starting this project, I had some mixed feelings about it right out of the gate. But having already bought all of my wood, I was committed.

I decided to try out this technique in a smaller area, primarily because I knew it would be a little more costly than my typical method of adding shiplap. Turned out it was about 3 times more expensive. (Reason #1 – why I’m not a fan) But, having seen some other DIY’ers choosing pinewood for their shiplap walls, I wanted to give it a try. And in turn, report back to you, my thoughts.

Having built and installed this sliding barn door a couple years ago, this area was in need of some extra pizazz…

The barn door is a huge statement piece in and of itself, but I wanted to add a little more character to it’s backdrop. Not to mention, the primary wall in this alcove was a little beat up….fingerprints, dull paint, and a little hole from…can’t even remember…

Gradually, I’ve been changing out all of my trim throughout my home and updating it to a more modern look of craftsman trim. Therefore, my first step was to remove and replace all of the trim in this area. (Click on this link to see how I DIY craftsman trim)…

Now I’m ready to shiplap!!

STEP-BY-STEP: HOW TO SHIPLAP WALLS USING PINEWOOD

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1×6 pine boards (measure area to determine number of boards needed)
miter saw
jigsaw
nail gun
tape measure
caulk
paint
1 1/2″ nails

STEP-BY-STEP:

STEP ONE:

Paint walls the same color the shiplap walls will be…

STEP TWO:

Starting from the top of the wall, measure length of board needed.

Cut board using miter saw.

Attach to wall with nailgun.

STEP THREE:

Measure, cut and attach next board.

Note: BEFORE attaching, use a ruler to separate the two boards to allow a slight gap between boards…

STEP FOUR:

Repeat this process all the way down to the bottom of wall…

Most likely, you’ll run into an outlet or smoke detector during this project. Don’t panic. These are actually very easy to overcome. (Watch for an upcoming video to show exactly how I do this). With a little measuring, you’ll knock these out. No problem.

As you can see, my cuts were not perfect by any means. So give yourself grace, because when the project is complete, (caulk is my best friend) these imperfections are not very noticeable….

One thing I wish I would have done differently is, to pull the outlets and smoke detector out farther and place them on top of the boards. This would have given a much more seamless look. But, my anxiousness to get this project moving won over…

Now that you have one wall completed, you are ready to move onto the next wall. The key is to make sure your boards line up together in the corner. If you’re finding that it’s just not possible to line them up, (most walls are not straight) the best way to remedy this is to attach a 1×2 (going from the ceiling to the baseboard) in the corner. To understand this more clearly here’s a picture where I used this technique in my modern farmhouse bathroom remodel…

What this does is, it tricks the eye into not noticing that the boards don’t actually line up perfectly. It works like a charm. 🙂

I ran into a dilemma with my baseboard. Because my baseboard is the same thickness as my 1×6 pine boards, they all ran together…

I was not a fan of this look at all. I like my trim/moulding to be big and chunky and stand out. My solution: I attached another baseboard onto my already attached baseboard. Voila! Problem solved!!

STEP FIVE: Now, we’re ready for some caulk…to fill in any gaps along the sides of the wall, where the boards meet the trim, anywhere you feel you need to hide some imperfections. If you would like a few extra tips on caulking, I have a thorough post on the best caulking techniques…check it out here.

STEP SIX: We see it all coming together! It’s looking amazing! Let’s add some paint!! If you’re wanting the same look I have, I used Behr Marquee White Moderne. Sidenote: Because the boards are spaced apart a bit, you will need to paint in between each board…so as not to see the raw wood of the pine boards.

And that is it!! Now you have some beautiful shiplap walls, that are sure to make a statement and bring on lots of conversations. And the best part is, you get to say…”I did that!”

There’s one more big change I would like to make to this alcove….change out the doors to 5-panel doors. But just like changing all of my trim to craftsman, changing all of my doors is a big undertaking…it’s all a process. 🙂

A much easier change I would like to make, is a new picture. I would like to go more neutral and let the barn door and the shiplap do all of the talking. 🙂 But I’m still on the search for that right picture. So for now, sometimes I keep this bolder picture up…

And sometimes I take it down…

And of course, this little lady always makes pictures cute…

It really is that easy!!! And if the DIY grip has gotten a hold of you (because it’s so addictive) and you would like to build your own barn door to add to this space (or another), check out this AWESOME tutorial!!! It is my favorite build and I’ve put together a GREAT tutorial to help you build one too. Check it out!!!