I’m sharing how I got the look of true shiplap walls on the cheap with DIY tips for getting the job done right from prep to install to the finishing touches!
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It’s been a few years now since we gave our master bedroom a major facelift and we’ve enjoyed our refreshed space so much. Now that we have our pretty shiplap walls, it’s hard to believe that I lived with the ever-so-lovely light blue faux finished textured walls for as long as I did!
Scroll & click/tap to shop our bedroom:
My shiplap walls were a labor of love but sooo worth it. Since I’ve gotten so many emails with questions about how I knocked this project out, I thought I’d write up a quick post to share some what-to-do and what-not-to-do tips that I learned along the way!
For Cheap Shiplap Faux is the Way to Go!
There’s definitely a significant cost savings to creating the look of shiplap with plywood strips instead of using true shiplap boards so that’s one reason that faux is the way to go. But also, since true shiplap boards are about 3/4″ deep, it means that you have to remove ALL of your molding (baseboards, crown molding, door trim) to install “real” shiplap and then reinstall the molding back on top of it. Umm… no thank you! We went with plywood strips that are only 1/4″ deep so we were able to leave all of the molding in the room in place and simply butt the wood strips up against it. So much easier!
Shiplap Prep: Paint Your Walls & Do Your Math!
Prep work for a shiplap wall project is key! First off, you want to paint the walls in the room the same color that you’re going to paint your shiplap. Why? Because there’s a small gap between the boards where you can see the wall and you definitely don’t want a different color showing through. Seeing this lovely light blue wall color (which is what they looked like before doing this project) between the white boards wouldn’t have been such a great look!
I also painted the top and bottom edges of each shiplap board before it went up on the wall because I knew it would be a little nightmarish to try and paint the edges by sticking a paintbrush through the small space between the boards once they were hung. Truth be told it took me a LONG time to pre-paint them so I’m not sure if this part of my prepwork was a time-saver or not in the end.
The other prepwork that’s a definite must is a little bit of math – you want all of your boards to be the same height rather than getting to the end and realizing that you’re going to have an awkward thin strip at the bottom. So measure the space between the crown molding and baseboard and figure out a good height to cut the boards so that they fill the space exactly. Just don’t forget to take the spacing in between the boards into account when making your calculations! I ended up going with a height of 6 1/4″ for mine.
Beware of Home Improvement Centers Saws!
The cheapest way to get thin wood shiplap strips at an exact height is to cut them out of 1/4″ plywood or MDF sheets (I went with maple plywood sheets because they seemed to be the smoothest of the 1/4″ plywood options at Lowes). Lowes and Home Depot will cut your plywood sheets into strips for you for a small fee and while I know some people have had this done successfully, I would definitely proceed with caution – their saws are made for doing rough cuts and often leave jagged and/or uneven edges. If you’re going to try having them do it for you, I would try just one sheet first to check that you’re getting a nice clean and even cut. If not, hire this job out to a contractor if you don’t have your own table saw.
Another option that’s become available since doing my shiplap walls is buying pre-cut & boards like {these} – they get great reviews!
There Is Such a Thing as Too Many Nail Holes (when you’re the one filling them…)
I had my contractor working with me on the install and we worked out a system where I sanded each board and painted the top and bottom edges and then he put it up on the wall. He installed each board using a nail gun (being sure to get some nails into studs) in addition to applying Liquid Nails on the back of each board. Here’s what it was looking like at this point:
Those suckers are definitely going nowhere which is great but here’s the thing… I was the lucky one that got to fill and sand each and every one of those nail holes before I painted and oh my gosh there were soooo many nail holes and it was sooo time consuming. I’m pretty sure we could have cut the number of nails used in half and those boards still would have been super secure. Thank goodness I had team of helpers to help me knock out the nail filling (ok the furry one wasn’t much help but my daughter sure was!):
Nickels Make Great Spacers
It’s important to keep the spacing between your wood strips consistent and an easy way to do that is with nickels! The amount of space you leave between boards is totally personal preference – if you want less spacing you can use pennies and if you want more spacing, use tile spacers.
The Key to Seamless Seams is Auto Body Filler
Unless you’re doing faux shiplap in a small room like a bathroom, you’re going to have vertical seams where one board ends and another begins. Some people don’t mind the look of the seams and leave them as-is but I wanted a look of seamless planks along the wall. Normally I would use wood filler for a project like this but my contractor gave me the great tip of using {this Bondo putty} – it sands just like wood filler but leaves a smoother finish and is less likely to crack over time. The auto body fillers come in two parts – you simply mix the putty with a little bit of the activation cream (I did this on a plastic plate),
smooth it over the seam with a putty knife, and then sand smooth once it’s dry:
The only negative is that you have to work fast and only mix it in small batches because it hardens quickly.
That about covers it! I wrapped up the project by vacuuming the dust off the planks and out of the spaces between them and then I calked the corners and primed and painted the shiplap. It definitely wasn’t a quick project but I feel like I got the true shiplap look for a fraction of the cost and love my room as much today as the day that I finished it:
Hope that’s helpful! Let me know if you have any questions!
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Furniture & Lighting: Upholstered headboard | Black metal nightstands | New gray wood nightstands | Camp stools | Dresser (no longer available) with these knobs | Brass swing arm wall sconces | New white table lamps | Scalloped semi flushmount ceiling light | Wood lamp on dresser – no longer available
Bedding, Drapes, & Rug: White & gray print duvet cover | Quilt in king (color is Flagstone) | Gray & white dragon pillows | Gray crosshatch pillow | Window drapes (mine are single-width blackout lined in White) | Diamond jute & cream rug
Mirror, Art, & Accessories: Large round mirror | Large floral print by chair | Acrylic and brass frame |Colorful abstract print | Small lily print | Wood tray
Wall color: Farrow & Ball All White
XO,
Oh my gosh woman, you are a DIY hero!!!! That is a crazy amount of work but it sure is gorgeous! That detail adds so much to the design of the room! All those nail holes…..and painting the edges….good thing you had such cute helpers!!!! Can you all come on over here and shiplap my bathroom? I’ll get donuts??? 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m insane is what I am!! And yes, we gladly work for donuts 🙂
I really, really like these walls and I still love that headboard! You have a beautiful room –
Patti, thank you so much!
We did the exact same thing a couple of years ago. Your looks great Kris!
I lot of work but worth it, right?!
Those gorgeous walls is definitely a labor of love! You did a great job! Love everything about your master bedroom.
Thank you Jessie!
Kris,
This room is wonderful. I remember following along when you were in the midst of working on it. It was worth the extra time and labor, it’s great.
Thanks for the tutorial.
Enjoy the long weekend.
xo,
Karen
Thank you so much Karen – I appreciate that!!
Wow! That’s a lot of work. Do you think the planks will shrink (in dryer weather) creating bigger gaps between the planks? This happens to my wood floors during the winter.
I’m trying to get my husband on board to do this in our laundry room. But now I’m concerned with how long it will take get it completed. We can’t go too long without our washer/dryer hooked up.
I sure hope that won’t happen with the wood planks – hopefully since they’re glued down too they won’t really be able to shrink up! It was definitely a pretty time intensive project but I think you could knock out a laundry room in less than a week!
Your bedroom is so beautiful! I love your blog!! Thanks for all of the tips & tricks to this amazing project. When we did our bathroom in ship lap, we used a pin nailer, so we didn’t have any of the nail holes to fill! The paint covered it! It is a major time saver, and if you use liquid nails on the boards, they are completely secure.
You are so sweet – thank you! And smart too – gosh how I wish we had used a pin nailer!!!
The bondo is a great fix, but if you do use it, leave a little space – about the same as your horizontal ones – to let the filler grab a little traction, rather than just a thin surface layer. If you are really into it, cut those ends back in at an angle, open wider to the inside. This will really lock in your bondo, and keep those seams from ever coming back!
That is super smart! Thanks so much for the tip!
Do you think your entire process would work well on ceilings? I have a textured ceiling that I’ve been wanting to cover. The room is not very big, but does have a tray ceiling. Thanks!
Jenna I would think that it would work on a ceiling too as long as you were using both the glue and nails but I haven’t personally tried it so can’t say for sure. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Roughly what was the ending hight of each board after you cut the plywood? It’s about perfect size!
Hi Brittany! Each board was a little over 6″ high!
Getting ready to do this in the home we are moving to. What finish was your paint? Satin? Flat? Semi gloss? Thanks so much for your inspiration. It is fab!
Hi Beth, I used Eggshell for mine just because I don’t personally love paint with high sheen but Satin or Semigloss would work well too! Good luck with your project!
Ha! They’re actually real. I bought them at our local grocery store if you can believe that!
How do you paint in between your ship lap? Horizontally… did you use an angles brush or a small brush? Looks awesome!!!!
Thanks! I painted the edges of the boards before they went up on the wall!
Hey! I was wondering if you would mind sending a close up of your corners? I have a lot of rooms in my house I wanted to do this in and I’m nervous about my outside corners because I’m trying to avoid the corner strips ( I feel like it kinda gives away the whole THESE ARE FAUX SHIPLAP ????) but the inside corners I’ve seen caulked and some with corner trim and I like yours- but just wanted to see up close? Sorry for the essay! I love your room and I love the tutorial! Great tips/details I haven’t seen in all the other ones!!
How did you finish the inside and outside corners?
what color white is this and what brand.
The paint color is Farrow & Ball’s All White
Thank you for this post! I just finished using your shiplap plan on my bathroom. I am so happy with it. Would be happy to share a pic but I don’t see that option here. It was putsy to do. Sanding was the worst part. But in the end it turned out beautiful! Thanks!!
I’m so glad to hear that!!! And I agree – the sanding is a total drag. I’d love to see a pic!
Looks beautiful. I found your website when looking online for coin widths to use as spacers. After pricing out planking at various home improvement and lumber stores. I went with 6 x 8 cedar fence board at only $2.77 each.. I picked out the best ones and had them sanded on one side and they were perfect.
Thanks for leaving a comment and letting everyone know what worked for you – sounds like a great solution!!
Hi Kris – I have beautiful crown molding and baseboards that I don’t want to take down when I install the shiplap – do you have any recommendations or tips to make sure it looks good?
I think you should be fine as long as your crown and baseboards are pretty level. I wasn’t planning to replace my crown molding but it was nowhere near to level so the shiplap wasn’t going to hug it along its entire length. BUT I have a pretty old house so there’s pretty much nothing level – if your house is newer you should be ok!
Agree, and it’s not a DIY if your Contractor does the installation.
The only reason I had my contractor help is that it’s a two person job holding up the boards to nail them if you want to make sure they’re straight and my husband couldn’t take the time off of work to help me. But it is definitely a doable DIY and something we could and would have done the same way on our own if his work schedule had allowed. Everything that could be done as a one person job including all of the prep and finish work I did myself.
Did you stagger the planks so the “bondo” ends weren’t all in the same spot?
Great question – yes I did!
Hi! I love this room! Can you tell me what color your dresser is painted? Thank you!
Thank you! It’s Farrow & Ball’s Worsted
On your white paint. Is it a semi gloss, egg shell or flat?
It turned out beautiful. Thank you for the tip in using auto body filler. I am like you, I like the seamless look. I did have one question. You said it sanded smooth, but was the paint able to cover it well…is it noticeable? Thanks so much.
Hi Jen – the paint was able to cover it really well (I primed those spots first!). A few of the joints had a little bit of cracking over the first winter but most of the joints are still seamless.
I am thinking of doing this in an attic bedroom of a house I’m buying so I loved your post! One idea I had about painting the edges I’m going to try…..lay the boards on a flat surface close side by side, edges up, so paint can’t drip in between. Put bookends or something heavy to hold them steady on each side of the group. Then use a roller with a light amount of paint on it and paint a whole group at once! Dry and flip to other side to paint. White shiplap ceilings and eaves, and a gray painted floor will look amazing I think!
Painting the sides all together is very strategic just make sure they don’t dry together and get stuck. You will ruin them when pulling apart. So You may want to put larger spacers between each board and hold all the ends together in some fashion to prevent tipping… like book ends, Maybe? It may even help when flipping altogether.
All great tips. Great article! Definitely taking lots of notes for our new bathroom sink wall 🙂 curious how a black wall with white Shiplap would look? Anyone seen anything like that? We will have black hexagon tile floor and a few other black accents so pondering the continued black accented look between boards. Just having trouble picturing it on a large scale- like the wall. The other walls would be a medium sage green (not black).
Great detailed post. I did exactly the same project.
Now that it has been a while, can you tell us if the Bondo All-Purpose Putty was a good choice for the ‘seamless plank look’? Did it ever crack over time?
Thanks!
I love this idea. But ship lap is so expensive. But I have a question…
Why do you want to leave a space between the boards? Couldn’t you butt them together tightly? True ship lap doesn’t have space between the boards. They actually overlap. So I’m not getting why you want to space between them.
With true shiplap the boards interlock and there’s a groove between the boards – the gap mimics that groove. If you butt the boards right up to each other, it wouldn’t look right…
Hi Kris, I am new to your blog and love it! What paint finish did you use ( satin, eggshell, etc) on the planked walls? I am attempting to plank my first wall. Thanks!
This isn’t really shiplap. Real shiplap is expensive because it’s a solid wood covering. You basically just put paneling over drywall. This sadly will not holdup over time as many have seen before, and this overuse of faux shiplap is why real shiplap is going out of style.
I explained in my post that this isn’t true shiplap – it’s a way to get the same look for less and without the hassle of removing all of the molding in the room. It’s now been over three years since we installed it and it still looking amazing!
I’m looking at doing shiplap in my new home, I just bought. Thanks for the tips and I’ll definitely take your advice on the fake shiplap, instead of the real wood. Your room looks beautiful!
What size plywood sheets did you get at Lowe’s? We’re you able to get the maple plywood in 4×8?
I so want to do this… Wondered if the corner boards were cut on an angle or butted up against each other?
I love the way this came out! All the details and tips you added have made it so easy to do this ourselves. I’m going to do this in my dining room along one 12ft long wall. Quick question….. When you had the vertical seam and used the bondo, did you stagger the seam as you went down each row or did they all line up ? The bondo is a great suggestion I would have never thought about that and it really creates a seamless look which is exactly what I’m looking for.