I’ve waited years to finally do something with this extra long wall in our living room. And when I say long, I’m talking 16.5 feet of blank space. Space that would eventually house a beautiful board and batten with shelf accent wall.
Fun fact: the term ‘board and batten’ gets it name from the literal design. The horizontal boards are referred to as the ‘boards’ and the vertical ones are referred to as the ‘battens’. You’ll see me referring to them as such throughout the post so I wanted to share that info first!
Aside from adding significant coziness to the space, this project was also a great excuse to clean. The windows, ledges and floor behind the couches don’t normally get a ton of attention, so we took this opportunity to wipe and vacuum everything thoroughly.
Our Living Room Before the Accent Wall
Our living room hasn’t gotten much decorative attention in years. Because in my opinion, it didn’t need anything else… except this wall. So really, if you look at the details, not much changes aside from the addition of the board and batten with shelf accent wall.
My Biggest Board and Batten Design Struggle
One of my biggest struggles with this specific accent wall project was working around my clock. I LOVE this clock and didn’t want to get rid of it. However, it’s enormous (36″ in diameter) and would sit in the middle of the shelf any way I spun it.
The resolution? I ultimately took it down in this space, but this beauty will now go in our basement living space, so we don’t have to part ways! Always think about your other rooms before donating/tossing things when shifting decor.
Planning a Board and Batten with Shelf Wall Design
You may recall that we’ve done a board and batten wall design before, and it also had a shelf. Even on that smaller wall, the math was a tricky but very crucial part of the planning process. Here’s how I figured out all the spacing, measurements and how many panels we’d have.
Important to note: boards are not the exact width their name implies. For example, a 1×4 is actually 3.5 inches wide, not 4 inches wide. This is important to keep in mind when you’re working out your design measurements. Measure the width of all lumber so you have the exact right figures before plugging them into the equation.
Board and Batten Wall Formula
Here’s the equation I use to map out my board and batten designs ahead of purchasing materials:
- Total width of wall (200″ for this wall)
- Total width taken up by your vertical battens (board width x number of vertical battens — or total width of each “column” in this case i.e. my “column” includes my 1×4, my 1×2 and the space in between which was a total of 6″), so 6″ x 7 columns plus the two end battens, which are 3.5″ each, this totals 49″
- Number of spaces that will be in between battens (for this wall its eight)
Take the total width of the wall and subtract the total width of vertical battens/columns (i.e. 200″ – 49″ = 151″) and divide that number by the number of spaces between battens (we have eight spaces, so 151″ / 8 = 18.875″ gap between vertical battens/columns).
Given that’s a very specific, non-even number, we rounded down to 18.75″ and accepted that our corner gap will take on a tiny bit of excess width (you don’t even notice it at that small fraction of an inch).
It takes some focus but the math truly isn’t hard, especially with my formula! While I don’t normally condone rounding measurements, sometimes it’s necessary to get through these wall projects. You never even notice the microscopically larger gap at the end, either.
Assembling the Board and Batten with Shelf Wall
Now it’s time to get our hands dirty!
While I own measurements for cuts, board placement and all things design, Kevin’s in charge of making the actual cuts. We’ve acquired all the necessary tools over the years, which has proven to be a worthwhile investment. If you have projects lined up that’ll require these tools, they’re typically worth buying versus renting. You’d be shocked how quickly they pay for themselves!
Install the Horizontal Boards First
After two walls, we’ve found this to be the absolute easiest way to go about these designs. There’s only one on top and one on bottom, so starting here sets the rubric for what’s to come. With a wall this wide though, you’ll need multiple boards to create that single cohesive horizontal board look.
Would you even know looking at my completed wall that each horizontal line is actually THREE different boards? Never! Because we made them blend together so well with bevel cuts, spackling and proper sanding.
But first, to install these horizontal boards, ensure you know exactly what height you want them at and get them positioned in place. Then,
What’s a bevel cut?
Saws contact wood at an even 90 degree angle standardly when making cuts. Bevel cuts are any cut that isn’t made at a 90 degree angle. This is shown below but is also shown more visibly in the ‘working around a power outlet’ section.
Bevel cuts allow the boards to interlock, creating a smoother final look. You could also butt them up one against the other but there’s always a chance they don’t lay as nicely. You’ll also have to spackle the top and bottom more, which can be very hard to sand smoothly.
This is what it looks like spackled. Though not dry yet, you can see there’s not a lot of excessive to draw the eye to the gap. That’s the goal!
Measure Every Vertical Batten Individually
Sounds like a lot, but guess what? It’s highly necessary, and it’s really not much extra work. The fact is, despite your best leveling efforts, the distance between the top and bottom boards will always fluctuate slightly. Even a quarter inch is a lot when having to spackle a gap, so you want these to be as snug as possible.
We not only measured every 1×4 but every 1×2 as well, even though it was just an inch away. There were a few occasions where we made slightly different cuts as a result.
How to Work Around Power Outlets
We got lucky on the nursery wall, our design didn’t run into the only power outlet on that wall. However, we had two outlets on this wall and the one on the left was right at the beginning of my 6″ board design. Really though, that was the best case scenario for us.
The outlet cover was about 4.5″ wide, which would account for the 1×4 and blank space. So we made a bevel cut on the 1×4 so it seemingly melted into the outlet cover on either side. We then placed the 1×2 right next to it. You’ll notice below that the gap is slightly larger than our space. This was for the sake of the convenience and the tiny difference was worth it. You truly can’t even tell these two boards are spaced any further apart than their counterparts and made our job so much easier.
While it came out looking perfectly presentable, this outlet sits behind a bench. So even if it came out a little wonky, it wasn’t that big of a deal. You may get lucky that way if you run into an outlet, but also you may not. Just remember, you can always put something in front of it if you’re not as happy with the result. There’s ALWAYS a fix!
Installing a Board and Batten Wall Shelf
This part is really tricky, nearly impossible without a second set of hands. Have someone who can help available when it’s time to install the shelf. Unlike the boards and battens, the shelf will likely bear weight and it’s incredibly important that it’s installed correctly.
Once you’ve cut your shelf, run liquid nails atop the top horizontal batten when you’re ready to install the shelf. This helps keep the shelf in place while nailing and beyond.
Pro Tip: before installing the shelf, use your stud finder to mark where all your studs are with painters tape in advance. This way you know where to shoot the nail gun when your second set of hands is holding the shelf up.
Have a helper hold the shelf while you toenail the nails with your brad nailer through the shelf and into the studs. Toenailing (also called skew-nailing) is when you the nail at a roughly 45-degree angle to fasten two pieces of wood together. In this case, that’d be the shelf and the studs.
Between the liquid nails and actual nails your shelf will be able to bear a light amount of weight i.e. picture frames, tabletop decor, etc.
Repeat this process with each shelf piece one at a time until the full width of your shelf is installed. Don’t forget, to fit multiple pieces together seamlessly you can use bevel cuts as mentioned above! They work with shelf pieces, too.
Sealing the Boards and Battens
Once your boards and shelf are on the wall, the more tedious work begins. Caulking and spackling are both simple tasks but there’s a lot of it to do and it’s detailed.
If possible, it really helps to have one person caulking and one spackling. They’re both laborious and can be a lot on your back, knees and hands. For us, Kevin caulks and I spackle. He mastered caulking during the nursery accent wall project and I spackle everything around the house.
How to Caulk Board and Batten
Caulk is what makes it look like one giant piece was placed on the wall when all is said and done. You caulk everywhere the boards touch the wall. However, its purpose is much more than vanity. You don’t want moisture or anything getting in the cracks because there’s no way to clean that extremely narrow space. It’s best sealed off via caulk.
Grab yourself a caulk gun and paintable caulk (caulk tube not pictured below). The tubes will mention if the contents are paintable, and you want to make sure yours is as you’ll likely be painting your accent wall.
Start by running a small bead (what the stream of caulk is called) of caulk along the crack between the wood and the wall. It will come out larger that you’ll want, so smoothing it as you go will be key. To do so, run your finger over the caulk after you’ve spread some on. Do this very often i.e. run a 6-12″ bead of caulk and immediately smooth it with your finger, and repeat.
Pro Tip: Kevin came across a trick online that has you wrapping a baby wipe around the finger that smooths the caulk. We tried it and it works awesome! It helps smooth the caulk nicely and is less of a mess because the caulk ends up on the wipe. If you don’t have baby wipes lying around, grab a large pack (75-100 wipes) ahead of project day.
How to Spackle Board and Batten
The tiny nail holes and the gaps where the boards meet will be what you’re spackling.
Over the years I’ve learned that the smaller the putty knife, the easier it is to precision spackle. I have a super cheap putty knife tagged in my supply list at the end that I highly recommend.
Above, the left board had the nail holes spackled, but not yet sanded and the right is still unfilled. Once the spackle dries entirely, go back and sand those patches down even with the rest of the board. That’s how you achieve the smooth, dent-free look you see in the end product.
Pro Tip: the spackle I use is pink when wet and turns white as it dries. It’s perfect if you’re not sure how long it needs to dry or if you want extra assurance before sanding.
Once the spackle is completely dry (4-5 hours, to be safe) you can start to sand it down. You don’t need a tool for this, just good old fashioned sand paper.
Painting the Board and Batten with Shelf Wall
First things first, wipe down your paintable surface with a lightly dampened rag. After all the sanding it’s easy for their to be saw dust everywhere. In some cases, you may even want to vacuum where large piles have settled (the bottom horizontal board, for example).
Once your wall surface is clean, tape around the edges you don’t want painted. For this project, it was simply the four edges – above the shelf, both sides and the bottom. To be honest, you can even skip taping the bottom trim if you’re confident in your precision. The horizontal board sticks out far enough past the trim that you may be able to avoid it while rolling. I’ve done this with both walls now, but I’ve been painting for a long time, use your own discretion!
Painting the wall isn’t the hard part at all, it’s deciding what color you’ll be painting it.
Picking an Accent Wall Color
I spent a lot of time trying to decide what color to paint this wall.
Our living room is currently painted World Gray by Sherwin Williams. It’s a soft gray with warmer undertones and hints of greige. Theoretically, this should’ve made color matching a cinch, but nope! I had so many ideas it was tough to narrow down.
At first, I really wanted to be bold with a deep evergreen or a darker navy. Ultimately unable to commit to a color for that long, I quickly ruled those out. Then, I was between deeper gray and something lighter with more warmth. Eventually I landed on “Utterly Beige” from Sherwin Williams.
However, after getting it on the wall, I felt like it didn’t shine like I’d hoped. It just wasn’t doing the space any favors for some reason. My aunt even said this looked like a black and white photo when I showed my group chat! But thankfully, I knew the problem and how to fix it.
While I hadn’t planned to paint the wall above the shelf, it became necessary after the Utterly Beige was on. I found the soft white shade, “White Flour” by Sherwin Williams and painted on four coats to the wall above the board and batten with shelf wall.
It made a HUGE difference! It brightened up the space a TON and the contrast made the Utterly Beige really pop, as I originally intended.
Board and Batten with Shelf Wall Reveal
All decor is tagged in the board and batten accent wall decor section below!
Other than flipping the couches and moving the tables, not much else had to change to significantly improve this space.
The biggest non-wall decor change in the entire reno has been in this space, with the tree and bench. The old bench was a $24 clearance find from 2019 and has served its purpose. It was too dark for the space, so I moved it and brought in this lighter, warmer faux leather bench from my hallway.
The lumbar pillow is also from another part of the house. I’m all about re-purposing decor and avoiding the extra spend and waste. The tree basket is also new. It’s the exact one from our basement with the same Spanish moss. Plus, we only needed one bag, see my faux tree moss hack here!
Got Dog toys?
Here’s a little bonus tip for you:
Shove all those dog toys behind the couch! It keeps the living room looking cleaner (especially if you already have a bunch of kid’s toys around).
But be sure to leave a puppy sized “portal” for them to access them! The only tricky part for us has been that the baby eventually discovered the portal, ha!
Board and Batten Accent Wall Decor
All the decor in my new living space is tagged below. Please let me know with any questions on the space in the comments at the end of the post!
Board and Batten with Shelf Wall Tools & Supplies List
- Fifteen 1×4 boards (bought 19, returned the extra)
- Seven 1×2 boards (bought 9, returned the extra)
- Paint colors (we only needed one gallon per color, will vary by project size)
- 12″ single bevel miter saw
- 20V brushless brad nailer gun
- Stud finder
- Liquid nails
- Tape measure
- 24-inch level
- Spackling
- Putty knife
- Paintable caulk
- Sand paper
- Caulk gun (this caulk set is a better value for both the gun and the tubes!)
- Painter’s tape (Pro Tip: I only use Frog Tape now, at least 1.41″ wide, it’s wider than the roller’s width and covers you in case you hit a non-paint wall edge when rolling)
- 2″ paint brush (you may want two if you have several paint colors)
- Standard 9″ paint roller and roller naps
- Paint tray and two paint tray liners (or one for each color paint)
- Six-foot ladder (or just a step ladder if it reaches what you need, but ladders have a hook for holding paint trays which is very convenient when painting up high)
But don’t throw away your receipt just yet! We always end up taking back unused materials (including lumber) which really keeps the project cost to a minimum.
Well, when are you starting your own board and batten with shelf wall? Hopefully soon! Please let me know with any questions, even ones specific to your space. Both Kevin and I love to help anyone looking to save a bundle by making their own beautiful accent wall!
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