DIY Board & Batten wall

The back wall in our living room has remained blank ever since we moved in almost 4 years ago. I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. I knew that it needed character, but it was such a large wall that I knew a couple pictures on it alone wouldn't suffice. I'm not the type of person to move in somewhere and throw random things on the wall immediately to decorate. I am the type to calculate and really think about how I want to decorate before I do it. After 4 years of living here, our home is almost complete. But for the longest time, we lived with basically all blank walls.

Some ideas that I had for this wall over the years included: A huge gallery wall, creating a wallpapered accent wall, shiplapping the whole thing, putting a buffet and mirror there, putting a coffee bar there, and the list went on and on. Nothing seemed to fit though, until an idea sparked after I created a mini board and batten wall in Hudson's room.

After that, I saw how easy it was to do by myself and also the impact it made on the room. I started tossing the idea in the air of doing it along our back living room wall. Finally I decided to pull the trigger and go for it!

Here was our before picture. Just a huge, blank wall that added nothing to the character or functionality of our home.

I went to Lowes and bought cheap pine boards for this project. This entire wall cost less than $50. We had a lot of the supplies on hand though so that cut down the cost even more. I wish I would have taken photos during the process of putting up the wall. But basically I just took the boards and nailed them to the wall. I had to cut a couple pieces to fit using our jigsaw, but that wasn't difficult at all. After the boards were up, I caulked the seams. After that, I primed the wood and then added two coats of paint. I also had to switch the outlets during this process from almond to white. 

It turned out super professional looking and I was super impressed! It was so easy and I couldn't believe the impact it made on the room. I decided to put family prints above that wall. I picked out a few favorite engagement, wedding, and newborn photos and printed them out in black and white. I hung them the other day and now I absolutely love the way the wall looks.

Now I have a beautiful wall in our living room that displays some of our happiest moments. It turned out so much better than I even expected and I'm so happy with the final result!