Scavenger Chic

Easy Custom Board and Batten Wall

• By Joan
• May 5, 2021
• 5 Comments

Easy Custom Board and Batten TV Surround

My whole basement redo started out because I didn’t like one of the spackle seams in the ceiling.  And if I had to repaint the ceiling, I really needed to repaint the walls. And if I was repainting the walls….well you know how it goes.

When we last checked in on this side of my basement reno I had just completed the breaker box cover.  That’s the black rectangle thing above that is not the TV.

The wall surrounding the television still needed a little pizzazz, I just didn’t know what.

BTW, you can find how to make the coffee table here and instructions for the side table here.

After weeks of pondering I finally decided on pictures and a shelf.

I started with grandbaby pictures.   I knew I wouldn’t get tired of them any time soon.

And above the pictures, shelves.  I bought the shelf brackets before I found my shelf lumber, so a piece of trim is being used as a stand in.

First up the shelf… I found 2 nice sized pieces of 2 inch thick old lumber in the discard pile at the salvage yard.  

The discarded wood was a little too wide for my 8 inch brackets so it had to be trimmed.  Mitered the end, glued and screwed.  Now I have one fantastic looking shelf board.

Part of the board got this light pine stain but when the stain ran out I went back to my old stand by… clear wax .  The same wax I use on my chalk paint finishes.

Couldn’t tell the difference between the stain and the wax so I just finished the board with the wax.

The chunky old wood does make more of an impact than the piece of white trim but the space still looks unfinished.

What if I added more trim to the sides.  Sort of a board and batten look but custom fit to go around the TV, pictures and shelf.

Scrap wood is filling in for the basic look I was going for.

Back to the lumberyard.  I needed 6, 8ft 1×2’s,  2, 10 ft 1×2’s, and 1, 10ft 1×4 plus a little scrap wood I already had on hand.

Once I decided on the paint color, which took another week, I prepainted all the outer edge pieces of my wall treatment.  The 1×4 that will go next to the rug, the 10ft 1×2 that will go next to the ceiling and 3 more 8ft 1×2’s that would complete the outer frame of my new board and batten wall.   This will cover all the places where I would have had to be neat cutting in with a paint brush with the new paint color.

 

Now comes the easy part, attaching all the wood to the wall.  I’m using my pneumatic nail gun but feel free to use finish nails and a hammer.

I didn’t want to remove the baseboard just in case I ever get tired of this wall treatment and want to tear it down again. So I’m building the board and batten treatment right over top of the existing baseboard  starting with the 1×4.

The side prepainted  (8 ft) 1×2’s are next.  They sit right on top of the bottom 1×4.  Make sure they are level before nailing to the wall.

Sitting on top of the 1×4 covering the baseboard and between the 2 side 1×2’s comes one more (10ft) 1×2.  Cut each piece to length as you go.

Finish the frame out with a final  (10ft) 1×2 at the ceiling. 

Those were all the prepainted boards.

Install the last 2 vertical  8ft 1×2 boards, cut to size, that will frame out the shelf and television.  Use a spacer board to make sure the distance between the two vertical boards is the same from top to bottom.  I also kept the shelf and pictures up while I was installing to make sure I liked the spacing.

Finish out the board trim with the horizontal 1×2’s above and below the picture frames.  I used my scrap wood for the extra extensions on the sides.

Any gaps should be filled with a paintable caulk, including the gap around the baseboard.  Let dry.

Once the caulk is dry, paint the entire area.

I would love to tell you what this color is but I have no idea.  It started out as some leftover Behr Teton Blue which I added a bunch of black to.  So I’ll just say it’s a custom color.

The gap around the baseboard disappears with the caulk and paint.

I was all finished with my project when I decided it needed one more element, more 2 inch thick old wood to frame out my board and batten frame.

Back to the archictectural salvage yard one more time.  This time I had to purchase my wood to get the full floor to ceiling length.

OK, I wouldn’t have had to prepaint my side pieces or fill in around the baseboard with caulk if I had decided on this earlier.

Once again, I want to leave the baseboard intact.

The baseboard pushes the old wood out so that it sits about a half inch from the wall.

Behind this new piece of old wood I inserted a scrap piece of wood equal in thickness to the baseboard.

Screw your board into the wall thru the scrap wood and thru the baseboard.

The entire piece of wood now sits about a half inch from the wall.

Remember the plaster lath I used to create the American flag last week?  Well it’s also perfect at covering half inch gaps.  I needed 2 per side.

At the bottom (I’m still working around that baseboard) cut a paper pattern to fit around your trim.

Transfer that pattern onto the plaster lath and cut with a scroll saw or jigsaw.

The TV stand could still use a new paint job.  But what color??

And I could still use a picture above the couch, but that’s a project for another day.  Right now I’m loving my cozy new TV area.

Who knew a custom board and batten wall would be so easy.

Until next time, stay inspired.

For those of you who would like more wall accent ideas make sure you check out my Pinterest board, Walls.  You’ll find a few more board and batten ideas along with tons of other creative ways to finish your walls.  Make sure you pin your faves.