Creating a Wood Wall

Aunt Pat always taught me that it is possible to create Do it Yourself projects on a budget. I had been coveting the wood walls that have been appearing all over Pinterest and lifestyle blogs. Since we finally have our own house I have been slightly obsessed with modifying our home. At first I was unsure about where I wanted to have the wall in the house, maybe in the library? Or in the Kitchen? I finally settled on the bedroom because it would serve a dual purpose. My husband I really tall (6'5) so tall in fact that we cannot have a foot board. I Had been struggling with finding a headboard I liked without a foot board. So not only would this be the wood wall that I wanted but it would be a headboard of sorts. After reading four or five tutorials online, I decided that a wood wall was something I could do and I really hoped that it would warm up our bedroom. I headed to home depot with a general plan, but not a solid set idea.

1) I collected the supplies I needed:

•  EverTrue 8ft-Stain Grade Tongue and Groove wooden pieces (They come in packs of 6 and I bought 5 for our 8 foot wall). I bought the economy kind and there were a couple that weren't up to my standards, however 5 packs gave me the option to pick and choose.

• Cabot Autumn Glow Wood Stain - I am the type of person that asks a few million questions of all the workers at Home Depot. The nice man in the paint department told me that one can would work for my project and he was right! He steered me towards this product because it stains and seals in one step.

• A Two Inch Synthetic Paintbrush
• A Drop Cloth
• 2 Bottles of Liquid Nails
• A caulk gun (to dispense the liquid nails)

2) When I came home I took down all the art off my wall and put the drop cloth down on the floor.

3) Then I unwrapped all the wood and decided which pieces I wanted to use (The box said that I should have the wood rest in the room it was to be used in for 48 hours. This probably would have been a good idea, but I was impatient and it turned out ok anyway)

4) I put the liquid nails in the caulk gun, and spread the liquid nails across the back of the first wood panel in a zig-zag pattern.

5) Starting at the ceiling I put the first plan up with the groove side up against where the wall met the ceiling and the tongue side facing down. I ensured that the panel was strait buy using a level.

6) While the wood would have stayed up with just the liquid nails, I liked the rustic look of having a few nails in the boards. To create the "thrown together" look I hammered three nails at unmeasured intervals throughout each board.

7) I continued down the wall inserting the tongue into the groove and making sure that the edges were lined up. Once I got to the bottom, there was about a one inch space between the wood and the floor paneling. Since the wood wall was to go behind my bed I wasn't worried about the space, however I could have cut the last panel to fit.

8) I let the liquid nails dry for a few hours

9) I then taped off the wood wall so that I wouldn't get stain on the regular walls, ceiling or floor. I could have stained the wood before I put it up, however I was determined to make this a one day project.

10) Starting at the top, I spread the stain in smooth strokes all the way across the board. I had to work quickly to avoid drip lines. If you choose to stain on the wall like I did make sure you are motivated before you start and that you have all the items you need within arms reach. You have to work quickly to avoid visible brush strokes and drip lines. I particularly like the way staining the nails made the wall look a little more rustic.

11) Once the first coat had dried (about an hour) I followed up with a second coat)

12) I was very very happy with the result! I feel like it changed the room so much and was only about $50!

Do you have a wood wall projects? I would love to hear about them!

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