Faux "Batten and Board" Wall Treatment (and Faux Mudroom Makeover)

Pin It

A project that has been LONG on my to-do list has been our "Mudroom" makeover. Since I also love Batten and Board wall treatments, I thought it was the perfect place to make big change! I decided to install a faux batten and board wall treatment. Here's the reveal!

Our house doesn't have a real "mudroom". In the southern US, mudrooms are not as common as in the north. Being a born-and-bred Yankee, I have long missed having one. Our garage is directly off our main hall, so it's not a real mudroom. I wanted the space to feel bigger and be more useable.

I started with 1x6s for verticals and 1x3s for the hortizontals. The top level is also a 1x3.

I have wanted a more defined "mudroom" area since I moved into the house. I have considered batten-and-board projects eye candy for, well....forever! Unknown to the Mr, my dream-like vision (ah!) was I like I was waiting for the one day when he would say he thought the hall would look better with some hooks. My vision came true and that was all I needed! Hooks he wanted! Hooks he got! So, he was planning his next business trip and I was measuring! .... Ironic isn't it how that seems to happen. :)

I think it's a BIG difference between the before and after.

Read on for the project bits and details (and befores, durings, and more afters)!

Sorry for the quality of the before pics. I became antsy and forgot to take photos before clearing out the room. These were taken for a different project last year. At least I think so. I would have assumed that I would have picked up the soccer duffle bag that the kids left in hall if I had intended to post them some day....

Darn, they look like they were from a cell phone! But they do get the point across. The space was "drone on-and-on" blah and well, to be blunt, uninteresting.

Before Makeover

Before Makeover.
Ew!.... Even the wreaths weren't plumb! I didn't know that until seeing these before pics! Really!

I decided this space needed a two-section batten and board wall treatment. The ceilings are 9 feet high. I had originally taped out a one-section area, but it looked....well, stupid for this space. (It looks great in other spaces, just not here.)

I taped out a line at about 62 inches high.

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted, so I taped out the whole hall.

After I was sure of the height for the middle section, I started cutting. I used the pre-primed pine. I started with 1x6s for verticals and 1x3s for the hortizontals.

I chose pre-primed pine because I wanted to avoid priming. I had only 2 days to complete this project (I didn't not achieve that goal, unfortunately).

Pre-primed pine has hard edges. I wanted a "softer", more lived-in look, so I sanded the edges down.

For the long vertical section of wall that supported the hooks, I screwed the board into the joists. I did this step because I knew we were going to hang heavy bookbags on the hooks.

To do this, I "sunk" the screw so the screw would not show after patching and painting. If you have never sunk a screw before, select a drill bit that is slightly larger than your screw. Drill in to the wood enough that the screw will go deeper than the surface of the wood. Then, screw into the board. Later, when you patch the hole, the screw will become invisible.

Since the remainder of the boards were not weight bearing, they are only nailed in. Before nailing or screwing, don't forget to check for level (hortizonal) and plumb (vertical)! I checked it often. You won't regret the extra checks!

When looking for ideas on variations on batten and board designs, I found some projects that remove the baseboards. They do that so the vertical will be at the same depth as the baseboard. Those projects look great, but I did not think that would look good in this space. If I removed the baseboards, I didn't think it would transition well into the adjoining areas.

Instead of removing the baseboards, I cut the angle of the verticals at 45 degrees. I think it transitions much better into this space. From eye-level, it also adds more visual interest.

One challenge I found was working around the security system panel and the light switches, all of which are a different heights. Since I insisted (to myself), that I needed to have the middle hortizonal, I needed to meet this challenge.

It's hard to see in the pictures of the wall that has the security panel section. but I changed the height of the middle hortizonal. That wall is very narrow and has a lot going on - a security panel and a 3-switch light switch. I didn't want to notch out the section on that wall since it is very narrow. (I did try to notch around it, but it looked stupid.) Instead, I cut the hortizonal down to a 1x4. The transition was smooth.

But, around the corner, there's a lone light switch. I decided to notch that one (shown here). To notch around the light switch, I marked the board so I knew where to cut. I didn't want to get out a jigsaw just for that cut, so I used a multi-tool cutter - My favorite! If only a power tool company would ask for my opinion.... hint-hint! :) . Easy and I love it!

Before painting, I patched up the nail and screw holes and caulked the edges between the boards. The lines are now seamless.

Bits and Details Summary

Ledge height - About 62 inches
Hortizonals - Pre-primed pine - 1x6 (I cut one down to 1x4 for one wall)
Verticals - Pre-primed pine - 1x3
Vertical Ledge - Pre-primed pine - 1x3
Paint - Behr White
Photography - Me :)
Wine cork wreathes - Me :) ... I did a post on this project here

The Mr was surprised that his random comment saying hooks sounded interesting had turned in this! ...But I don't think he was surprised that another one of his business trips resulted in Me-and-Sawdust-and-Power tools-and-Paint.

The space looks bigger and lives larger! Do you have an organization project you love? Please share your ideas in the comment section. I'd love hear about!

Enjoy More!