DIY Board and Batten (Bedroom Makeover)

I love the look of cottage paneling and today I’m gonna share how to get that look easily and affordably with DIY Board and Batten.

Eeek! We’ve finally moved our bed back into our bedroom! I’m still tweaking the design in here a bit (I shared a peek on Insta Stories yesterday). I found a few lamps in the basement that I’m thinking about incorporating and this old chair is making me happy in here, too. It feels so good to finally have our bed back in our room. We’ve been sleeping in the office and our bed was giant in there and was a squeeze for Luke to sit at his desk.

This post was sponsored by RYOBI and Kilz. They sent me product in exchange for this post, all words, thoughts and images are my own. This post contains a few affiliate links, and if you purchase via my link I receive a percentage of the sale. Thank you for supporting the blog in this way.

So you may remember, my inspiration post for the room:

I was heavily inspired by a few magazines in England during our trip in February, especially the photo on the right. I love that paneling and wanted to do something similar. Since we just replaced the floors, click here to see that post, we’d need to replace the baseboard but I really didn’t want to have to start pulling the crown moulding down as it could affect the ceiling.

I came across this post here from my friend Layla over at The Lettered Cottage and they did a board and batten and didn’t remove the moulding – baseboard or crown. I thought this is what we needed to do!!!! Instead of using big boards, they
used thin lattice from the Home Depot. The lattice they used was 73 cents a linear foot and our’s was slightly more at $1.22 a linear foot. We cut the lattice in long lengths at The Home Depot to make it easier to transport.

The first step was to install the baseboard moulding and, because our historic home has really meaty baseboard, we tried to match that in this room. We also had our electrician come and replace our electric wall units. We were worried about the wiring and causing a fire. Once that was finished we could start planking out the wall.

We actually started in the middle of the wall our bed is on and Luke marked where all the studs were, but we didn’t always place the lattice in that exact spot. We used the RYOBI AirStrike Brad Nailer to secure the lattice to the wall. We’d measure one area, secure it using a level to make sure the lattice was square, then we’d used a square and measure 16″. Originally we were thinking of doing 18″ or 12″ but we thought 16″ would be good with the windows and doors and it was also great when it came time to paint because a roller would fit between the space.

This was our first time using a nail gun. Luke, being from England, usually attaches things with screws or uses a hammer for nails, but I can’t imagine hammering each individual nail in place. This room would have taken days.

Originally, we were going to do all the cutting in the basement but we ended up bringing our saw up here. We used a RYOBI Sliding Compound Mitre Saw but didn’t bring the stand up.

Having the saw in the room made all the difference. We made sure each time that the top and bottom of the lattice had a straight edge.

Here’s an in progress shot:

Once all the lattice was in place, it was time to go back to caulk along the baseboard and lattice, and fill the nail holes. This took a bit of time. Then we allowed it to dry. Luke did the caulk and I did the holes 😉 We make a great team! We took the boys out for dinner after spending the day on the room.

The next morning we got up early, put podcasts on and got ready to paint the room.

We covered the floors with heavy duty fabric drop cloths. I didn’t want any paint getting on our new hardwoods!

There were some knots and areas we primed with Kilz primer.

Then we started painting. I shared the colors we picked here. We decided on Magnolia Homes’ Shiplap. It’s a warm gray white and thought it would give a nice old touch to our new board and batten.

I love Fixer Upper and Chip and Joanna and was hoping I was gonna love their paint. You guys, I LOVED this paint as much as I hoped I would. This was it going on but you can see just how much brighter it makes the walls feel. It reflects the light more than the previous blue/gray color. The paint has a primer built in it and is mold and mildew resistant. The paint didn’t smell at all and went on so smoothly. We really enjoyed working with it.

See how pretty it is? We did two coats. Then we went back and did the trim in True White. It’s a bright white and makes such a statement against the walls.

I love the color and the paneling and we did it in a weekend! We got Chinese take out that night. I just couldn’t face cooking or listening to another podcast. Oh, we didn’t tape the trim in the room which I usually do and I found this made it so much quicker.

The last part of the makeover that still needed to happen once we finished painting was a new threshold.

We bought this piece of oak at The Home Depot. Luke cut it along the length with the table saw, then he used the scroll saw to cut the shape. He changed the angle of the table saw to cut the lip. He used the old threshold as a template but it had to be a bit bigger the wall to wall carpeting used to go further into the doorway. I used Minwax Golden Oak stain as this was the closest to the hallway floors and the bedroom floors. I tested out about 8 stain colors on off-cuts of this wood. Then I top coated it with two coats of the fast drying Minwax polyurethane in satin. Once dry we secured in place with the RYOBI Airstrike.

When that last nail went in I felt like Luke was carrying me across the threshold. We were both elated.

The room was finished!

Before bringing all our furniture in, I snapped a few photos. I wanted to capture the simplicity of the colors, the paneling, the warm wood.

Guys, it was all I was dreaming about.

I know our room was pretty as it was, but I wanted something a little more. Something special, that we created together.

Now we have the memory of making this room our own. Of laughing along with the radio, of chatting about the boys or the dogs, just being together.

Luke will be building a bedside table to go right here.

I’m just so in love with the brighter wall color and the texture. We also replaced all the wall sockets to bright white.

It feels like a whole new room.

I rediscovered this chair. I think it’s gonna stay in here, but might get a little makeover too. Maybe strip the stain, maybe some new fabric.

I’ve never upholstered before but I like to try new things.

We’ll see.

Oh, and I’m also thinking about NOT having a headboard and doing something different above our bed. We got some linen bedding and new pillows. I’ll be working on the new ideas and styling and will share once it’s ready for it’s close up.

Hope you enjoyed this post! I sure enjoyed writing it!