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Friday, February 20, 2015

{Entryway Reveal} DIY Plank Wall Tutorial

How to create a beautiful and inexpensive faux shiplap wall! 


You guys, I am SO excited about our new faux shiplap entryway wall!  This was a spur of the moment project that popped in my head on Friday night and by Saturday morning I was putting planks up on the wall!  The best part about this DIY shiplap wall project is that the total cost was less than $50.00!  

                                Completed entryway plank wall

My husband pretty much gives me full reign of the decorating in our house, but that doesn't mean he doesn't shake his head at a few of my ideas.  When I mentioned I wanted to plank the wall in our entryway, he looked at me and asked, "Can we just finish one project before starting another one?" Well, no....no I can't.  I have a slight problem of not being able to sit still.  I have to be doing some sort of project or I go a little crazy.  It may seem like I've been jumping around from the garage and mudroom to our laundry room and now to the living room and I have.  That's just how I roll.  

So, while I'm waiting on the weather to warm up to coat the garage floor,  the final inspection to lay the mudroom floor and help on replacing our laundry room tub sink, I decided to add an inexpensive plank wall to our entryway. 

Completed DIY  plank wall

Here's how our entryway looked before adding the plywood planks.

Entry wall before adding plank wall


entryway before adding plywood plank wall

Now for the fun part.

Before I started putting the planks up on the wall I added a quick coat of white paint. 
painted wall
Then my wonderful husband went to Lowe's and bought three sheets of 1/4" plywood that he had cut into 6 inch pieces.  A word of warning, they do not guarantee that the cuts are even.  There were a few boards that were shorter than 6 inches and some that were 6 inches at one end and 5 1/2 inches at the other.  Thankfully, there were only about 2 or 3 boards incorrectly cut and I was able to catch myself from putting them up on the wall. 
cut plywood planks for plank wall
The wood that we purchased was about $12.00 a sheet and already primed.  All it needed was a good sanding to smooth out some of the rough edges.  
type of plywood for plank wall
Before I started nailing up my boards, I used my stud finder and marked all the studs.  After the studs were marked, I started at the top of the wall and worked my way down, making sure to level each and every board.  Do not use your ceiling as a guide and assume it is level.  
installing wood planks
You can see that there is a gap on the right side, which was easily filled with caulk.   After my first board was level and in place, the rest of the boards went up fairly quickly.  I used nickels as spacers and just worked my way down the wall.  Since the boards varied, the space between each board did end up varying slightly.  

spacing plywood with nickels for plank wall
  
installed wood planks for DIY plank wall
When it came to the electrical outlet, I used a drill and skill saw to cut two boards to fit around the outlet.
cutting around outlet for plank wall

cutting around outlet for plank wall

planks around outlet
I filled all the holes with wood putty and caulked where the boards met the crown and base molding and the wall by the front door.   I was going for a more rustic look, so I left the gaps where the vertical boards joined.
puttied wood planks for plank wall
Owen and I then got to painting!  He was asking all day when he would be able to help me paint and was super excited to help.  This boy definitely takes after his mamma!  

Tip:  Use a credit card to swipe between boards to remove any paint drips.  
painting plank wall
After we were done painting, I went to nail the trim piece to finish off the wall and after just 2 nails the fuel cartridge ran out on my nailgun.   I didn't feel like running out to buy a new one, so let's just pretend that part is finished, okay? 
wood plank corner finishing

Are you ready for more after pictures?

completed wood plank wall


table styling in front of DIY plank wall

completed DIY wood plank wall
If you're really observant, you may also notice that I changed the mirror.  This black beauty was previously hanging in our little hallway between my kid's bedrooms, but now it has a new home.   I just love how it pops against the white wall!
completed wood plank wall

How to DIY a plank wall

wood plank wall and front door

It's incredible how much adding a $50 plank wall completely changed hthe look and feel of this space. 

I have one more update for this space and if you caught Wednesday's inspiration post you may be able to guess what's coming next!


****UPDATE****
I finally painted our front door with Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore and it was exactly what the space needed!
Sherwin-Williams painted front door

Plank wall entryway before and after

You may also like

A gorgeous new plank wall brightens and totally transforms a previously, boring basement. - Littleouseoffour.com



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  1. Katie I love it!! I can't believe how much of an impact planks can have and I didn't realize how cheap they were either! It's awesome!!

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    1. Thanks Bre! It's amazing how inexpensive they are and how much of an impact they have. Now I wanna plank all the walls in my house, it's so addicting!

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  2. Oh Katie! I'm in LOOOOOOOVE with this gorgeous wall! I've wanted a plank wall since the first time I laid eyes on one and hearing that you did this so spur of the moment makes me want to put one up today too (just have to figure out where in this new house)! It's SO perfect my friend!

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    1. Thank you so much, Kristi! You definitely need a plank wall in your new house!

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    1. Thanks Jennifer! It's amazing how much brighter and larger the space looks!

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  4. This looks fantastic! What a difference it made to this room. I absolutely love how it turned out and the entry table looks so great against it.

    Deb

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  5. LOVE it, Katie!! It really brightens up your entryway, too! Such an easy update. I've been thinking about doing something similar in our bedroom. I just love how it all looks! Great job!

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    1. Thank you! It would look amazing in your bedroom! I've even been kicking around the idea of planking the wall behind our bed!

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    2. Me too, actually! Almost like a faux headboard. :) Thank you also for sharing this at Motivational Monday! We'd love to have you back on Sunday at 6pm. Hope your weekend is going great! :)

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  6. LOVE it, Katie!! It really brightens up your entryway, too! Such an easy update. I've been thinking about doing something similar in our bedroom. I just love how it all looks! Great job!

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  7. Love this wall.....I am all for spure of the moment redecorating! You did an incredible job on this plank wall....it gives the space so much more personality!

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  8. I love your plank wall (and I'm normally not a fan of planks). It looks fantastic! Also, I have the same mirror and just today posted about painting it white.

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    1. That mirror seems to be pretty popular! I love how yours turned out!

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  9. OMG! Love it, girl! Looks fantastic and makes the entire entry way just pop!

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    1. Thanks Jenna! It's amazing how much brighter the space looks now!

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  10. Wonderfully done! Thanks for sharing!

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  11. This came out amazing, I LOVE it!! And I can so relate to what you said about your husband. I drive mine crazy with jumping from one project to another!

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    1. Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one :) It drives my husband crazy, although he's not the one doing the work, so he should have no reason to complain :)

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  12. Wow! Huge transformation and I am in awe that you did it all yourself!! It looks sooo good:) Have been loving this look and trying to figure out where I can put it in my house!! Thanks for the great inspiration! (Ps. here from Roeshel's.)

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    1. You are so welcome and thanks for stopping by. There are so many places in a home that you could do a plank wall....Entryway, mudroom, bedroom, bathroom. etc. I'm sure it would look amazing in your home!

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  13. I already mentioned in my other comment that I loved your entryway and plank wall, but thought I'd give a shout out here as well. That mirror on the wall is beautiful, too!

    And this post is also in my features tomorrow. It is a collection of entry ideas, so I had to include both ;)

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  14. Katie,

    I am loving the look very much. It's look so easy too.

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  15. Stunning! Great to see you including your little boy - my kids are the same way. So much easier to say "not this time...." but oh how they love it when they can help! :)

    www.kammyskorner.com

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    1. Aww, Thanks Kammy! My son is always there to give me a hand and help, even if it's just holding a few screws or handing me a hammer.

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  16. This looks so good, Katie!! I have a similar project on my to-do list for our bedroom, and after seeing how fantastic yours looks, I'm even more excited to get started on it! ~Amy

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    1. Thanks so much Amy! I can't wait to see your bedroom and know it will look amazing!

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  17. Gorgeous transformation! Your new wall is beautiful and so bright! Great job! Thank you for sharing! PINNED!

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    1. Thanks Michelle! I really appreciate you stopping by and sharing :)

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  18. Two Things: 1. I am posting a sneak peak entryway tomorrow and need a little "something" else.
    2. That vase/twigs is the "Something!" ;) Looks great. And what a perfectlittle wall for the planks. Love allllll of it! Now, I'm on the hunt for my "something" to complete mine. I'd love if you took a look and had any suggestions...!? Thanks! ~From Hit Me with Your Best Shot link up :)

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    1. Thanks Jamie! Your entryway is coming along nicely, I just love your new table. I agree, a tall clear vase with similar cotton balls would look great and bring some brightness to your space.

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  19. Katie, your planked wall came out beautifully and adds so much texture and detail to your entry! Love the table vignette and mirror too! Thanks for linking up to Best of the Nest, looking forward to checking out your blog!

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    1. Thank you so much, Lisa! I really appreciate you stopping and checking out my blog! Have a lovely weekend!

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  20. WOW, terrific job!!! Beautiful entry way with the new plank wall and charming styling to your entry table as well!!! Great Job :)
    www.BundleMeBaby.etsy.com

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  21. Wow! I LOVE how this turned out! It's so classy and pretty you'd never guess it only cost $50! I'll be featuring this in my roundup post for the next Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome project with us!

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    1. What a nice surprise to be featured, thank you so much!

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    2. $12 a plank and she had more than 5... Can't be less than $50. Awesome project though, thank you for the inspiration!

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  22. I love this wall! I think I need to do a plank wall now!!! Thanks for sharing! I just went through your home tour, beautiful! You guys have done so much to your house!
    -Shonee
    www.hawthorneandmain.com

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    1. Thank you so much Shonee! I'm glad you enjoyed the home tour. There's been a lot of blood, sweet and tears poured into our house.

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  23. Soooo pretty' if you don't mind sharing, where is your mirror from?

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    1. Thanks Julie! The mirror was purchased from HomeGoods a few years ago, although people have also mentioned they have bought a very similar mirror from Walmart.

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  24. Its stunning! I love how your entry table pops against it!

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  25. That looks great! Getting ready to do this over my fireplace mantle. Good to see how others have done it!

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  26. I love a planked wall, and yours is fabulous! Great job!! Enjoy :)

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  27. WHAT. A. DIFFERENCE! Amazing transformation Katie- love it - you are my hostess pick of the week tomorrow at Work it Wednesday. Thanks for sharing it with us!!

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  28. Fantastic! I am loving the plank wall trend, but I think yours might the first I've seen in all white, and WOW, what impact! Thanks for linking up at The Creative Circle! I hope you'll join us for the party again this week!

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    1. Thank you Angela! And thanks for hosting such a great party!

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  29. Love this.. Great tutorial.. I definitely want to try it in our new nursery. Thanks for sharing!

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  30. This wall looks amazing! I absolutely love your entryway. I've been planning to do a plank wall, or walls, in my basement once I reach that point and haven't decided on what material to use. Yours looks so amazing and the price?! It can't be beat! Thanks for sharing :)

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  31. Oh I just love how this turned out!!! That planked wall makes such a huge difference in that space! Nice job!

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  32. Gorgeous! Would love to know where you found that vase!

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  33. Love the wall and your door!
    Would you please tell me where you got your table?

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    1. Thanks so much Michele! I bought the table from HomeGoods then updated it with stain and custom bin pulls. You can find a similar version here http://rstyle.me/n/bstdenb6dx7.

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  34. Love the way your entry way turned out and I'm such a big fan of plank! I'm going to follow your post to transform my entry way but I'm a novice. What kind of nail gun do you use? Some are pricey and can be heavy so thought I would ask the expert!

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    1. Thanks Natalie! For this project I used a Paslode nail gun, but just recently switched to a RYOBI airstrike nailer. Either are great options and don't require a compressor. Good luck on your project!

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  35. Can you tell me what color and brand of paint you used for the plank wall?

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    1. The walls are painted with Sherwin-Williams Super Paint in semi-gloss white, straight off the shelf.

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  36. This is so beautiful! I want to attempt it for my powder room wall. Three questions... Did you use liquid nail glue on the planks, too, or just the finish nails? Also, how did you cut the board lengths - what kind of tool? Lastly, did you alternate which side the short plank was on? Thanks so much! What an impressive makeover!

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  37. I showed this to my husband and we have decided to try this in our dining room. Can't wait! Thanks for sharing!

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  38. Love the wall but how did you get the paint off your floor?

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    1. It wasn't paint that was on the floor, it was the dust from sanding the wall just before painting :)

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  39. The Sherwin Williams Iron Ore looks so rich, I think I'm going to do that as well as the plank wall. Can you tell me if you used flat paint on the door?

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    1. Hi Carolyn! I used Sherwin-Williams Emerald line in satin. I would not recommend flat paint on any surface that you will be wiping down :)

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  40. That looks awesome! It's the wall we want in our entry. How long were the sheets that you used? We have about a 6 1/2 foot wall, and I wondered if we can get those sheets that long?

    Thanks, Vicki

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  41. You've inspired me. I want to do my stairway which will be a little harder and as soon as I can get my husband on board, I'm going for it.Thanks, Debbie

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  42. Hi! Quick question....what kind of mails did you use? A nail gun with those long thin nails?

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  43. Hello, this is beautiful! Glad to know that Lowe's can make it so easy by ripping the pre-primed plywood into 6" boards; we don't have a table saw at home to do that.

    Do you happen to remember what color and brand of paint is on your front wall (the wall with the door)? It's a great color combo with the SW Iron Ore and the white. I'd like to experiment with it at our house! Thanks

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    1. Thanks Susan! The color on the wall with the door is Sherwin-Williams Balanced Beige :)

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  44. Katie, can you tell me if the Iron Ore color is also the color of the other side of your door? Is it ok to have two different colors? I love that color, but it wouldn't work on the outside of our door...thoughts?

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  45. Thanks so much for sharing! Lots of thanks for this post. I think it is a very good post. It helps us many away. So many many thanks for this article. Paint

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