DIY Tall Board and Batten with Grid Boxes
Elevate any space by installing this budget friendly tall board and batten trim
Going up!
The board and batten that is 😉
Welcome back to week 4 of our half bathroom renovation!
If you are unfamiliar with the ORC, it is an 8 week room renovation/makeover challenge that a bunch of really talented bloggers, designers, & DIY-ers participate in.
The goal is to completely transform one space within 8 weeks!
Catch Up Here: Week 1 (design/budget/inspo) / Week 2 (popcorn ceiling removal) / Week 3 (painted tile)
This week we are installing some tall board and batten plus some vintage wallpaper.
When I first started putting the design together for this room I knew I wanted to add board and batten.
It is timeless and really elevates the space, plus the tall version makes the ceilings appear much taller, which is a must in our 8ft ceiling farmhouse…
This is not our first board and batten rodeo though, we have also added it to a bathroom and Eli’s nursery at our old house.
This time though we are heading to the dark side with it!
DIY Tall Board and Batten on a Budget
Supplies:
- 1x3x6 Pine Boards
- 1x4x8 Pine Boards
- 1x2x8 Pine Boards
- Level
- Nail Gun
- Caulk
Prepping the Space
True board and batten actually uses a panel behind the battens (long pieces), this gets installed first and then you install the battens over it.
Budget board and batten which is the only kind I do instead just paints the wall the battens will go over the same color 😅
Our walls aren’t textured so you really can’t tell the difference and it saves a ton of money!
We also chose to remove the old baseboards because they were small & wimpy looking.
If your baseboards are standard ones like ours were then there probably isn’t a ledge for your battens to sit on either.
I like the look of flush battens on baseboards but if new baseboards are not in the budget I recommend doing it this way.
Installing the Battens
Before you start installing anything you will need to know the distance between your battens, you can find a really helpful calculator here that will tell you how many battens you need and the spacing (hooray no math)!
Once you know the spacing cut 2 scrap pieces of wood to that size, these will be your spacers.
Using spacers really speeds up the process because you won’t have to measure every single time!
For the height of our battens we left them as they came, 6′ but feel free to choose any height that looks best in your space.
I placed my first batten in middle of the main bathroom wall and then used my spacer from there.
Attach the battens with 2″ nails, if you do not hit a stud be sure to nail the battens in using the criss cross method, angling the nail gun to the left then right for a secure hold.
Attaching the Header
After all the battens were attached we added a 1×3 header across the top.
If all your battens are cut to the same length, this piece should be pretty level, but it doesn’t hurt to check 😉
Attach it with nails the same way you did the battens.
Adding Small Grid Boxes
I wanted this specific trim project to be a little more elevated than standard board and batten so I decided to add small grid boxes.
For this part I used 1×3 boards cut the same length as my spacers.
This next part might seem like cheating but honestly just because you do things the easy way doesn’t mean you are a bad DIY-er, I promise!
You could cut a spacer the height you want your boxes to be or you could use a square like I did.
The square made this whole setup even easier because it made sure the boards where also “square” without having to dig out my tiny level!
Installing the Wallpaper
(If you don’t plan on adding wallpaper skip on down to the ledge part)
This half bathroom needed a little extra oomph and this vintage wallpaper was how I wanted to do it!
I installed the wallpaper before adding the ledge so that the ledge would hide the seams and create nice clean lines.
Adding the Ledge
The last piece to be installed is the 1×2 ledge.
It’s installed with angled nails on top of the header piece.
We painted our before install to ensure I wouldn’t accidentally get paint on the wallpaper.
Finishing
We always choose Weaber Lumber when selecting our boards because they are quality and which means less sanding and prepping.
After all the trim is installed fill all the nail holes, caulk, & paint!
DIY Tall Board and Batten Reveal
Who would ever want to come back from this dark side 😉
The tall board and batten definitely elevated this tiny bathroom and makes it feel so much more grand already!
I think the wallpaper adds the perfect amount of vintage flair and I can’t wait to see it once we add all the hardware.
We still have a lot of projects left in this space before it’s complete but for week 4 I am pretty impressed.
Let me know what you think about our trim and color choice!
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