Hello dear friends and happy weekend project time! Do you enjoy planning projects? Or do you have a vision for something and simply go for it? I am a bit of the see it and go for it style! For years, I have been pinning board and batten pins on Pinterest. Recently, I bought a nailing gun and a circular saw. One step closer to my dream of becoming a true DIY queen! So today I am going to tackle how to do board and batten for beginners. I am flying solo on this project! Join me!
Why Board and Batten?
When creating a feature wall, there are endless options! Originally, and on a whim, I painted stripes on this wall just to make it different- to stand out from the other walls. It added contrast and the stripes gave it a nice clean look. My tutorial for painting these stripes launched this blog! When it came time to change, I chose board and batten for the texture. I want clean lines with rich texture. And in reviewing lots of blog posts on how to do board and batten, it seemed like something I could handle! So let’s go!
Disclaimer: For your convenience, I have included some affiliate links. This simply means if you click on one of the links and buy something, I might receive a small commission, but do not worry- you will not pay a dime more.
My very first blog post was written when I painted stripes on this wall four years ago! Wow! Time sure flies. Click here to see how I painted stripes on this wall! This is a terrible picture of my wall before I added the board and batten, but if you click the link above you can see some better shots of what it looked like before.
Step One for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
For step one, you need to gather your supplies.
As mentioned, I recently got a nailing gun and circular saw. Both made by Ryobi. In addition to these tools, I got the following:
Boards
Level app on my phone
Paint
Step Two for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
Step two is to nail the horizontal boards to the wall. I chose my height at random, and allowed for 11.5 inches of space between the top and middle level of boards. I used my leveling app to ensure each board was level before nailing it to the wall.
Step Three for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
Now you are ready to hang you battens. First, you need to decide how many battens you want to have for the space. I decided I wanted five. This equates to four panels.
Next, I went to www.inchcalculator.com, and clicked on Board and Batten calculator. I measured the length of my wall and added the dimensions to the calculator:
Once I had the numbers letting me know how much space I needed to measure for my battens, I was good to go! I nailed the rest of the panels onto the wall.
Girl Power- Learning to Do Things for Myself!
So, this might be a good time to share why I am doing this project alone. First, I was the girl that HATED wood shop in middle school! The sound of the saws, the feeling of the sawdust, the smell of varnish- all of it- I hated! I never saw myself as a girl that would ever do these types of projects!
As my love for home decor grew, I would see pictures of beautiful feature walls and imagine them in my space. I read lots of tutorials, and so many projects just seemed easy! I have an incredible husband- helpful in so many ways- but he hates projects. He encourages every one of mine, though. He will drive me to Home Depot and load all of my supplies in the cart, and then in the truck, and he shows me how to use the tools. 100% supportive! He just does not want to do the work.
But you know what? I learn so much from the projects I do! It was tough in the beginning, as I truly had to step out of my comfort zone to get going, but once I did, I feel empowered to take on more stuff! I have painted my kitchen cabinets white, created a faux brick backsplash, and made a faux brick feature wall in the last year. Go me!
Step Four for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
Once all of the battens are hung, it is time to caulk the edges and fill in the nail holes. I used joint compound to fill in the holes because that is what I had on hand. I allowed the caulk and joint compound to dry for several hours.
Do you love DIY? Join me on this journey where I am showing you how I am transforming my builder grade home into the modern farmhouse of my dreams! Subscribe here for regular updates!
Below are pictures of the caulk and the filled nail holes. It is coming together! Yay!
Step Five for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
Alright, get your sand paper ready! It is time to smooth everything over!
I used 220 grit sandpaper for this step. Because my boards are so smooth, I did not have to sand a ton. Just enough to smooth out the joint compound and blend the caulk.
Here is a picture of the wall after my first sanding:
I mention this is after my first sanding. As I visualized this project in my head, I pictured smooth, white boards. Like, super smooth boards. I added extra joint compound over the holes and at the points where two boards connected. And, I sanded again. It was extra work but worth it!
Step Six for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
Omg- this project is starting to take shape! Now that all of the boards are hung and sanded, I am feeling like I can see the end product! Step six is to paint the upper portion of the wall, the part above the board and batten.
Oh boy, can we just talk about painting over stripes for a minute? It is a CHALLENGE! I had no idea! It can be tough getting the stripe pattern to stop showing through. Ultimately, it took four coats of paint to make the stripes disappear!
Step Seven for How to Do Board and Batten for Beginners
And now we get to do the BEST part- painting the board and battens! I make it sound fun. This may depend on whether you enjoy painting! I do not mind painting but it is not my favorite. My favorite thing, though, is making things pretty! And as I applied each one of the four coats of white paint, I could see this beautiful swan emerge.
Oh la la! It is happening!
As I completed my wall, I was sure to add the wall switch cover and the outlet cover. I hung a black and white canvas print I had made years ago on the wall. And just above the picture, I hung a wall light. Here is the finished product with the light on:
Now, sweet friends, you give me way too much credit if you think I actually wired that light in the wall! Good grief- I have zero electrical skills! I saw a Pinterest hack that included using puck lights with a remote that were purchased off Amazon. That is right, friends, Amazon for the win!
What I Learned Doing my First Board and Batten Project
Gosh, I learned so much doing this project.
Shop the Room:
I bought the tools and finally started. I was bound and determined to do this, and do it well enough that the wall would not look messed up. But, at times, I doubted myself! The first two boards I hung crooked. I had to take them off the wall and rehang them. And I had to do that twice! So embarrassing to admit! Like who screws up twice, back to back like that?!
I learned that accuracy and precision matter, especially when making cuts. So many times a board would be just a bit too long, I would go make a small cut, and then the same board was too short! I wasted so much wood! Taking my time to measure things precisely was so important.
Trying New Things- and Proud of it!
I learned to stick with it! Even when cut after cut was crappy, I had to keep trying.
And finally, maybe the best lesson of all, I CAN do hard things! I can step out of my comfort zone and try things and make beautiful things. Such a confidence booster!
If you see yourself in anything I have shared, I encourage you to try hard things too! Believe in your ability to learn new things. You can do it!
Thank you for this post it’s a project I would love to try someday.
Thank you, Sarah! I am hooked on B and B- doing it in my front entryway this week! Good luck to you!