Tools and materials
Brad nails
Brad nail gun
Caulking gun
Dust mask
Eye protection
Gloves
Hand saw
Level
Liquid nails
Measuring tape
Pencil
Primed pine timber lengths
Sandpaper (180-grit)
Rags
Spakfilla
Step ladder
Wood filler
1. Measure up
Before you get started, take out your tape measure and figure out where you’d like to place your timber lengths on the wall you’ve chosen, how they’ll sit and how long they need to be. We recommend drawing your design on paper beforehand, this will help you visualise how it will look and also give you something to reference later on.
For our project, we ran some pieces of timber straight and some on an angle, so we had our square on hand, set to a 45 degree angle. Mark up where you’ll need to cut each of your pieces and also mark and measure the wall so you know how long each piece will need to be.
2. Cut your lengths
Once you’ve figured out how you want your lengths to run, you’re ready to cut. Remember to wear safety gear for this bit. When sawing, use long strokes with your elbow tucked in, and angle your saw about 45 degrees from the wood. Avoid pressing down on the timber – let your saw do all the hard work. It’s better to saw a bit less off than a bit more off as you can easily sand excess down to size. And remember – this project is completely customisable, so get creative, adding as many pieces of timber as you like.
3. Dry fit to your wall
Once you’ve got all your pieces cut, do a ‘dry fit’ to your wall, lining up everything against your surface to make sure it fits. Trust us – you don’t want to be affixing anything if it’s not quite right. If one piece of timber is even slightly off, it won’t look right – and liquid nails dries fast, so this bit’s important. Grab a friend to help you if you need to.
4. Glue the back of your panelling
Grab your caulking gun and Liquid Nails and apply it to the back of your timber pieces. The best way to apply Liquid Nails is with a squiggly line. Use your marks on the wall to line everything up, and then press firmly into place.
5. Nail your panelling in
After you’ve glued everything on, reinforce your timber with real nails too. We used a nail gun for this bit (if you don’t have one you can hire one from your local hire supply company, or through AirTasker), but you can also use a good old-fashioned hammer!
6. Fill any gaps
Once you’ve hammered or nail-gunned your nails in you’ll need to go back and fill any holes – use Spakfilla (or wood filler) for this. Just dab a bit onto your finger and smooth over the hole. Fill your joins too – it makes everything a lot smoother once it comes time to paint.
7. Paint your feature wall
Once your timber lengths are in place and the wood filler has dried, you’re ready to paint! Dark colours look particularly good with intricate designs, drawing the eye to your room’s new decorative feature.
8. A simple feature wall with big impact
How easy was that? All it took was some wood lengths, a little imagination and a tiny bit of hard work… and your boring old wall has a new lease of life!
Watch more from the series
Watch the full episode and more D.I.Y. projects from Make It Yours Episode 4: Lounge Makeover by Rachel-Lee and Rachel Aust.
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