simple, inexpensive board and batten

10 September 2010

I do realize I’m about the sixty eleventh blogger to talk about board and batten. It is such a simple way to give a room a big pop of texture and character. I also love the big fat pieces of board, but we were on a tight budget since we had just paid to have our basement finished.
This is how we did it:
Our Lowes had these lattice strips in a 10 pack for 7.68.
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In my store, they were at the end of the lumber section above the white lattice panels next to the house wrap. The Lowes people all know me now as the crazy lady that comes in and takes pictures of lattice strips and mirrors.
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june 2010 041  june 2010 040   Now, some of these bundles have some crazy warped, ugly boards in them. The nice guy at my store said I could bundle the bad ones up and bring them back for a refund and that’s what we did. If your store doesn’t have these nifty little bundles you can buy the lattice by the foot like Sarah did.
We decided on a height for our chair rail when my dad was visiting…I can’t remember how we came up with it, (it wasn’t scientific though) and he helped put that up. We didn’t get to the strips for about a month and a half later,  and then it was simply a matter of placing the lattice strips in an equal distance that didn’t run into a light switch or outlet. We cut the strips down to size and used my handy nail gun from Black Friday to attach them. We sanded down the boards that were rough and used lots of caulk to fill in gaps between the wall and little imperfections on the boards. june 2010 145 1
Total cost for the lattice strips (we used 35 in the playroom):
$26.88 plus tax
We used the leftover paint from the rest of our trim and doors downstairs, and I think the chair rail cost around $30 in materials…
So, I’d say about $60 can make a big impact. 
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I’m sure I’m leaving something out..feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
I have to tell you I’m so sick of the playroom now since it’s been a project we’ve let drag out all summer. I’m excited to move upstairs to the next project: living room! Of course, we’ll be back down to finish the other rooms, but I need a change of scenery.
Don’t forget that the GroopDealz $25 Target Giveaway ends tomorrow! Enter here~
Happy Weekend~

31 comments

  1. Great idea! I thought this wood would be to rough, but it works just fine! This will be an upcoming project.

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  2. wowie! it looks great!

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  3. You've inspired me to do this somewhere! It looks fantastic!

    And funny comment about the photo taking...I take pictures in stores all the time and I get the strangest looks! Sometimes you can just read people's thoughts and the whole thing is pretty entertaining, while at other times I actually get asked what I am doing by other customers.

    Janell

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  4. We did the same treatment in our dining room last year & love it! We had the char rail already, but decided to add the lattice & paint it to look like board & batten. Its such a great look!

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  5. Since you're sick of it, you're REALLY sweet to give us all the details. We'll never get tired of hearing the details! And it sounds wonderful for you to be moving upstairs to the living room. . . oh, the adventures at the old Granville House! :)

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  6. I've been reading your blog for about a month or so now and I have to say, you never fail to impress me. I will definitely be doing that somewhere in my house. Thanks for all the great ideas! You're awesome!

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  7. You did a great job with little funds. I love it!

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  8. What height did you put your chair rail at? How tall are your basement ceilings?

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  9. What a great idea!!! I so want to add board & batten in our family room. I did the downstairs bath earlier this year, but this is a great $$$ saving tip!

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  10. It looks AMAZING! And on a budget. Gotta love the savings! :-)

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  11. this looks amazing! I love your blog. Come check me out I just did a post on selling on craigslist.

    Ashley @ the Appraisers wife
    www.rahouck.blogspot.com

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  12. What a great idea! I never would have thought about using that!!!!

    It looks beautiful!

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  13. Wow-great minds think alike! I just completed an identical project in my front hall using those really cheap lattice strips for my board and batten molding!! LOVE IT! I have a great idea for picture frame moldings for plain old doors-that's coming next week! Loved your post-looks fab!

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  14. Love love love!! I think B & B is great--so fresh and clean looking. :)

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  15. I think the secret to the height is = the bottom section should be 1/3 of the wall, the top 2/3. At least that's how it was when I painted my daughters room two seperate colors. Hope that helps!

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  16. It looks great! I am one of the last ones to step on the board and batten wagon too - but want to do it in our hallway - I love the inexpensive materials you used! Thanks so much for sharing it!

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  17. What did you do about the baseboards? Does the lattice stick out over them? I want to do this, but am concerned about the "overhang" and I'm too lazy to do anything about the baseboards.

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  18. D'Net~one of the reasons we chose the lattice was that we didn't want a lot of "overhang." It barely sticks out over our baseboard. I would buy a small piece and see if you would be okay with it on yours. Good luck!

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  19. Ok... I have a question. Are your walls textured or did you just do this on top of the sheetrock? It looks like you did it on top of the sheetrock... and if you did, does anyone know what it looks like if you already have textured walls?

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  20. I have been wanting to try this for so long. It makes your room look so nice. Thanks for the great tips.

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  21. great transformation! i may try this idea on my staircase.
    blessings
    marie

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  22. Do you have to sand the lattice strips? Usually they are rough right? Or did you get nicer ones?

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  23. Gordostyle: ours was not textured, but I know many have done it right on top of the texture. If yours is heavy, you may just want to sand it down. If it's light, I'd leave it. Good luck!

    TaylorClan: Yes, we sanded most of our strips once they were up. The strips you purchase by the foot looked nicer though.

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  24. thanks for sharing all the details:)

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  25. Looks lovely--would like to try this in my studio!

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  26. Thanks for the tutorial! We will be doing this in my boys' room soon. Can't wait!

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  27. Lovely idea. What tool did you use to make sure they were equi-distant? I'm hoping there is something to use other than a ruler or tape measure.

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  28. I really like how you made this look manageable and definitely affordable.Thank you!

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  29. Thanks for the tutorial. On your post you mentioned lattice board from Lowe's, I always knew them as Lathing Strips, is that what you are referring too?

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  30. I'm loving your blog and your sisters!  nice job ladies!  My question is - will this work with an orange peel wall texture?  I'm hoping to try this but it covers all of our house. Sigh. Please let me know your thoughts mrsmomomma at aol dot com

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  31. melissa*320 sycamore1/18/14, 9:48 AM

    Hello Amy~ It's pretty thick, so I would think it would cover the op texture just fine. It would be worth investing in a roll to try it out. Lowes has copied H. Depot and sell a much better beadboard in their stores now. Good luck~let me know if it works!

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