total a dateless architectural element to any room with a DIY instrument panel - look accent paries made from a few basic tools and strips of Sir Henry Wood .

Need to give yourbedroom an update ? Look no further than false panel walls . Also known as board - and - batting , this DIY rampart handling offer deepness to your distance . A timeless form of wainscoting , board - and - batting looks great in a hall , bedroom , support room , and other orbit . you’re able to set up the feeling in squares , as we demonstrate here , or antecede the horizontal pieces for uniform vertical slats .

We show you how to transmute yourbedroom wallusing the right supplies and a few basic skills . So snaffle your DIY tool and get ready to follow our easy steps for gorgeous simulated paneling .

use putty blade to fill dips with compound

More Pretty Wood Wall Ideas

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

Prep the Wall

The wall andexisting trimneed to be categoric to ensure besotted articulation where the perpendicular wood strips ( stiles ) and horizontal slip ( rails ) get hold of each other . turn back by using the edge of a degree . Many wall bulge near corner or at the line between drywall sheets . Use wallboard compound and a wide drywall vane to fill dips and fledge out bulges as best you could . sandpaper the dried compound for a smooth , mar - free airfoil . Check it with a powerful side luminousness that reveals any shortcoming .

Choose Your Wood

Choose unbowed , defect - complimentary boards in low-cost , tight - food grain Natalie Wood , such as alder , birch rod , or poplar for your fake panel wall . Pine will suffice , but its knots and pitch pockets might detract from the projection ’s final show . The size of board you choose will look on the wall area you plan to treat . Compare boards that are 1/2x1 - 1/2 - inch , 1x3 , and 1x4 to fix the best scale of measurement for your undertaking .

The ideal cloth for the track and stile is intermediate - density fibreboard ( MDF ) , an inexpensive 4x8 - foot sheet you trim back into strip . You ’ll need a table saw to cut back MDF and a pickup motortruck to cart it home . It ’s heavy — about 70 Irish punt for a 3/4 - column inch - thick sail — so you ’ll need a helper to handle it . MDF sands to a smooth and consistent surface that takes paint well , it has none of the defects ( such as knots ) that can show up in lifelike - wood add-in , and it bend more or less to adjust to pocket-sized paries irregularity .

Related : How to Paint Wood Wall Paneling Like a Pro

sand wall to smooth dried compound

Lay Out the Strips

If you ’ve installed a roofing tile floor , you ’re already familiar with the introductory operation for lay out the positions of the wood strips for false jury paries . But unlike trading floor tiles , you get to choose any size " straight " ( the wall sphere between the rail and stiles ) that work with your design style .

To do that :

Decide on a size of it for your squares that leaves you a full ( or almost - full ) square at all edges . Also , choose a straight size that appears correctly scaled for the size of your bulwark . Like the grout lines between ceramic tile , you should have either a rail centered between the floor and ceiling or two rails positioned at an equal distance on either side of the middle . The same goes for placing the center stile(s ) between the side wall . You might want to plot the track and stile status on graph paper or a calculator program .

measure with framing square and mark

Once you know where the rail and stiles will go , mark their positions on the wall . verify the rail marks are level , the stiles are plumb , and that they meet each other at 90 degrees ( break with a frame square ) . If your layout does n’t work , put on primer over the mark and try again . Finally , use a stud finder to mark the wall stud ( in color different than used for the delimitation / rails / stile positions ) , so you ’ll know where to take fasteners later .

Attach the Strips

Attach the mete cut back first , measuring and cutting carefully for a tight fit where the piece meet . implement construction adhesive agent to the backs of these piece , and attach them by drive stopping point nail at least 2 - 1/2 inches long into studs . Since you ’ll be paint the railing , stile , and walls later , you might be tempted to fill high-risk joint with caulk . annul relying on such fillers : Those caulked field will seem even after applying paint and will only become more visible over time .

To insure tight roast , it ’s a good idea to ab initio cut each patch a fraction of an inch long so you’re able to break its length on the bulwark and " pussyfoot up " on the final cut with a serial publication of fine undercut . Even then , leave the piece just a hair long after the final stinger ; this countenance you to flex the piece outward to tally it into position , forcibly press it flat against the bulwark , and force its end tight against adjoining part .

Measure and commemorate odd angles ( other than 90 degrees ) using an adjustable bevel to transplant the slant from the bulwark to the opus you ’re about to make out . If you have to labour a nail airless than an inch from an ending or sharpness , predrill a pickle for the nail to annul split the wood or MDF .

use level to mark placement of boards

Next , tie a plaza stile . It might not fall on a stud , so attach it with construction adhesive only , using panther ’s tape to temporarily hold the stile in position . After the construction adhesive cures , supply the center rail on both sides . impound the remaining rails and stile , working out from the center .

Paint and Finish

Prime the wall , border musical composition , runway , and stiles . Caulk any diminished gaps with paintable silicone before tot up a top coating of latex key to your raw simulated panel walls . Let dry out completely .

add border rail above first row of stiles

attach rest of rails and stiles to wall

prime and paint wainscoting