Board and Batten {Show and Tell}

My never ending project is officially done. I can't say that I will miss painting the walls for the upteenth time, nor will I miss redoing all my mistakes. I have learned a lot, worked a lot, and am completely in aww of what I have created.

I normally describe the how-to's before I unveil the final product, but I simply can't help but show you how the walls turned out first.

Here is what the room looks like right now. I'm not quite sure what furniture I will keep and what will be moving on to a better place.

You can see the stack of bedding that I bought on the chair. I couldn't decide in the store so I bought all of them. The curtains will definitely be swapped out for perhaps something a little more vibrant. I'll also make them longer, just skimming the floors for a more tailored look.

Here's the other side of the room, complete with a chalk board magnetic wall that was created because I ran out of boards and decided to use what I had on hand. I think it was a great solution and simply love the addition. So how do you like the walls? I LOVE love them. I wouldn't do it again because it is so much work to do on your own, but I don't have any regrets making this inspiration a reality for R.

Here's how I did it.

It all started with this room. Excuse the mess. We were clearing out all the Christmas decorations and R.'s room has access to our attic.

From there, R. decided he wanted a blue room to which I painted it this color.

It stayed this way for a year until I couldn't take the color anymore so I decided upon this bluish gray color.

However, it was a little too dark for the space, so it got repainted to this sandy color.

I started the wall treatments by painting the battens. Battens are little sticks that cover the seams of the boards. It is a lot easier to paint them before you place them on the wall.

Next, came the boarding process. I bought sheets of luan because they were rather thin and that allowed me to leave the baseboards on the wall, saving me a lot of time.

Most people would use liquid nails to attach the boards to the wall. Liquid nails is basically material that comes in a tube that resembles glue, but that is as strong as nails, hence the name. I, however, did not want to go this route because I wanted the option to remove the walls if ever I changed my mind. It would not be possible if I used liquid nails because it would rip the sheet rock off. Therefore, I nailed boards to the wall. By doing this, I had to putty the holes (something you would not have to do if you used liquid nails).

Before nailing the boards to the wall, you need to measure and cut out all the outlets. Since the boards are thicker, when you place the covers back on, the outlets are depressed and need to be raised. Therefore, you will need to pull out all the outlets by unscrewing them from the wall and then screwing them into the boards. Make sure you turn off the electricity before you think about touching them. This is spoken from experience. It was quite a shock.

I removed the moulding under the window and trimmed it out with MDF to match the top moulding.



I used caulk to fill in all the spaces and holes.

Then, I added moulding everywhere else. I bought a sheet of MDF and had the store rip the boards for me every 4 inches for the top moulding. I used the scrap piece to make a rail for the chalk.

This is what it looked like after everything was painted.



The final stage was to nail the battens in place.



I placed them every 12 inches apart.



Along the way, I had a few hiccups that I needed to tend to. Remember this?



Using nails, instead of liquid nails, I was able to open up that panel to discover my missing outlet.



Fixing my mistake was a lot easier than what I imagined. Now, my wall looks like this. The outlet is right where it should be.



Do you notice anything else that is different? It was this:



and now it is this:

If you say the wall color is different, ding, ding ding! You are right. I painted it for the third time in three weeks. This is the final color. Third times a charm, right? I love the new darker color. It is a lot cleaner and makes the white walls stand out more.

It was now time to tackle the back wall.

I first used this magnetic primer and painted EIGHT coats onto the wall.

I kept on testing the magnetism. It recommends 3 coats, but 3 coats couldn't hold up an alphabet letter. After 6 coats, small magnets would stay, but nothing more. I added an additional 2 coats in order for R.'s lego magnets to stay up. After that dried, I added a couple of coats of chalk board paint to get this.

Love it.



...and the final result is exactly what I envisioned.



A clean, brighter, and happier room.

Now, it's time to dress it up. I bought my wood today to build the bed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this project will be done in a lot less time.

Board and batten - done. One thing checked off...only a hundred more to go. I'm so excited!