Sep 29, 2018
Updated: Aug 12, 2020
This is a great 1-day project for anyone who's not a pro at working with wood and wants to create a big impact in a small space. There are so many different ways you can go with it too- I started out thinking I'd paint everything matte black but once I held up the unfinished wood against the black wall I loved the idea of staining it! This was done for a boys playroom but by switching up the design and colors it could easily be used for a girls room, bathroom, dining room, you name it!
Miter Saw
Nail Gun
Tape Measure, Straight Edge, Pencil
Eye and Ear protection
Wood molding (I bought mine at Home Depot for $.70/ft, it was 1/2"x3/4" pine)
Paint/Stain for the wall + wood ( I used 'tricorn black' by SW)
1” Nails
Once you have a general idea of what look you want to go for, paint your wall and sketch out the design you want to create. For my wall I wanted a boho/boyish look and didn't sketch any design, just added wood pieces as I went. If you want to do a more symmetrical design I would definitely recommend sketching it out first and measuring how long each piece of wood should be before hand, making adjustments as you go.
Because I 'free-handed' it, I left the wood natural and stained it once it was up on the wall. I would recommend staining the wood BEFORE you attach it to the wall, but because I wasn't 100% sure what direction I wanted to go and because my wall was painted black it didn't end up being much of a problem.
Start Assembly, Making the Frame First
The first thing I did was to frame out the entire wall, using the nail gun to attach the wood into studs. Then I went along, piece by piece, measuring out how long I needed to make my pieces. I made it easy on myself and every cut was a 45 degree angle. Even if you already have a design planned out, I would still measure and cut the wood as you go because your wall may not be perfectly even.
I also used my phone to take a photo of the wall and draw lines to see whether I liked the look of it or not before actually cutting/nailing the wood to the wall!
And that's all there was to it! I didn't end up using caulk so it really was a quick and easy project with barely any mess!