If I told you a couple of boards, some paint and some hooks can easily add character to a wall, you might think I’m crazy.
I don’t blame you for thinking that. I’d think it was crazy too. But then I learned about the magic of board and batten wall treatments.
We installed one as a part of our mudroom project and this was the end result!
The only difference between the before and after was some wood boards, paint and hooks. That’s it. Well, maybe except putting away some coats, but we’ll talk about cleaning another day…
Who knew installing a couple of things to a wall would make such a difference?!? Let’s move on to the tutorial so you can have one too!
Easy Board and Batten Tutorial
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. See my full disclosure here.
Supplies needed:
- wood boards in your choice of size
- paint in your choice of color
- nails
- 3 prong hooks
- white caulk (optional)
1. Design
Take some time to think about and design your board and batten wall. Decide what pattern you’d like your boards to create. You can get some fantastic design ideas here.
Also, think of what functions you’d like your wall treatment to have. In our case, we wanted the wall to hang lots of coats, backpacks, and have shelf to hold keys and sunglasses. We made sure that the design would be both beautiful and functional.
2. Install
Begin by installing the boards in your desired pattern on the wall. We liked this look of a slightly bigger vertical space at the bottom with a small shelf at the top.
While installing the boards, we noticed our walls were slightly curvy, creating a dark space in between the board and wall. Those little shadows were easily seen and looked really bad, so my brilliant hubby used some caulk to fill in she space between the boards and our imperfect walls.
In the DIY world, caulk covers a multitude of sins!
3. Paint
Next, paint the boards and wall the same color to bring the two together into a cohesive look.
4. Add Accesories
Once the paint is dry add some accessories to your board and batten wall. We wanted to add storage, so we installed these awesome 3 prong hooks. Some of the hooks were installed at a higher level for adults, and lower for the kids. The kids even helped with the installation!
I love these 3 prong hooks because one hook can hold several items, making the most of our limited storage space.
5. Enjoy The View
When our board and batten wall treatment was done, I jumped up and down squealing about how awesome it looked. True story. It’s physically impossible for me to hold it in when I’m excited 🙂 So if you enjoy yours as well as I enjoyed mine, go ahead and jump & squeal. I won’t judge.
I love how the artwork pops against the crisp clean wall. You can get that artwork for free here (it’s also available in several patterns and colors!)
This tutorial was shared at: Craft Frenzy Friday, Tutorials & Tips, Skip The Housework, Creative Spark, Work It Wednesday, Create it Thursday, DIY Like A Boss, The DIY Collective, Link Party Palooza, Inspiration Monday, Weekend Wind Down, Project Inspire{d}, Best DIY Projects, Creative Corner and Inspiration Monday.
Did you like this Easy Board and Batten Tutorial? Be sure to check out our other Easy DIY Projects for more inspiration!
Love love love this! You did make it look super easy. I like to see kids helping – they are so cute. The one wall by our front door was painted with a paint that has sand in it making it very rough. (I can’t imagine why!) We sanded it before painting but it’s still textured a bit. This would be a great solution – kind of giving it a reason to be different from the other walls.
Your wall is functional and decorative. Nice job.
Why thank you, Val! That’s a neat idea I hadn’t thought of. It’s always fun getting feedback from readers.
I want to do this behind my front door so badly! Thanks for the tutorial!
I wandered over from Work it Wednesday and I’ll be back.
You’ll love it! Having a place for everything really makes our home more organized and (a little) less chaotic. If you get to do the project I’d love to see the final results 🙂
This turned out amazing! I love the hooks you added, too! Thank you for linking up with our Creative Spark party; I am featuring your Board & Batten tutorial tomorrow. We’d love to have you come party with us again 😀
Those three prong hooks have been such a lifesaver! The pretty silver finish goes great with the wall treatment and they offer space to hang everything. Thank you Emily for your kind words AND for the feature! You just put a smile on my face 🙂
I can’t wait to do this to my home!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!
You’ll love it Kristie! I’m still joyfully surprised at the difference it made in that little hallway both in beauty and function. Now I want to install one on every room 😉
Your wall looks great! I need to figure out what wall in my house deserves the board and batten treatment.
This project will work in just about any room, so I think you’ll be happy no matter what!
Alright! You have totally inspired me to try this board and batten technique somewhere in our house! I love the look and your tutorial made it seem totally doable.
Thanks so much for sharing your creativity at the The DIY Collective this week! Hope to see you again next Thursday.
Have an awesome weekend with your sweet family!
~ Ashley
You should do it Ashley! You’ll LOVE the results! This board and batten project adds a classy look and it’s so easy.
I hope you have an awesome weekend too 🙂
LOVE your tutorial, Carrie! I’ve been wanting to do this in our master bedroom, and your advice on designing it before implementing it, really makes sense! I’m definitely pinning! You make it look so easy!!
I’m so glad we took our time to design our board and batten wall. If it weren’t for some planning we may have missed out on some of the best features (like the shelf and placement of the hooks) Thanks for pinning this CD! I appreciate it!
This is sooooo clever!! I love this idea because it adds to the decor of the room 🙂 Saying hi from the cupcakesandcrinoline link party 🙂
We’ve had this installed for a couple months now and I’m still surprised at how much of an impact this project made! I’m glad you like it as much as I do! Thanks so much for stopping by!
I really love this idea! I’ve seen a lot of tutorials that make this process seem so time consuming and difficult. Thanks for sharing an easier version that doesn’t skimp on the “wow” factor!
You’re very welcome Crystal! It really isn’t a super complex project but it really does deliver on the wow factor!
Very nice! Thanks for sharing this at the Craft Frenzy Friday linky party at Mom Home Guide! I’d love to put board and batten up in my home’s guest bathroom!
Board and batten wall treatment would be great for your guest bathroom. It will add so much class–you’re guests will love it! Thanks for stopping by Lauren!
Your board and batten turned out nice. Did you remove your original baseboards?
Yes we carefully removed the existing baseboard and decided to replace it with a board that matched the rest of the wall treatment. I’ve seen people do board and batten with the original baseboards and also with replacing the board and both look great. Either way will work–it just depends on what look you’re going for. I hope that helps!