DIY Wood Wall Paneling

 

Hello, friend!  Today, we’re talking about the diy wood wall paneling and custom beds in this darling bedroom, because that’s what everybody has been asking me about.  I wanted to answer those questions and fill you in on as many details as I can about this room.

To see the full tour of this room, click here.

First the walls.  They were bare and brown when we moved in.  Dark, dark brown.  You couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face when the lights were off.  

First, we went to Home Depot and bought 8, 1/4-inch plywood sheets.  They were about 12 dollars a sheet.  I think we even had some leftover.  So, this totaled about 100 bucks.

Then at Home Depot they cut the sheets down into wood slats.  We had them cut them into 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inch strips.

Then my husband nailed the vertical boards onto the walls with 2-inch gaps between.  He made it easy by cutting a small chunk of wood that was 2 inches, and he slid it in the gaps as he nailed up the next piece.  This made installation quick and easy (so much better than pulling out a tape measure every time!).

Next, he added some trim around the windows and a horizontal panel about 2/3rds of the way up the wall. Sort of like a chair rail but higher. You could do it without that extra trim piece, but I thought it added some extra visual interest.

We came up with these wall paneling ideas to save time and money.  It was pretty quick to put up the wood strips and about 50 dollars cheaper than the shiplap that we did in this room. 

I just love the results after a couple of gallons of white paint!

 

Crown Moulding Alternative

We had spent enough on the wood, so we used some inexpensive rope for the molding along the ceiling.  This idea came from a room we saw at a themed hotel on our anniversary – it was a pirate ship.  Can’t believe I just told you that!

 

We first sprayed the room with a paint sprayer, but it became obvious that in order to get the seams in between the planks good enough, I needed to caulk and brush. So, I did. 

That took a while, but the payoff of seeing a plain wall come to life with beautiful wood paneling was worth it!

Custom Bed Designs

Now for a few details on the beds, which were another diy project.

 

My husband was kind enough to custom make these beds per my requests.  He thought I was a bit crazy when I said I wanted beds that looked like crates – but he loves them now and they look fabulous with the new feature walls.

There is a lift up storage compartment under the mattress, which is so nice for blankets and out of season clothes.

I couldn’t talk him into pictures during the process or even to make up some plans.  So sorry.

He likes to work at his own whims . . . . . . . and I wasn’t about to interrupt when I had him on a roll.

But I will tell you about the stain I used.

Bed Paint and Stain

The pictures you see above were from a vinegar and steel wool method.  I filled a quart jar with vinegar and 3 bunches of steel wool.  I let that sit for 2 days.

Then I brewed up some green tea.  We did a single coat of the tea on the wood.  The wood doesn’t do anything at this point.  But when you wipe on the vinegar mixture it turns an old wood brownish gray.  So pretty.

But I still thought they needed a little something, so I watered down some white paint and whitewashed the wood, scrubbing it in as good as I could without leaving any streaks.  The wood tone of the bed works will with the white of the diy wood wall paneling.

The whitewash made the wood even grayer, which was exactly what I had in mind.  Then we added some wheels and hardware.

Customizable Mattresses 

Now a little on the mattresses.

 

These mattresses are a unique size, or at least they can be.  I needed this to fit the beds in this room along the wall.

I got them from Ikea – they have thought of everything.

They are simple covered foam mattresses but they come in separate pieces so you can customize the size.  They go from the length of a twin (73 inches) to smaller (63 inches) or even smaller (53 inches).  We used one insert making the beds 63 inches, perfect for our wall.  The beds fit in snug enough that they can’t roll around.  Perfect!

 

The foam isn’t that thick, but I think it is soft enough for a kid.  I don’t think I could sleep on them.

 

But I don’t hear any complaining from the little ones.

I hope this answered some of your questions.  We are really enjoying the new room with its diy wood wall paneling.  Try it out in your next bedroom, living room or dining room makeover.  You won’t regret it!

Let me know if you have any further questions!