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A Dark Shiplap Accent Wall for under $75!

November 10, 2016

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We can’t thank you enough for all your love on the reveal of our girls’ room yesterday. It was so much work, but it was wonderful to see so many of you enjoyed following along and the end result as much as we loved sharing it. Today, we wanted to share all the details about how we updated the wall in our living room! Finally!

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Our long time readers know we have this wall in our living room that has stumped us for 3 years now. I wrote that we were done ignoring it and cropping it out of pictures way back in March and then it took a few (okay, several) more months to actually decide what to do and do it. It has odd angles surrounding it, and is too close to the seating area to have something substantial like a credenza on it–we tried.But! It’s the perfect candidate for an accent wall complete with a wall treatment. We explored everything from attaching laminate flooring, to wallpapering, but found the biggest bang for our buck to be adding faux shiplap. The project can be done in a weekend for under $75–including paint!

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We’re sharing the full tutorial, materials list, paint details and budget breakdown on the Homes.com blog today! Click here to check it out!

PS. Artwork is 60×44 print from here  and the picture light is from here. We hard-wired it in place, but it also comes as a plug-in option. 

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What do you think?

  1. Phoebe says:

    Hi. I love this shiplap wall. We want to do something similar in our living room but the accent wall we want to use has a window. Do you have any advice for installing shiplap around a window with crown molding? Would you suggest getting the planks as close as possible to the molding and using plaster to even out the gap, or trying to cut the planks a certain way to fit around it?

  2. Kayla says:

    Question: We are doing a black shiplap accent wall almost just like this. I noticed you painted the baseboards black as well as the shiplap, which we were planning on doing also. However, we are shiplapping around a window. Should we paint the window trim black to match? I feel it would look awkward to have white trim surrounded by black. Thoughts?

  3. So re-reading this post brought up an issue I’m dealing with…how did you paint the vent cover and outlet? Did you use a small paintbrush or did you use a sprayer? When we first moved into our house and had it painted, they didn’t paint the vent covers the same color as the walls and it drives me insane! Now, we are going to repaint and I want to match the vent covers so they don’t stick out so much. Thanks guys!

  4. Victoria says:

    Hi!

    I was hoping you could help! I absolutely adore the colour of this shiplap! and your old living room! I want to paint the lowers in my new kitchen this colour! Unfortunately, the Sherwin-Williams here in Canada (or where I am at least!) don’t have the Kwal colour data base! Would you be able to suggest a close match in Sherwin-Williams, Ben Moore, Berh..etc?

    Thank you so much!

  5. Kelsey says:

    How long is this wall? I really want to do this for one of our walls, but I don’t know how much plywood I will need!

  6. Lindsey says:

    Do you use a brad nailer or a finish nailer? Brad nailer seems like it would be ideal bc the brads are thinner, but are they supportive enough for the plywood, especially if you’re hanging artwork?

    • Chris says:

      You can see the whole tutorial at the link toward the bottom of the post above. In short, we marked the studs in the wall, added a small line of liquid nails to the back of each board, and fastened it to the wall directly into the studs. And yes, we used brads – much better for something like this. Easier to fill the small holes. :)

  7. Kates says:

    Did you have to sand the edges of the boards before you hung them? Also I asked what paint you used above but wondering what finish you used and if you prefer a different finish because it is wood?

    • Chris says:

      Yes, we sanded lightly the edges before hanging, then wood-filled and sanded the gaps. Also, when you say “finish,” do you mean sheen? The paint is a flat sheen, and it worked great. To see the paint color, you can find that in the full article on homes.com.

  8. Ashley says:

    I just love this! How were you able to paint your outlet so well?

  9. Janette says:

    Where did you get the artwork framed? I didn’t think Minted does frames at that size? Beautiful!

  10. Kristen says:

    I love your shiplap wall! I like that you went with dark paint. It’s so great to be able to make a big accent without spending a ton of money!

  11. Jen says:

    Beautiful! Did you find that there was any bowing in the boards?

  12. Gin says:

    I am loving this! How did you finish off the ship lap with the angled wall?

  13. Kates says:

    I know you mentioned the paint color on your post…but I can’t find it! Any suggestions

  14. Alison says:

    You liked the paint so much from your last living room, you used it again!

  15. Alison says:

    The trim to me looks good painted dark. I don’t get the art selection, but art is very individual. It’s only fair that you got them to fix the framing sheesh. Is the wall color blue or black?

  16. Justynn says:

    I think this is the only design decision you’ve made in your house that I’m not completely sure I like. I think if it continued maybe onto the angled wall and the the wall with the entrance to the reading room It would have made the difference for me. However I think it would have required a difference color if that was the case.

    To each his own! the color is very pretty and the art is to die for.

  17. Alisha Argo says:

    I can’t believe no one has mentioned the amazing pin you wrote- this wall has STUMPed you for awhile and now you have a tree cutting pic! Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation of a mom with a teething/growthspurtinf/almost walking baby, lol. Super love this wall for your home- it makes this space extra cozy!

  18. Mandy says:

    I love the colour of this wall, very dramatic. I’ve liked a few dark features lately, the question is am I braved enough to try it myself?

  19. Sara says:

    I actually like that you painted the trim. I think it might be too stark of a contrast on that wall and take away from the drama of the color with the print. As always, I love it.

  20. Kelli says:

    Do you have any pictures showing how you hard wired the lamp? I have been thinking of the same and would love a tutorial!

    • Chris says:

      The fixture has a plate on the back of it that, once removed, shows all the wires. There are a couple of wire nuts and once you take those off you can simply remove the plug and hardwire it. From there it’s standard electrical wiring which, we’re not qualified to give tutorials on, but if you’re familiar with it, it’s straight forward (black to black, white to white, ground to ground).

  21. Megan says:

    LOVE LOVE it!! We just hung some white faux-shiplap and I love it so much – this is a fun variation though! Thank you for sharing. :)

    Megan
    http://www.lifeonshadylane.com

  22. Kate says:

    NIce! This reminds me of Mandi’s dark shiplap accent wall over on Vintage Revivals from July! http://vintagerevivals.com/2016/07/come-to-the-dark-side-jojo-how-to-diy-black-shiplap

    Love the look, Clearly becoming the trend!

  23. Anna says:

    Hah! I am the one who was wondering if that was a picture of a uterus and fetus. I’m laughing so hard that it was tree-rings. I love it. I had ultrasounds on my mind I guess.

  24. jess says:

    is the light wired behind the wall? or is it battery operated?

  25. Ashley says:

    I love this! It’s a powerful move that I think could be pushed even further if you continue it along the diagonal wall and the wall that dies into the front door. Making those 3 walls all the same color and texture makes it a bigger architectural move and not only feel like a very thin applied surface. Sorry for the unsolicited opinion but as an architect, the paint and wood treatment ending at an outside corner and not being more monolithic just rubs me wrong when I otherwise really like the look.

  26. Karyl says:

    Love it, especially the color! Can you tell me where you purchased the picture light and if it is battery powered or hard-wired?

  27. meghan says:

    Hi Julia – Love the dark color, so much more refreshing than the white that is everywhere. Bet this will catch on fast!

    Question for you — Could you give more information on the light above your artwork? How is it wired?

    Thank you!

    • Chris says:

      It’s hardwired. We got the light from atgstores.com and it comes pre-wired with a plug, but once you remove the back plate on the fixture there are just a couple wire nuts you remove to make it a hardwired fixture. We had an electrician come in and run a wire from a nearby light switch to this space through the attic.

  28. Claire says:

    Also, where is the lighting from?

  29. Claire says:

    I’m seriously SO obsessed with you guys! You are hitting it out of the park these days. I love this wall and have a similar wall in our dining room that has stumped us for YEARS. I’m totally going to take this approach, thank you! What size is the Minted piece? The girls’ room was beautiful too btw!

  30. Britt says:

    Julia,
    Loved your tutorial– This wall turned out so amazing! Quick question– did you guys find that you didn’t need to “finish off” the ends of the planks where they meet your diagonal wall on the far right side? Not sure if you added a trim piece or if the planks lined up evenly enough with your wall corner to get away without using one?
    Again– it looks incredible!
    All the best, Britt

  31. Evita says:

    I wouldn’t paint the molding. But everything else looks great!

    • Julia says:

      That was a last minute decision that I’m still not sure about so it’s good to hear others opinions. We really wanted the return vent to blend blend blend and thought having a white baseboard right next to the vent might draw attention to it.

      • Sarah says:

        Hmmm. I thought about that too, Julia. I think maintaining the white baseboard will give more flow between the three different walls, but still conceals the air return!

      • Krystin says:

        I agonized over the same decision in my guest bedroom where I painted the walls a dark charcoal. Ultimately I decided to leave the trim white but it was mostly out of laziness :) If I ever did it again in a new home I would definitely paint the trim dark as well. I think it looks so much more modern and clean. Love the huge print!

      • Ellen says:

        I really like blending the baseboard in with the wall treatment here. Normally I would vote for white trim, but because of the high contrast, I think it is a much stronger statement to keep it uniform.

      • Adrienne says:

        You definitely made the right decision, its perfection…the white baseboard would have been way to stark of a contrast and directly competed with the focal point.

  32. abby says:

    so beautiful!! oh my gosh. i love it. looks great with the leather. question, though: does it make that side of the room feel a lot darker now?

  33. Megan says:

    I love that you took the ship lap dark when everywhere you see is white. Bravo!

  34. It is so pretty and seems quite easy !
    As I’m a beginner regarding all things renovating, this kinda feels like something I could be able to tackle on by myself without having to call my dad for help !
    I’m thinking I should do this as the backdrop for our basement bar. This with piping shelving and cement counter should do the trick, what you think?

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