DIY Shiplap Tutorial

This DIY shiplap project cost less than $15 to complete. DIY projects that make a huge impact but don’t cost a lot of money are my favorite! 

Our split-entry home leaves much to be desired in the “entry” department. It is not exciting and it is a very tight space. I am constantly trying to think of different ways to make it more visually appealing and more functional. It is a tough space to do and there is not a lot of inspiration on the internet for split-foyer homes. 

I will be the first! I will lead the pack of decorating ideas for this style home. This DIY shiplap idea came to me when I was getting the mail one day. I thought it would be an easy way to add some visual interest to the entry. 

This is the entry at the front door.

You walk in and you can either go up the stairs or down the stairs.

I painted the back of the stairs black last year and added the house numbers. They added some fun, visual interest to the entry.

They have lasted a full year! We still love them. 😉

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Supplies Used For This DIY Ship Lap Tutorial:

Plywood

Quarters

Nail Gun

Sander

Table Saw (or have your home improvement store cut your boards)

To add some more “umph” to the entry, I wanted to add shiplap.

To do this, we picked up 2 – 4×8 sheets of 1/4″ hardwood plywood at Lowes. I heard that Lowes will cut wood for customers. We usually do all the cutting at home, but I told Hubby about Lowes cutting it for him and he wanted to try it out for this project. He had them cut the plywood in 6″ planks. Lowes will give you ten free cuts. After that, it is $1 per cut. We were under the ten cuts. No only did it cost us nothing to have it cut, but we saved SO MUCH TIME! We will definitely be taking Lowes up on the “free cutting service” for future projects.

*Side note: See the greenery in the back of the van? Matt could not go to Lowes without picking up a few discounted plants ;-). We landscape most of our yard this way. Shop for plants now. They are usually deeply discounted.

To start the wall, we removed all the trim.

We started nailing the boards to the wall on the top half, towards the bottom.

I had read online that people were using nickels as spacers. I went to my purse and could not find any nickels so quarters became our spacers and they worked fine.

To make it look like real shiplap, the seams should not match up so Matt did have to cut the 6″ planks in different sizes as he was putting them on the wall.

This project did not take long at all. We had all the wood on the wall in one afternoon.

I decided to paint it the same color as the walls.

I also wanted to change out the top piece and trim. Before this, I had painted it white, but for practical reasons, I thought a stained board that matched our floors would be better.

I was right.

The stained board board will not show all the dirt and fingerprints that were driving me crazy before. 😉

It is a subtle change, but it has big impact.

I thought I was going to add some hooks to this wall, but I have decided to incorporate some hooks on the opposite wall. I don’t know if I will hang the barn wood arrow back up or if I want to do something else.

What do you think I should hang on this wall? I would love to hear all your great ideas!

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If you liked this DIY Shiplap Tutorial, you will also love these projects:

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The Easy Way To Paint Paneling

How To Paint Furniture Without Sanding