My son Isaac is 7 years old and he has been begging for a “really cool room.” His room is large, it could easily be a master bedroom. I have big plans and completed my feature wall this week. Originally inspired by the “wonder wall” from The Lettered Cottage, I set out to recreate the look for my son’s room. Kevin & Layla actually had their beauty naturally under their drywall. But I guarantee my house wouldn’t have that underneath so I recreated it on top of the drywall instead.
Supplies:
1/4” luan 4’ x 8’ sheet cut into 6” strips ($13.28 each at Lowes)
2’x 4’s (I used 18 of them)
miter saw
air brad nailer
primer
Valspar paint color matched to my trim color
paint sprayer or brush and foam roller
nickels for spacing
chalk line
electric drill
2 1/2” wood screws
wood filler
level
tape measure
caulk
1. My wall was 16’ wide by 8’ tall. This worked perfect to have 4’ x 8’ sheets of luan cut into 6” strips. Lowes can do this for if you let them know ahead of time and give them a couple of days to do it. My wall took 4 sheets ripped into 6” strips. Because of the width of the saw blade you will have one strip that isn’t exactly 6”. Those can be used at the top and bottom of the wall since the 2’ x 4’ shelving will cover it.
2. Draw a chalk line level on the wall. Then line that first luan strip with that line. Use a brad nailer to attach the planks to the wall. Using nickels as spacers, I kept adding planks until the wall was complete. I had one seam on each length that I put in the middle. Since a 2’x 4’ was covering it the placement was perfect.
Here is a picture of the nickel spacing…
3. Use a multi max tool or a jigsaw to cut around the outlets.
4. Next add the 2’x 4’ on the bottom, top and sides using 2 1/2” wood screws. (Note: Remove the baseboard and cut the left and right baseboard the depth of a 2’x4’ with a multi-max tool) You can screw the 2’x 4’ right into the carpet on the bottom or cut the carpet back if you’d rather.
4. Add all your vertical 2’x4’s first. You will have to drill the screws at an angle in order to secure the 2’x4’s in place.
5. Next figure out the placement of your horizontal boards and cut those to fit. Drill those in as well.
6. After it was complete I filled all the brad nail holes and caulked the top, left and right 2’x4’s at the seam where it meets the wall. I didn’t not, however, fill the wood screws. I wanted to maintain a little of the rustic aspect of it since the 2’ x 4’s were a bit rough anyway. Once painted you can barely see them anyway.
7. Using my new Graco True Coat Plus II paint sprayer (full review soon!) I spray primed and painted my shelves. Sprayed molding gives it such a nice look compared to hand painting it, imho.
Here is it all primed…starting to catch the vision?
I think this made a HUGE impact on the room and cost less than $100. Not bad if you ask me. I can’t wait to start styling it. I have a long way to go until then, meantime, I keep plugging away at his room. And let me tell you…it is awesome. You are going to die when you see what I did next.
Note: If you do not use a paint sprayer make sure you paint the wall ahead of time or you will see the wall color peeking through the tiny plank cracks.
Click here to see it all styled as well as the final room reveal.
And check it out here in my son’s new room in Ohio.
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Ooooh! Looking good! Can’t wait to see the rest of your “vision”
Thanks for reading, Lindsay. I think you’re going to love it!
WOW!! Great job! I cant wait to see more!
And I can’t wait to share it. It’s going to be awesome!
that looks fantastic. it will be a great place to put little treasures…
i just finished planking the headboard wall in my master bedroom. i have been beating my brains out trying to figure out how to make it more interesting. i think that this would look great in my bedroom too, but the headboard of my sleigh bed is about 60 inches tall. i wonder if it would be possible to do the 2 x 4 shelving on only the TOP half of the wall….hmmmmm…i think i need to figure out how to brace the horizontal 2 x 4 that would have to go at the halfway up point….
My husband has a handy little paint sprayer BUT I ask this…didn’t it turn into a cloud in the room?? My husband tried doing some spray work with the garage door quite a bit closed one day. I opened the door to the garage and about died. It was a cloudy mess (yes, he had a mask on but was coating everything in the room I think!) and I yelled to him to open the darned door (weather was not so nice) or stop working!!! Don’t you find that a problem?? And YES! I LOVE the wall!
There were some flecks of overspray on the side walls, but I didn’t care because I knew I was going to paint over them anyway. I taped off the floor and ceiling with plastic to protect them. If I wasn’t going to paint the walls, I would have definitely covered them with plastic too.
looks great Beckie!
Thanks, Jessica!
What a great look for a kids room. You can display all their little collectibles and the 2 x 4’s would make a natural frame for their artwork.
Great idea! Thanks, Sharon!
Looking great…..I can’t wait to see what’s up your sleeve!
All kinds of goodies. Can’t wait to share! 😉
The wall looks great Beckie! It will be a very useful place to display your son’s “treasures”.
Oh, I am sure I will find all kinds of things on those shelves. 😉
Love it! I want to tackle a project like this- where do I go to get an anti-lazy treatment? 😛
Ha! I know you are not lazy!!!
The wall looks great! my son would love to have a space like that for books, trophies and more. Can’t wait to see how you finish the room. My 4 year old’s room still looks like a baby’s nursery and I am ready for inspiration to redo it. Keep it up!
Thanks for the encouragement, Holly. It’s going to be awesome, so stayed tuned!
Awesome! Pinning!
Thanks for the pin!
I am a little confused. Why did you put the bottom 2x4s right on the carpet? I have always been taught that you never build anything on a carpet base. What happens in the future when the carpet has to be replaced?
Suzanne I wasn’t too concerned about it. I could have cut the carpet if I wanted to or I could cut the edge when I replace the carpet. Either way would have worked but I didn’t want to get more tack strips to cut now. And I didn’t really build anything on the carpet per se. I would’t have done that if there was weight on it but it is just a feature wall.
My carpets are kind of old and we were thinking about possibly replacing in the next couple years. I was just worried about would it be wiser to pull it back. It would be a hassle but if I did would the base 2×4 be too short looking with carpet against it. Would I need a couple of 2x4s stacked on the base? Or am I overthinking this.
I think either way you cut it, it would be fine. I don’t think you would need two stacked. The carpet isn’t that tall. I would just cut it back and then add the 2 x 4. However, you might have to staple the carpet back if the tack strip is gone.
Beckie,
Your work is just fab! This wall is gorgeous – and such a great Home Makeover idea! I’ve pinned for future reference!
You’re the featured blogger today at The Inspiration Network! We LOVE how inspiring all of your ideas are!
http://theinspiration-network.com/be-inspired-by-infarrantly-creative/
Smiles,
Melanie and Diana {The Inspiration Network Girls}
Wow, thanks, Ladies, for the high praise. I really appreciate it.
I pinned your inspiration wall a long time ago. I can’t wait to see your twist on it.
Thanks, Ahna. Are you planning on trying it in your house too?
We were thinking about it when we finished our bonus room, but it didn’t work out because we had to change some things to accommodate plumbing:(
Oh, bummer!