The Very Cheap Plank Wall

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This project, was a spur of the moment, drop everything else, must do right now kind of project. I don’t know what got into me, but when Hubby said he loved the idea, that was the green light I needed! So this is….

Remember when I painted my cabinets and built the uppers to the ceiling? (If not, be sure to check out the before HERE!) I still love them soooo much! Anyway, I painted this wall orange, where my ‘coffee bar’ is, and I said that I was going to build shelves there to fill in that area...

But you know, I just wasn’t feelin it. If I did, I would have built those shelves right away and they would’ve been done. Sometimes, I just get distracted by other projects that I love more and have greater inspiration to do. If I don’t have inspiration…. those areas just kinda sit, until ‘the IT hits’. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, I never got around to building those shelves and I am soooo glad I didn’t! Because I did this!!!

I am so in love with this wall now. Hubby loves it too, which is a double bonus!

I still can’t believe how cheap this project came out! Now, it was a bit labor intensive and you need to be sorta comfortable with a chop saw. Which are pretty easy to operate once you get the hang of it. If I can do it, you can too!!

So, Hubby and I stopped in at Lowes to pick up this plywood. It was originally about $16 dollars for a 4X8 sheet of it. We picked out 2 sheets that had nice grain and a few knots for character. We had Lowes cut it into 4 inch planks. Well, the saw was kinda butchering up the ends of the pieces and the cut had a slight angle to it. Not the best, to say the least! So, the guy gave us 50% off both sheets. They were still useable, so including the $5 stain, we came out of there under $22! Nice deal!

I used 2 different wood stains Minwax Driftwoodand Minwax Classic Gray. I wanted them to be more on the grayish side with some brown and some with a whitish tint. I had fun mixing the stains. On some planks, I’d white wash after the stain and wipe it off, or I’d dry brush some white paint on. Sometimes, I’d let the stain sit in the can and not mix it, then stain the wood. I got so many different looks with only 3 products. You can really play around with the techniques.

After I stained a bunch of planks, I needed to put a plank on each side next to the cabinets. That way I wouldn’t have to cut little pieces all the way up for that thin part of the wall. You really wont see it much unless you are standing right in front of the the coffee pot.

Back when I build the uppers, I made one mistake cutting the crown molding. There was a gap where the crown molding didn’t go all the way to the wall. I hid it there because I knew no one would see it. Well, that worked out perfectly because, I was able to slide that plank right behind the crown. It was a nice snug fit. Saawweeettt! I love it when things like that come together!

The other side, I had to cut the crown molding, which wasn’t too hard or too messy. I used a scrap piece of plank as a guide for width and used our Multi-Toolto cut that piece out.

That little chunk popped right out, then I slid the plank right into place.

I didn't want full size planks the length of the wall. So, I just cut and fitted them mixing the different colored planks. Then, I just nailed them up with my Nail Gun(the best purchase I EVER made! Seriously, if you don’t have one, you should ask for one for Christmas! I LOVE my Nail Gun!)

Just make sure you mark where your studs are, you’ll want each plank to be nailed into at least one stud.

Cutting around the outlets was not that much fun, but doable. I used the Multi-Toolagain to make my cuts. Make sure you unscrew the outlets and pull them out. Then put them back on using the wood plank as the spacer. That way your cover will go right back on. The screws are definitely long enough.

(FYI… I didn’t do it that way… Hubby tried to tell me on the phone, but I was being stubborn and told him, “I got this!” Ummm… I didn’t have anything down! I had to go back and put in spacers. I should have listened…)

As I worked my way up the wall, there were gaps. Remember the sides of the planks weren't cut quite perfect. So, when I saw that there were going to be gaps, I painted the seam with black acrylic paint. I really didn’t want the orange peeking through.

Is it perfect? Not at all, but I didn’t want perfect. I wanted it to have flaws. Wood has flaws...and I am not a professional builder. I'm just an average stay-at-home wife with enough gumption to give something a try. ;)

As I was moving up the wall, I began to custom paint what plank I wanted and where.

And of course, the ceiling isn’t level. I could have put up some trim to finish it off, but I didn’t want that look, so Hubby helped and cut those top pieces to fit like a glove.