DIY BOARD & BATTEN FEATURE WALL

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Sharing this simple DIY accent wall using board and batten for our son Gavin’s bedroom makeover. We decided to transition Gavin’s Star Wars themed room to a more mature space since he just started high school.

When we purchased the home in 2021 this bedroom didn’t even have carpet. We installed new floors and added some paint to clean up the space but that’s as far as we got.

Now that we have a break from big projects we decided to tackle his room. We wanted to do an accent wall with board and batten to give this bedroom some character. Jeff measured the wall to map out the pattern. He also marked where all the studs were located. We decided on 6 equal rectangles. We got the whole family involved and helped Jeff place the 3/16″ Eucaboards 8’x4′ on the wall. He uses these boards for a lot of projects because they have a smooth surface and cut really well. The Home Depot carries them for around $24 a board.

Tip: Use a little liquid nails on the back of the panel so it helps to stick better, and then get some help to hold it up firmly against the wall while someone uses a brad nailer to secure it. Make sure you nail to the studs. You don’t want to go using a brad nailer randomly with electrical wires and sometimes pipes in the wall.

When Jeff planned out the pattern he figured out where to meet the seams of the panel boards so he could cover them with battens. The battens are really just 2.5″ mdf trim boards. Doing a little pre planning can save you some unsightly seams later. As you can see in the next photo Jeff knew just where the battens were going so he could cover the seams where the panel boards met. We used 4 Eucaboards total. The board to the right was a full sheet and the board to the left was a full sheet. The middle board was cut to fit the space in between and the last board was for the bottom pieces since the wall was over 8′ tall.

Here’s another tip; Jeff likes to do a coat of paint before installing the battens because it’s easier to roll the paint on the flat wall first. So we started painting the walls with Benjamin Moore color Chelsea Gray. Next Jeff nailed the battens on the wall, caulked the seams and finally painted them to match.

With the feature wall complete, it was time to bring the new furniture in we selected. We started with a new Queen sized bed and moved it to the corner to create more space for a writing desk. We got a new dresser that also doubles as a TV stand. We added a nice wool area rug for warmth and comfort and some wall art. Last we added some decor pieces like this oversized table lamp and industrial book ends. The Theo Ladder Bookcase is the perfect spot to display some of the lego sets and books.

Couldn’t be more thrilled with the final reveal. I think this is a room Gavin can grow up in and enjoy for years to come.

XOXO El.