SHIPLAP Feature Wall Tutorial

Have you been looking for instructions on how to install a beautiful Shiplap Feature Wall in your home?  Continue reading below for a step by step guide!

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If you haven’t been following, we bought our forever home, put together our inspiration board, and started our reno.  For the full story, read the related posts linked at the bottom of this post!  But for now, enjoy this post all about SHIPLAP!

Yes, Shiplap!

I knew when we bought our house and were designing our plan that Shiplap was going to be a part of it!  I LOVE shiplap.  And I think that is an understatement!

I saw pictures on Pinterest of houses completely decked out in Shiplap.  I watched Home TV shows that installed Shiplap in every room of the house.  And I wanted this!

Except…my husband wasn’t quite open to the idea of Shiplap being EVERYWHERE.

So…we compromised.  We would strategically put Shiplap in a few areas of our main living space, including creating a stairs feature wall as seen in this post.

Oh…and did you know that Shiplap not only looks AMAZING…but is actually really cost effective!  I mean, our entire stairs shiplap feature wall cost us less than $200!!!! (this includes the plywood base layer- instead of drywall!)

OK, so you want to put in a Shiplap Feature Wall right?  Let’s get right into the details–>

Resources You’ll Need:

• 1/4″ plywood – 1 sided good- for your shiplap strips
• 1/2″ plywood- for your base (if you already have drywall up, you won’t need this)
• MDF Corner Post/ Border Trim (optional)
• Brad Nailer- we used the Bostitch Brand
• Table Saw with finishing blade (try to use one with a gravity stand)
• Dewalt Palm Sander
• Measuring Tape
• Pencil
• Level
• Ladder
• Paint Gun – unless you want to use a paint brush for the cracks and roller for the shiplap wall.
• Painter’s Tape
• Paint
• Shop Vac
• Oh…and perhaps some good music too! 🙂

Instructions–>

Prepping the Plywood Shiplap Strips

1. First, figure out what widths you would like your Shiplap strips- ours are 6“.  If you like them thinner, try 4″, if you would like them wider, try 8”.
2. Cut or rip your 1/4″ plywood into strips through the Table Saw.  Careful when you do this, gloves might be an option if you want to avoid plywood splinters!!
3. Pile your 1/4″ plywood strips.
4. Sand your edges.  Spend about an hour with your palm sander and go over the edges smoothing them.  Do NOT worry about them being perfect at all!

Shiplap Wall

1. Use the 1/2″ plywood as your base on your wall instead of drywall.  Why?  This is so that when you are nailing the Shiplap strips, they can be nailed anywhere, and not just to the studs.  If you already have drywall up, mark your studs with a pencil line instead.
2. Optional- Add your Corner Posts and Borders.  We decided to frame out our shiplap feature wall with MDF because it is really easy to paint and came in extra long boards (the entire span from floor to ceiling was 16 ft!).  Measure the length, cut the pieces, and nail them into the plywood wall.
3. Prime the 1/2″ plywood wall- this is so that any exposed plywood will already be white.

Installing the Shiplap Feature Wall

1. Measure Twice!  Use the measuring tape to measure your exact length of 1/4″ plywood strips needed.
2. Cut the 1/4″ plywood strips to exact size measurement with your table saw.
3. Use the Brad Nailer to attach the Shiplap strips.  **Make sure that your starter piece is level!** 
   • It’s unlikely that your plywood Shiplap strips will equal the space exactly.  We choose to start at the bottom to have a full-width piece when going down the stairs.  It made a better visual impact for us.  In the end, the top and final Shiplap plywood strip were a bit smaller, but because we have our fan up there, it really isn’t that noticeable!
4. Use Popsicle sticks to space your boards.  Other options are coins (but popsicle sticks are longer and easier to work with)
5. Continue adding your Shiplap strips up the wall.
6. Keep checking that your boards are level!

We had so many people comment on our feature wall at this point.  They thought we should leave it AU NATURAL as it was already looking so good.  OK, it did look pretty amazing!  However…we knew what our end result was going to look like and needed to have some faith that our vision will have an even bigger IMPACT!  Keep scrolling to see the final outcome!

The Finishing Touches

1. Use your paint gun to Prime and Paint your Shiplap to the desired paint color.  Our white is a Beauti-tone product called Milk Mustache! (can you tell the kids choose the paint color based on the name?!?) We choose the Interior Designer Series Suede Paint.  It’s really durable, easy to apply, and doesn’t scuff either!
2. Add your lighting fixtures and other wall decor you desire.  (an upcoming post for my gallery wall idea!)
3. Sit back and enjoy your feature wall!

Here is our final SHIPLAP FEATURE WALL- I’m so happy with it!

Related Posts:

• The Inspiration Design
• First Reno Hurdle- The Stairs
• The New Stairs REVEAL… Industrial Farmhouse Style!

So, are you inspired to put a Shiplap feature wall in your home?  Leave a comment below & even add a picture of your feature wall!