Simple Do It Yourself Faux Shiplap Wall

The very first time we walked through a model of our new build, I started envisioning how I would decorate each and every space. Walking into the kitchen was no different! I absolutely loved it, but there was a huge blank wall that just really didn’t fit in. I immediately knew what it needed. Shiplap! Follow along in this simple do it yourself faux shiplap wall.

A shiplap accent wall can feel intimidating or expensive, but it’s not! This was actually a really easy and kind of a fun project to do too!! 

What You Need

My husband and I researched different ways we could create a shiplap wall. Keep in mind that this is a BIG wall, so we wanted to find the most budget friendly way. We ended up choosing to use underlayment from Lowes, which comes in these big sheets. My husband cut the sheets down to 6 inch boards. You can get Lowe’s to do this part for you, but we just decided to do it ourselves. If you have a table saw, this part is pretty easy! I do recommend doing some light sanding after cutting, especially around the edges.

Putting Up Your Wall

Now comes the fun part! Putting it up on your wall. We used liquid nail glue on the back of the board, placed it up on the wall, and then used a nail gun to secure it. Once you have your first row, you’ll want to use spacers (or in our case we used quarters) to create that shiplap look! It’s a super simple process, but I will say it is probably easier with an extra set of hands. We started from the top and worked our way down because I didn’t want an odd sized board at the top. However, if you are working by yourself I would work from bottom to the top so you don’t have gravity working against you. 

After all of the boards were up, we filled the nail holes with wood filler and let that dry. Once dry we sanded down the filler and wiped the wall clean to prepare for paint! Initially we started with a roller, but it left us with a not so smooth finish. Very quickly we decided to switch to a regular paint brush, which worked perfect! It turned out exactly the way I imagined.

We ended up adding floating shelves and I love them! Go check out how I decorated them in my How to Decorate Open Shelving in a Kitchen post. I think this simple do it yourself faux shiplap wall and shelves totally complete our kitchen. If you want to see more of our kitchen you can HERE.

XOXO