Hi, girls! We finally finished the shiplap in our entryway and I am so happy with how it turned out. It really brightened up the space!
I documented the process a little bit on Instagram stories and included a poll asking if you wanted to tutorial and 100% of you said YES! I don’t think I have ever had a unanimous answer on one of those before, so here it is!
A quick background in case you are new here… we bought our house in 2011 and have been slowly fixing it up ever since. Home reno isn’t really something I share on my blog, I think this is actually my first post about it, but if you like this sort of thing then I am happy to share more of our upcoming projects!
So funny story, we actually had real shiplap on this wall that we installed years ago. It went half way up the wall, had hooks at the top, and had the traditional tongue and groove joints. I did really love it, but our house is starting to become more of a coastal modern style compared to the farmhouse style I used to be in to. Another reason I no longer wanted this traditional shiplap is that it is bulkier then this new modern style and was about an inch thick. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, but it was not ideal for our narrow entryway. So, I ripped our old shiplap off and we started from scratch!
The first thing we did was measure the wall. I knew I wanted a cap on the end and I wanted the boards lined up evenly on top of each other (compared to staggering them like bricks). The first wall was 8’6″ long, so we decided on a 6″ cap at the end. We ended up using 4’x8′ 1/4″ thick sanded plywood. I had the people at home depot cut the piece of plywood down to 6″ wide boards that were 8′ long already. It was way easier to have them cut the boards there on their giant machine then us try to do it at home. *Note: Home Depot may charge you $0.50 per cut, but for me a couple dollars was way worth having the guaranteed straight lines.
Once we got the boards home, we lightly sanded the cut marks that their saw made. It only took a few minutes and made the lines look much cleaner. We mapped out on the wall where the studs were and started nailing up the boards. Make sure you only nail into the spots where the studs are, otherwise the nail gun will go straight through your board and drywall. Starting on the bottom, we placed the first board level on the baseboard. Since the plywood is so thin, we didn’t have any issues with it hanging over the baseboard. From there, we used a couple nickels and placed them on top of the board and parallel to the ground. This creates the space that a typical shiplap would have. As you nail the next board in, slide the nickels along and make sure the space is even all the way down. Continue all the way up the wall. We used the same nickel spacing for the cap on the end as well. Don’t worry if your spacing along the ceiling isn’t perfect, we will fix that later.
After we completed the first wall, Jeff had the idea to continue the shiplap along the next wall. This one was a little trickier since it had a light switch and a vent, but we were able to use a plunge cut saw to cut around them. Also, this wall wasn’t an exact 8′, so once we had the 4’x8′ plywood cut down to 6″ boards, we cut the lengths on site ourselves. This was also beneficial because our old house doesn’t have perfectly square walls and some of the boards on top were a tiny bit shorter in length. We kept the same 6″ caps on both sides for this wall too.
Once all the boards were up, I used spackling paste to lightly fill in the nail holes. After that dried, I sanded over them lightly to be even with the plywood. Jeff caulked the corners and along the ceiling. If your boards aren’t perfectly even with the ceiling, add some extra caulk to fill it in (we did!).
Next, we painted the new shiplap which is my favorite part! I debated having them sprayed for a perfectly smooth texture but ended up painting it myself. I think it turned out great and I saved money. We used Benjamin Moore White Dove, which is the same color as all the other white paint in our house, and I used a foam roller. Make sure you do very light coats so the paint doesn’t fill into the spacing between the boards. I did end up sanding the boards with a palm sander in between coats to keep it super smooth. It took 2-3 coats for the wood to be completely crisp white.
Cost breakdown:
We used a total of 4 – 4’x8′ sanded plywood boards – $22 each
I took two trips to Home Depot for the wood, one time they charged me for the cuts and one time they didn’t. $5
We already had the nails, spackling, and caulk.
Benjamin Moore White Dove – 1 gallon $40 (you could use a less expensive paint)
Foam Roller – $2
Total for both walls: About $135
Also, total time spent was about 10 hours.
I absolutely love how our modern shiplap turned out! It has made such a huge impact in brightening up this dark space. It was super affordable and fairly easy for us to install ourselves. Now I just need to figure out what to add here for decor, I’m thinking a jute runner in front of the bench.
What do you think of our shiplap? Let me know in the comments below and also if you want to see more home projects on the blog!
Wow!!!! That seriously turned out gorgeous!!! Great job Kristy! I’m totally going to try this in our new home!
Author
Thank you so much! I love how it turned out! I am sure it will look amazing in your home too, send me a picture if you try it 🙂
What color is your wall behind the Shiplap?
Did you find the ends of the board would not sit flush against the wall of you couldn’t nail in near the ends if there was no stud there?
Author
Hi Courtney!
The wall behind our shiplap is grey.
I asked my husband your question, his answer: The corner bead in the drywall might not be flush, they have a tendency to stand out. So his advice is to take an electric sander and sand down 6 inch width (or how ever wide your board is ramping) and shave down some of the old paint or whatever is causing it to not be flat.
Otherwise, if your board isn’t sticking out, just not staying flush to the wall then you could run very tiny head screws into the corner bead and then putty over them.
These screws: https://www.homedepot.com/p/GRK-Fasteners-8-x-2-in-Star-Drive-Trim-Head-Finish-Trim-Screw-100-per-Pack-119728/203525324
Let me know if either of these work!
Kristy
Your Shiplap looks amazing! But I also really love that plant stand. Where did you get it?
Author
Hi Alisha! Thank you so much! And the plant stand was a Home Goods find.
We would love to do this BUT we are going to be removing ancient paneling and with the nickel spacing we worry that it would leave a crack big enough to see through to the empty space left from the paneling removal. I’ve been trying to find something other than drywall (sheetrock) and LOVE this idea.
Author
I’m wondering if you could not use the nickel spacing and put them right on top of each other or even use a dime size spacing? Then make sure the paint doesn’t fill in the skinny gap. It might give a very similar appearance without being able to see through it. Try holding a few boards up and see how it looks!
Also, if you paint the paneling under the shiplap wall before you start, then you’ll most likely not be able to even see it!
Amy – since you won’t have drywall behind the ship lap, you may consider ‘faux faux’ shiplap. Instead of cutting the plywood into strips, you can miter the 4×8 plywood to make it look like shiplap but you still have the full piece of plywood. We did this in our new ‘pool house’ (back of our garage leading to the pool area). It is super easy and looks like real shiplap. None of our walls were wider than 8’ so we didn’t have to deal with seams and it worked out great! I wanted to do the same in my den but will probably cut the plywood into strips and stagger since some of the wall is about 12’ wide.
I really love the look of the whole wall, what is the width of baseboard you’ve used?
Author
Hi Corey, we have a 6 inch baseboard 🙂
Love the look!! I have also seen this done on the floor & then painted or stained. Very inexpensive application using sanded plywood. White Dove by Benjamin Moore is my absolute favorite white paint. I have painted my upper kitchen cabinets & an old brick fireplace face with White Dove and it looks great!! Thanks so much.
Author
Hi Betsy! That’s an awesome idea to use as flooring! And White Dove really is the best, I’m slowly repainting my entire house that color. Have a great day!
My daughter used white dove on. Her cinder block farmhouse.. I love it!!
I and doing a very small Lakehouse in shiplap… want to do the entire wall and ceilings in a crisp white.. do you feel white dove is crisp not more creamy???
Author
White dove is my favorite white!! We are in the process of painting our entire interior that color. It is definitely more of a warm white, but not yellow at all. I also have used it on trim in other colored rooms and it looks crisp white!
we just finished doing the same thing — same wood but we went with 1/2″ of the same plywood and cut them 11 1/2″ wide (decided to stray from the norm) — now we’re trying to decide if we’re going to even paint it — we’re considering SW Bracken Cream (cw 105) – we will be painting all the other walls & ceiling between the beams the same color – 14′ cathedral ceiling greatroom (kitchen/dr/lr open concept)
you did a wonderful job — it looks great !!
Author
That sounds awesome! I love that you put your own spin on it!
What a smart idea. We also have cathedral ceilings that i would like to put shiplap on. What an inexpensive way. Would love to see a picture of yours finished with the wider boards.
Hi Kristy,
Of all the pictures and sites I have seen of Shiplap, yours is going to be the one that inspires my shiplap job!
I have a few questons;
Did you use pennies inbetween each board?
I love how you put the boards up horizontal on the corner to finish it off nicely., and I can see a board at the far right side where your thermostat is, but I would like to know, did you also put a horizontal board on the left hand side to finish it off?
I absolutely love the job that you did.
Thank you
Elaine Hoyt
Fredericton NB Canada
Author
Hi Elaine,
Thank you so much! We actually used nickels between each board. I added the boards on the right corner to frame it out and make it more modern. The left side did not have a vertical board since it ran straight into another wall at 90 degrees. But I think it could look great either way! Good luck with your project!!
Author
Love your work ,I recently started shiplap for first time and I absolutely love it.
How wide was your individual boards and did you have them cut down at Home Depot as well?
Author
The original boards at home depot were 8 ft long. I had them cut to the size I needed.
Author
I went to home depot yesterday and ours won’t cut less than 12” ;o( due to liability. So I’m going to check lowes if they would be able to cut 6” strips for us. Going to try this mentioned. Can’t wait!
Did you paint the edges before you hung it? I am struggling with how to paint it without getting drips in the cracks and how the edges to not look raw in the gaps
Author
Hi! We painted the boards after we hung them up. Use VERY light coats and the paint should not drip into the cracks. It might take more coats, but the lighter each one is the better. If it does go into the cracks you can try using a credit card or something thin to slide in between.
I don’t understand how you don’t have seams. The wall is longer then 8 feet right?
Author
Hi Denise! The wall is slightly longer then 8 feet but the difference is covered in the vertical boards. However we did more faux shiplap on a wall in our bedroom which is about 14 feet long and we actually used baseboard flipped towards the wall and stacked on top of each other. Those come in sections of like 16 feet I think!
If you want to try this, send me an email at kristykonicke@gmail.com and we can chat! I’ll send you pictures too!
-Kristy
Author
Fantastic work! I had a couple questions about the wall behind the shiplap. Was it already painted and textured? Did you have issues with the shiplap laying flat on the wall because of the texture? My wife wants this done on an interior wall where the drywall already needs to be replaced so not having to tape, mud, paint or texture seems like a win. Thanks in advance!
Author
Hi Tyler. Yes, the wall behind it was painted grey and had texture on it. We did not have issues with it laying flat on the wall, but if needed you could easily sand or scrape any small textures that stick out way more then the rest if you find them pushing the board out. Good luck!
-Kristy
Can you see the natural wood in the seams if you didn’t paint them?
Did you put your trim up first?
Author
Hi Stacey, We did put the trim up first. Our baseboards were on before we decided to do this project. And The vertical panels were calculated based on the excess width past the standard 8 foot length to close the gap on each side. Our gaps are so thin that I can’t see the natural wood in the seams. 🙂
Kristy, like this but how would you use shiplap in a Mobil home?
Looks great! How thick is the plywood ? Planning to do this in a half bath soon
Author
Hi Chris! We used 1/4″ thick sanded plywood 🙂
Hello,
Looks great, one question when you measured how did you account for the spacing, which you used the nickels for?
Thank you
Nancy
Author
Hi Nancy,
It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but we just cut down the top board to fit the last opening at the top (we started at the bottom). We didn’t do too much calculating with the nickels and just made the top piece work! Hope this helps!
Kristy
I’m thinking doing this in my country kitchen. We have wallpaper and need to know if we can just go over it? The walls need to be replaced if we paint so this is an option. Thoughts on this in a kitchen??
Author
Hi Judy!
This would look great in a kitchen! Depending on how busy the wallpaper is, I think it could work just fine 🙂 The wall behind our shiplap is a dark grey and you can’t really even see it. Good luck!
Kristy
What would you suggest for a wall that is 12 feet? I’m also looking for the seedless look all the way across. LOVE this look
Author
Hi Whitney!
We actually did a 14 foot wall in our bedroom. We ended up using 5″ baseboards, flip them backwards against the wall so the flat side is facing out, and then stack up the wall just as you would with the wood boards.
Email me if you want some pictures or more info! KristyKonicke@gmail.com
Kristy
Awesome 🙂
Hi Kristy did you use a satin finish or flat?
Thank you it looks great!
Author
Hi Dee! We used a satin finish 🙂
Hi! I absolutely love this and am wanting to do a half wall like this in my kitchen. However because the boards are so thin, I’m having trouble knowing what to use as trim on the top of the shiplap. (Where it would meet the painted half of the wall.) What would your suggestion be? All the trim at Home Depot seems to be 1/2” or wider.
Author
Hi Courtney! That sounds awesome, I bet it would turn out great! Do you have a moulding store near you? Sometimes they have much more selection and are usually cheaper than Home Depot. I would try a few sample pieces and hold them up to see what you like best. Let me know how it turns out!
Amazing. I love this. We are moving out of our condo and into a house next year. I have so many ideas but shiplap is definitely on the list…but I am not sure where I want it…entryway, living room, half bath, dining. I can’t decide. I guess I’ll know once we move and find the house haha. I would love to see how this flows into other rooms of yours..do you have other walls around in the same white color or a different color? have you done an entire room in shiplap at all?
Author
Hi Jennifer, that’s so exciting! I am in the process of painting our entire house the same white color, Benjamin Moore White Dove. We do have the same shiplap on one wall in our bedroom. I have yet to do an entire room but that sounds dreamy!!
This is beautiful!! We are going to do a Shiplap wall today. My husband mentioned using Plywood and I couldn’t visualize (since I had the premade Shiplap lock and seal in my head) but this is beautiful!!
What would you do for a 16 ft wall? I want it to be horizontal and seamless
Author
Hi Andrea, We did a 14ft wall in our bedroom and used 6in baseboards flipped inward (moulding facing the wall, solid back side out) and used the same process to hand them. 🙂
I love it! I have a manufactured home at the beach, and every weekend I am there making it my “Beach Farmhouse”! Builder grade cabinets have all been painted chalkpaint gray, bathroom mirrors have been framed in barnwood, all light fixtures have been replaced with farmhouse style, oil-rubbed bronze. Now for a focal wall in the living room! I love your ship lap!!! That is my next project!
Love the finished product here! We just bought a home last month and the living room has a diy shiplap lowerwall. Long story short we had a water leak on moving day and our insurance has had to replace the entire first floor flooring, including the baseboards. Yours look clean and simple from what I can tell. With so many darn choices, do you have any suggestions or things to consider with the baseboard choice, especially with this type of wall?
Okay I love the shiplap but the bench that is pictured here just sticks out with the plant do you happen to know what stain you used on that bench??
Hey! I love the vertical boarder on the corner! Did you have an inside corner and if so, did you do the same there?
I love also your floors! Are they real wood?
Author
They are actually tile! Much more durable with dogs and kids 🙂
BM White Dove paint is the bomb. Painted my entire house this color, Spanish Colonial. Thats whats so great about this color, it goes anywhere with any style. Just fresh, clean and soft. Do your baseboards same color in a semi-gloss for contrast.
A black and white gallery wall would be gorgeous above the bench 😍
Absolutely beautiful! We are going to attempt our first ship lap wall in our laundry room so fingers crossed!!!
Could you go without the sanding between each coat of paint? Or what was the purpose of that?
We are finishing our shiplap, and I want it to look like yours. Is the sanding between coats necessary and if we don’t how will that change the look?
Author
I sanded between coats to remove any texture from the paint brush and roller 🙂