Hello dear friends! Well, lovers of home decor, you see it everywhere but not in my home… until now! Yes, I am taking the plunge and hanging shiplap! In recent months, I have become obsessed with texture on my walls. From board and batten to faux brick made from joint compound, the change different types of texture brings to our living space is incredible. It was just a matter of time before faux shiplap claimed its space. Join me today as I am hanging shiplap for the first time!

The Project Begins

Three months ago, I began a makeover of our entryway. Part two of the makeover includes making a shiplap accent wall- but it is a large space. I think it is best to practice on a much smaller wall, so I chose to hang shiplap on one side of my kitchen island. Doing it first on a smaller wall will allow me to practice cutting around electrical outlets and switches, etc.

True to Home on Arbor Pointe, I am taking on this project myself. Why am I doing it without my husband, you may wonder? Well, we just celebrated 24 years of marriage and I want to make it to 25. Ha ha- kidding! We totally can work together but honestly, home projects are not my hubby’s thing. He hates doing them. The man supports me in every way as I do them, which works for me! Today he is making the trip to Home Depot with me to get the supplies I need. He rocks in this way!

One year ago I completed my first big DIY when I painted our kitchen cabinets. Until this point, I was a girl into crafting and decor, but major projects scared me! When shopping on Black Friday, I treated myself to a nailing gun and circular saw. After years of pinning DIY projects like board and batten on Pinterest, I gained the courage to try my own! Here is my first DIY Board and Batten wall. Still gives me chills!

Being a DIY girl is empowering! It is hard and frustrating at times, but seeing a project go from being in my mind only to real life is so cool. I can do hard things. And I love it!

So we are off to Home Depot!

First Steps for Hanging Shiplap for the First Time

And… Home Depot was a fail. Absolute fail. I found my boards, two 4 x 8 underlayment boards. I got them down from a high shelf and onto a cart and wheeled them back to the saw. And then it happened: the gentleman working the saw said Home Depot has a policy against making board cuts smaller than 12 inches. Dude- I want 6 inch wide boards! What?! My response was, in the sweetest possible voice, “Oh no, are you really going to make me go to Lowe’s? Really?” He said yes. And off I went to Lowe’s!

I get to Lowe’s and find what I need.

And the best thing happened. I met Nick. Nick saved the day- told me he would “happily” make 6 inch cuts for me. Did you hear that? Happily?! This is my knight in shining armor!

I give Nick my two boards of plywood and he makes the cuts for me. Totally excited now! I grab a gallon of white paint quick before I exit. Pay and done. Sweet!

Once I have the boards home, I lightly sand each one. While it is not real wood, you still end up with little shavings of board on the ends and I like to get rid of it. Make it smooth and pretty!

Step Two for Hanging Shiplap for the First Time

Next, I gather my tools and get ready to hang! I need my nailing gun and circular saw. I remove the two outlet covers. Let’s do this!

The first board I hang is 8 feet in length. I hang it right above, basically on top of, the baseboard. On my iPhone, I have a level app. Love, love, love it! Super convenient! I place my phone on top of the board in multiple places just to confirm it is level. Then I nail the board to the wall.

Here is my island with the first row of boards hung:

Yay! We are cruising now!

Click here to subscribe to Home on Arbor Pointe!

Keep Going- You are Hanging Shiplap for the First Time Like a Boss

The second row has the electrical outlets. Geesh. We are just getting started and now we have the most challenging cuts of the project. Here we go!

Okay, I have thought about this a lot. I am going to do my very best to explain how I cut around the outlets!

For the first outlet, I decide to cut the board right in the middle of where the outlet rests.

See that line in the middle? I draw the line all the way down the board, and then use my circular saw to cut the piece in two. After I draw on the boards the two small cutouts I need for the outlet, I make the cuts and then hang both boards. It looks like this:

I use nickels as spacers in between each row of boards. Although the space is hard to see in the picture above, I promise it is there! Here is a picture with the nickels inserted:

Back to the outlets! I do the same on the bottom for the second outlet. Now for the third row. I realize my plan needs to be compromised slightly. If I use the same technique I used for the second row, the vertical seams in row three will match row two, which is not the look I am going for. Back to the drawing board, literally!

I decide not to make a seam, and instead, attempt to make a cutout for the outlet. I grab a sheet of paper and actually draw the outline for the outlet.

Transferring the outlet shape to the wood happens next.

And then I cut out the shape on the wood!

Step Three for Hanging Shiplap for the First Time

I do this for the second outlet and then I am done having to cut around outlets! Whoop whoop! Now it’s just cutting boards for size and hanging them on the wall. Easy peasy. I continue to hang the boards until I get to the top.

Isn’t it looking so pretty?!

My last step for hanging the boards is to do the wrap around section on each end. Because this space is under five inches wide, the cutting and hanging goes quick. I complete both sides in less than 45 minutes! Win!

Step Four for Hanging Shiplap for the First Time

Once the boards are hung, it is time to fill the holes and sand the boards. I prefer to use joint compound over wood filler. This may be strange, I know, but my experience with wood filler when I did Board and Batten was not great. The filler sanded off too easily- often exposing the nail hole or seam I was trying to make disappear. Joint compound is thick and once it hardens, you can sand the area smooth. I prefer the finish with joint compound. Here is a picture with holes filled before sanding:

After letting the joint compound dry overnight, I lightly sand all of the covered holes. This step goes pretty quick!

Friends, every DIY girl has a secret weapon that gets her through the most challenging of projects. My secret weapon is this:

So why is this stuff so amazing? Well, when you hang wood or wood trim, unless your cuts are PERFECT, you have gaps. Sometimes small, sometimes big. And if you are like me, your eye is drawn right to the gap every. Single. Glance. A quick dab of this stuff and magic- the gap is gone! Try it!

After the sanding is complete, I clean the wall with a damp sponge. And then it is ready for paint!

Step Five for Hanging Shiplap for the First Time

I use Valspar Ultra White paint. The final steps are coming together!

Here is the shiplap after one coat of paint:

After the painting is complete, I need to work on the trim pieces- under the counter and the corners- as well as the outlets. I need to attach outlet extenders so the outlet covers can be reattached.

First up- the trim pieces. You might be asking, why hang trim pieces? Well, my boards were 6 inches wide. With the spacers in between each one, I had to shorten the width of the top board to make it fit. And because I do not have a saw that ensures long cuts are straight, I had to make the cut the best, straightest I could. This made the top board look weird. No worries, a piece of trim lined to the trim that is already there.

Here is a picture with the trim across the top!

Next, I had to attach corner pieces. My apologies here, I have zero pictures of this part of the process. It was a bit frustrating getting all of the trim and corner pieces the exact size needed. I am a school principal, friends- not a carpenter! I did my best. This picture shows the finished project with the corner pieces attached:

Last Step- You are in the Final Stretch!

Next, let’s chat outlet extenders!

So when you do a project like this one, the face of the outlet falls too far back to put the outlet cover on. You need to apply an outlet extender. It is super easy! Here is what I purchased to do this job:

Secrets revealed, this package cost $3.29 at Home Depot (…I know, I know- I bought this before the board cutting snafu!) and there are materials to extend two outlets inside.

First, begin by turning off the power to your area. I switched the breaker to off and then I used my curling iron to test that the outlet truly was without power.

Next, I unscrew the top and bottom screws on the face of the outlet.

I pull the base out. Once the base is out, I place the blue extender behind it.

I then use the new, longer screws that came in the package to screw the base back in. You can go as deep in as you need to to support where the cover goes. I have my outlet cover handy to check that the face is flush with where the boards rest. Once it is flush, place the outlet cover back on the outlet. Yay, it is done!

And with the outlets back on, my first faux shiplap project is done!

What projects are you working on? Be sure to share in the comments!