DIY HOME RENOVATING PROJECT

We did a thing and I like it very, very much. 

That’s right. We installed a horizontal board and batten in the dining room. And it is my jam. Although I’ll admit, it wasn’t my first choice. That’s right. My original design, if you recall, called for horizontal shiplap. Totally the plan. It was going to be the most expensive aspect of the room by far, but I’d budgeted appropriately and was ready to pay the price.

I really loved how modern the horizontal shiplap was beginning to look. Like this photo, from artbywarner.com, which gave Warner’s entryway depth and personality without being overbearing. 

The plan also called for two wall sconces. To achieve this, we hired an electrician to install light boxes. The day before he was supposed to install them, he broke his arm. Scrambling, I called a local contractor who said he could come out the very next day and do it. I was desperate. The quote was high. The desperation was higher (six weeks, remember?), so I cracked. I spent the shiplap budget on an electrician. It was the saddest day of my life. This is a lie. I’m being overly dramatic. The saddest day of my life was May 25, 2011: the day of the final airing of The Oprah Winfrey Show, obviously.

Saddest day or not, I was still incredibly upset about going back to the drawing board. After all, I couldn’t just leave the current wainscoting. I’d already taken it down. So I sulked around the trim department at the local hardware store until inspiration struck. And it didn’t even strike me. Christine was the one who got inspired. She found some 1″ wide vinyl trellis and said, “What if we hang this horizontally in a wide pattern?” and I was like Give me all the trellis you have now! At $4 per eigth foot long piece, this project would come in at a total of $160. Approximately $600 less than the shiplap treatment. Yes, you read that correctly. We determined placing them five feet up the wall, in increments of seven inches apart, was the best way to achieve the same general look. So we painted the walls white and began installing. First, we used a bead of Liquid Nails along the backside of the strip. 

Then we secured it to the wall and slid a guide between each piece (three pieces of paint stirrers, cut to exactly seven inches, to insure our width remained consistent). The guide meant that we only needed to use the level for the very top row, which saved us a ton of time and fear of human error. Then we nailed each pieve in place with a portable finish nailer. 

The final step was to caulk each piece of trim where it met the wall and paint it the same color as the wall. 

The end result is a look that winks at shiplap, but is even more modern. It’s certainly not a fake shiplap. The dimensions are exactly the opposite. But I really like that it’s not what everyone else has. It’s unique and fun. It’s really lightened up the space. 

What do you think? Does it look professional? Does it make you as happy as it makes me? Next week, I’m talking about wallpaper. How to install it, where to get it, my favorite tips and tricks, everything wallpaper. So you’ll definitely want to check that out. 

And go see everyone else’s projects here. I’m really enjoying setting an hour aside every week to catch up with everyone. It feels like a trip to the spa, only we’re talking about laser levels and paint finishes. (It’s more fun than it sounds, I swear!)

– xoxo – 
Teri

PS. Did you notice the new light fixture hanging from the ceiling? Yeah. We got that installed too!