Breakfast Nook Plank Wall Tutorial

Here we are! The planked wall in the breakfast nook is finished and we LOVE it! It’s the perfect punch of texture and a great focal point for the room.

Here’s the tutorial on how we did our plank wall!

Since we’ve never done a planked wall before, I started this project by browsing around the internet for guidance. After getting a general idea on what we needed to do, we measured our wall and headed to Home Depot to gather supplies.

We decided to use a couple of 4 x 8 sheets of particle board underlayment intended for use under flooring. We also grabbed enough quarter round for the planks that would butt up to the other walls.

Once we got home, we cut the sheets into 6 inch strips with our table saw. After we had the planks cut, I took a piece of sandpaper to each cut edge and sanded off any splinters that popped up during cutting.

With all the planks ready, we started by leveling the ceiling to see where we would need to start our first board. Keep in mind that most ceilings are not level and that you absolutely want your first board to be level! If not, your entire wall will be crooked. And that will make you very mad!

Once we knew how uneven the ceiling was, we grabbed our first plank and made sure it was level. Then we used our nail gun to secure it in place.

With the first plank up, we grabbed our second one, cut it to size, then used our level to make sure everything was even.

Since our wall was longer than the sheets of plywood, we decided to place the planks together tightly to make the seams less visible. I didn’t want to have the random scattered look, but more of a seamless look.

With the first row of planks nailed up, you could definitely see how uneven our ceiling was in a few spots. Luckily, it’s nothing that a little bit of caulking wouldn’t fix.

For the spacing in between the planks, we used a couple of pennies to keep the planks evenly spaced throughout the wall. It worked like a charm!

We kept nailing up the planks until we reached the top of the window… then we chose to notch around it rather than plank the inside.

Once we cut around the window, we started on the sides, which went quick!

Then, while the hubby was cutting the planks to fit around the window sill,  the spackling fairy (points fingers at self) came and started to fill all the nail holes.

To cut around the window sill, Anthony measured and made a template on the plank.

We did the same thing to the other side and nailed up both of the planks. Then, we nailed on the window trim that we took off.

With that done, it was easy to nail up the rest of the planks.

The spackling fairy returned to finish filling the nails holes, then sanded them smooth and wiped down all the boards with a damp cloth to remove the dust.

From there we installed the quarter round on each side of the wall.

With everything finished and ready to paint, we quickly caulked the top of the wall to hide the uneven ceiling, and the sides of the quarter round. We didn’t caulk the inside of the quarter round where it met up with the planks because we didn’t want to get any caulking in the lines, which would have thrown off the planked look.

I decided to paint the entire wall the same color as the breakfast nook bench, White Dove by Benjamin Moore. I also painted the inside of the window frame where we didn’t install the planks.

I must admit, I was a bit skeptical about not planking the inside of the window frame. I knew that it wouldn’t be really noticeable because of the curtains, and I didn’t think that it was worth the extra effort.

Honestly, I’m glad that we didn’t waste our time. After I painted the inside of the frame to match the planks, you can’t even tell. It all fits together perfectly.

I’m seriously smitten with this wall. If I could pack it around with me, I totally would.

We also made sure to stop the planks and quarter round above the bench lids so that they could be easily opened. Once the cushion is in place, you won’t be able to see the gap.

The caulking on the ceiling totally hid how uneven our ceiling was. Perfect!

Also, a few things to note:

- I used a smooth roller to paint the wall. I found that the paint didn’t want to seep into the cracks as long as I didn’t overload the roller. I did get paint in a few spots, but I used a putty knife to clean it out when it was still wet.

- The sheeting that we used was thin and it worked perfectly. I originally thought that we might need to use something a little bit thicker, but that’s certainly not the case.

- I am beyond happy that I went over the entire wall with a damp cloth. When I did that I made sure to wipe down the cracks and remove any dust that might have settled there.

-I didn’t worry about painting the wall before we installed the planks. However, the original color of the wall was a light tan. If I were to install the planks over a darker color, I would certainly paint the wall a light color first.

-I didn’t paint the cracks of the planks. Honestly, I think that this gives the wall the “planked” look. If the inside of the cracks were painted it would look a little bit different.

Really, this project didn’t even take us that long. If we wouldn’t have had to make the cuts around the window this project would have flew!

And the cost absolutely couldn’t be better. We spent a total of $60 on sheeting and quarter round, but a lot of the sheeting will be used on another project too! We did have the paint, spackling, caulking, nails, etc. on hand.

This breakfast nook has made some serious progress. Looking back at where we started, I can’t believe how much a few DIY projects can completely change the entire look and feel of a space.

Before:

And now:

Now, it’s all about accessorizing and few other small DIY projects.

One thing’s for sure, you’ll be seeing planked walls pop up in a few other areas of our home.

To see more posts on our breakfast nook transformation, see below.

Breakfast Nook Plans

Breakfast Nook Bench

Breakfast Nook Refinished Dresser

Breakfast Nook Lighting

Breakfast Nook Curtains

 

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