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The DIY revolution has seen beautiful and fun wall treatments become more popular over the past 10 years. Homeowners have the opportunity to express their personal style through wall treatments such as shiplap, board and batten wall designs, picture frame molding and even slatted. I love board and batten’s versatility among all wall treatments.
What is Board and Batten?
Since centuries, board and batten have been used. It is a popular choice for exterior home construction in late nineteenth century. It gained popularity in Europe, before it became popular in America during the Victorian era.
Bob Vila’s popular website about home design says that board and batten is a striking finishing treatment. Homeowners are now installing it on both the outside and inside. Board and batten was originally used as house siding. The term batten refers to the molding that is placed between the boards. This result has a pleasing geometry with strong vertical lines and a feeling of texture in the horizontal.
Board and batten, a popular interior and exterior wood construction, is now a very popular choice for wall treatments. It can be used on existing walls to create a unique look. We’ll be discussing some of the modern board-and-batten options that you can use in your home soon. It’s popular to use board and batten accents in hallways or as bedroom accent walls.
What is the difference between a Board, Batten Wall, and Shiplap?
There are two types of wood construction wall treatments: board and batten and shiplap. Traditional shiplap is made with a groove in the top and bottom of each board. This allows for the boards to fit together tightly, creating a tight seal. This is what gives shiplap its unique appearance: tightly fitting horizontal boards. The appearance of board and batten walls is less uniform and can be made in many ways. Traditional board and batten alternately use narrow strips of wood (batten), with larger spaces (board).
Can Boarding and Batten add value to your home?
Yes. It is custom millwork. It can be a great way to add value to your home and give it a unique look. If your home has a lot of builder-grade finishes, adding board and batten can make it stand out.
What is the best place to use a Board and Batten wall for?
These wall treatments, which include interior board and batten, have been very popular in recent years. You can see them in many parts of your home. Traditional board and batten is great for an entryway, hallway, bathroom, bedroom, or hallway. You can make a statement on a staircase or create an accent wall with board and batten in your bedroom for a more modern twist on the board and batten. It’s a great way to add visual interest and texture to otherwise boring walls. It can be used in all of the above areas. It is important to not go overboard. You can’t have too much board and batten, so if you are passionate about wall treatments, mix it up.
Faux Board and Batten: A Note
True board and batten uses actual boards (plywood, MDF boards) to cover the walls. The narrow strips of wood (batten pieces), are used for covering the seams of boards. Faux board and batten is now very popular. This doesn’t necessarily require the use boards. To create the appearance of board and batten, attach the thin strips of wood to the wall with brad nails. Before you start this board and batten version, make sure to check the wall texture and any existing baseboards. The texture of board and batten is typically smooth and you will need to replace your baseboards. If done correctly, the faux version of batten and board can look stunning. This is a popular choice for DIYers, and I will include it in many of the examples I share below.
Quick Board and Batten Tutorial
These tutorials are more in-depth, but they provide a quick overview of how to install board and batten. See below: Horizontal Board & Batten and DIY Board & Batten without Removing an Existing Baseboard
1. Find the height you want your batten and board to reach, and then determine the wall’s width.
2. You will need to determine the spacing of vertical batten.
3. Use a miter saw to measure your space and cut your vertical boards. For a smooth finish, sand the ends with medium grit sandpaper after you have completed the cuts.
4. To ensure you have enough boards, you’ll need to lay your battens.
5. Now attach the boards to drywall with a brad nailer. To ensure a better bond to the drywall, I used liquid nails or any other construction adhesive.
6. After your battens have been up, you can fill in the nail holes with wood filler. After your wood filler has dried, sand it to smoothen it.
7. Fill all seams with paintable caulk. A caulk gun can be a lifesaver.
8. After the caulk has dried, you can paint the board or batten. Use a high-quality primer. A paint with an eggshell sheen is my preference. I prefer to use a paint brush for seams and a paint roller on the board.
Wall ideas made of board and batten
Next, we will explore various board and batten wall designs that are worth exploring. They range from classic looks to more modern and unique designs.
Traditional batten and board
If your home is craftsman-style, board and batten will work well together. Even if your home isn’t craftsman-style, traditional board and batten can be used with many different styles of homes and is a great way for you to experiment with DIY wall treatments. Let’s look at some traditional board and batten ideas.
A hallway with board and batten walls adds character to otherwise dull spaces.
A bathroom board and batten wall is a timeless trim idea. We added towel hooks to our bathroom with faux board and batten.
This timeless board and batten entranceway is classic. A crisp white board and batten with a contrasting top color is always inviting and beautiful.
What about a board-and-batten wall that extends almost to the ceiling, with just a hint of wallpaper? It’s a great idea.
Horizontal Modern Board and Batten Ideas
Both board and batten can be vertical or horizontal. You would expect a horizontal board and batten. The batten trim pieces are horizontally oriented instead of vertically. This is a unique twist on traditional batten and board. I prefer the look of horizontal board and batten. This look is my favorite. Let’s have a look at some inspiring photos of horizontal batten and board.
As an accent wall, the horizontal board and batten that we used in our girls’ bedrooms served as a fun feature. This is Sherwin-Williams Chantilly Lace.
This modern version of a dining room board & batten is my favorite. The board and batten almost have a shiplap look without embracing the farmhouse vibe.
Grid Style Board and Batten Ideas
A grid-style batten accent wall is my favorite look for board and batten. These batten accent walls can be modernized with crisp white paint, or boldened by adding color. A grid-style batten and board accent wall adds visual interest to any space.
White grid-style board with batten is a playful play on traditional board, batten and without being too bold.
What a difference a bold color can make to a board and batten accent walls! This space is moody and full of style, starting with the black board and batten accent walls.
Ideas for non-Traditional Board and Batten
Let’s now see how modern batten and board look. You can use board and batten to represent any type of material, including narrow strips of wood or boards that are slightly wider. I have seen batten and board in herringbone designs, as well as diamond-shaped boards and batten. Let’s look at some really unusual board and batten designs.
This diamond trellis board with batten accent wall is a great option for a bedroom board.
Herringbone can also be used as an accent wall and full wall board. As you can see, it’s playful and works well in a child’s room.
This arch board and batten wall is my favorite out of all the batten and board ideas I have seen recently. It’s elegant and yet surprising. You have many options for zhushing up spaces. This board and batten feature is my favorite.
Wrapping up
Board and batten are a versatile and affordable wood wall treatment that can be easily DIY-able. You can add board and batten to many home styles to create a more refined design. I hope that you have found some great board and batten designs that are worth considering. This list is my favorite!
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