1/2 Bathroom Board and Batten

There is nothing sadder than a boring guest bathroom, well besides the ending to the Titanic that was pretty tragic also. I really believe there was enough room for both of them on that driftwood, oh well. Back to the bathroom business, I wanted to do something that was relatively easy that would make the room feel bigger, more inviting, and craftsmanlike. Tall orders for a half bath I know. My goal for this project was to add some dimension to the walls, brighten it up with some paint, and make it feel not so “builders gradey” (could be a word)… I wanted to do it all without having to remove the existing pedestal sink and baseboard molding. So I decided I would try a board & batten wall project!

Board & Batten Decisions:

The hardest part about this project was all the decisions that had to be made before I could get started. First I needed to decide on how tall & wide I wanted the vertical boards to be, how to make my existing baseboards work, and what kind of horizontal piece I wanted for the top. I decided on using lattice strips for the battens because honestly they were cheap & the right thickness to match my baseboards! With two decisions down, I was still unsure about how I wanted to do the horizontal ledge piece until I stumbled upon Emily’s post at Decor Chick. She had the brilliant idea to use door casing instead of plain wood on top and she also used lattice strips for her battens! So now that I had the particulars down it was time to get to work.

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Supplies: 

• Lattice Strips (I used 1-1/2in x 1/4in x 8ft strips)
• Door Casing (Mine was 3-1/2in x 96in)
• Painters Tape
• Paint for Upper Wall (I used Glidden, Pebble Grey)
• White Paint for Bottom (I used Glidden, White On White, Semi-Gloss)
• Nail Gun/Nails
• Stud Finder
• Liquid Nails
• Miter Saw
• Level
• Caulk (like a lot)

Steps:

1. Start by measuring your room to figure out how much material you will need. To figure out how many battens you’ll need per wall you will need to do some math, don’t panic, trust me its the easy kind! First, measure your wall & decide what spacing you want in-between the battens (I used 1ft spacing). Next, take your wall length & divide it by the spacing number, for example, 8ft wall/ 2ft spacing= (4) spaces. Then add 1 to your spaces number (4) and that will equal how many battens you will need 4+1=(5) battens. Now you can go further to figure out the exact spacing but this was good enough for me.

2. In order to use my existing baseboards, I took a strip of my lattice and nailed it horizontally on top of my existing baseboards. I think this trick made my baseboards look much fancier! 

3.  I measured up from the top of that lattice piece 7-1/2ft and marked the wall, (4ft for lattice height + 3-1/2in for casing). After I had enough marks around the room, I took my painters tape and sectioned off the upper and lower halves. 

4. Now I painted my lower wall with the white paint, I did this now because I’m lazy & did not want to have to maneuver around the battens once they were up. This is also when I went around the upper half of the room with my handy dandy stud finder and marked where all my studs were.

5. While that was drying I cut all my battens to 4ft with my miter saw.

6. Once the walls were completely dry, I started placing my battens around the room. I used a piece of 12in scrap wood as a spacer and simply taped them into place to make sure I would like the layout. 

7. Once I was happy with all the spacing, I double checked that the battens were level with my bubble level & used the nail gun to nail them into place. Some of the battens were not on studs so I dabbed a little liquid nails on the back before nailing them down.

8. When all the battens are nailed down, you can start cutting the casing pieces at a 45-degree angle. You can use a miter saw or a hand saw and block. If your miter cuts come out looking a little less than professional then you are in good company! Have no fear because we will caulk the crap out of it later!

9. After I double & triple checked that all the angles would fit nicely together, I grabbed the level & my sister! She happened to stop by for a visit, talk about perfect timing because this portion definitely requires two people or one person with four arms. She held the casing in place on top of the battens while I adjusted them according to the level. Once they were straight, I nailed them into place. You definitely want to make sure that some of the nails hit studs because this piece will need the support.

   This is the part in my projects when I like to take a step back, do a little happy dance, (recover from that cardio session) and treat myself to a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice-cream! Before you ask, no Ben & Jerry are not sponsoring me, however, if they wanted to id be into it…

10. Now, its time for the fun part, (that is a lie this part absolutely sucks) caulking! Is it weird to have a favorite caulk, because I do and this is it. Just make sure whichever caulk you choose is white & paintable! This process actually takes a while because you want to be sure to caulk both sides of the battens, the miter cut areas, & fill in the nail holes with wood filler. On a high note, you are almost done I pinky promise!

11. When the wood filler is dry, sand those areas & get ready to paint!

12. ***This is my favorite step because paint always seems to tie the whole project together. I painted the upper half Pebble Grey & went back over the bottom half with the White on White.

And now for the reveal!!

Voila! Our 1/2 bathroom board and batten project is complete & I am so in love! The board & batten definitely gives the room a craftsman feel & makes it feel so much bigger. We replaced the builder grade light with one that I think looks more modern farmhouse style. We also used this super easy tutorial to frame in the existing mirror! All that is left is to add some crown molding & possibly, maybe, most likely, in the future far far away, redo the floors in a fun tile pattern! Stay tuned & drop any comments, questions, or any of your own DIY bathroom makeover photos in the comments!