Board and batten adds a geometric, layered look to both interior and exterior walls.
This siding and paneling style uses thin strips of wood — or battens — placed over the seams of wide boards.
You can mimic the look of board and batten on an accent wall without installing wide wood boards. Here’s how:
For the battens, rip half-inch by 6-inch pine siding along its length to create battens that are about 2¾-inch wide.
Use the same pine siding to frame the top and bottom of the wall. Cut the bottom piece slightly wider — at 3¼ inch — to match the height of the existing baseboards.
Use an oscillating saw to cut the baseboards on the adjacent walls back a half inch so the pine siding can slide in. Then, attach battens in each corner.
The remaining battens should be spaced on 16-inch centers. Before installing them, mark those dimensions on the wall with a pencil to be sure the spacing works before installing them.
Since we can’t be sure we’ll hit studs with every batten, coat the back of each batten with construction adhesive before tacking them in place with 2-inch finish nails.
Once all the battens are in place, caulk the edges and apply two coats of paint to the wall.
