The trendy girls started doing faux board and batten a while ago, but I've never been one to jump on the bandwagon in it's first lap. The Nester, Thrifty Decor Chick, Kimba, and Karla (to name just a few) have all made their homes more beautiful with this cute, easy, inexpensive treatment. They've also documented their projects to make it easier for the rest of us.
Our home is on the newer side and thus devoid of any real architectural detail. We've tried to add a little interest with paint, and someday we hope to beef up the mouldings, but the kids' bathroom has remained about as bland as the day we moved in. I didn't know quite how to make it cute, unisex and fun for the kids. I tried vinyl stickers, brightly colored accessories, new lighting, new hardware... but still didn't really love it. This weekend we hoped to solve that problem.
Board and batten seemed simple enough for non-carpenter types like Danny and myself. We also figured that if it looked really dumb we could just pull it off and only be out a hundred bucks. Happily, it was simple, and didn't follow the home project standard of doubling the budgeted dollars and tripling the budgeted time. We started Friday afternoon and were completely done by Saturday night - painting included. Danny looked downright masterful in his use of his brother's saw and nail gun, and Alyssa took real ownership of her self-appointed role of nail-hole-filler and caulk-smoother. The only problem is, I'm tired and Danny's already looking for the next room we can batten!
Before
World's cutest carpenter
Oh so handsome handy-man
After
8 comments:
Laura!!! That is fantastic! I've been seeing the same trend and LOVE it, but my midwestern walls are really textured and it just won't work for us :( Your bathroom looks great! You all should be very proud!!
Thanks Leigh! Our walls are actually really textured too so it doesn't look quite like the real thing but it doesn't bother me. Actually putting boards up was beyond our budget and skill level =).
Ohhhhh, I love it!! We're in escrow right now and one of our first projects when we move in is going to be our downstairs bathroom - we wanted to do wainscoting but now that I've seen how cute and inexpensive this is, I just might steal your idea! Also, I love your shower curtain. Owen and Ashlee will be sharing a bathroom and I've been trying to think of what I can do to make it cute AND unisex. I love your idea. Thanks for posting this!!
That looks great! And VERY professional caulking work, Alyssa!
Love it!!! I want to do something like that in our play room. Was it really hard?
Well that really looks so awesome!!!!
And inspirational!
Nancy
What a wonderful idea!!! It turned out great! Pretty blue too!
Hey Laura, where did you get your kids' bathroom shower curtain? Ever since I saw this post I have been searching high and low for a gender-neutral curtain like yours and CANNOT find one. I've been searching for a year now. Maybe I'm just particular. If you can remember where you got it will you email me? Thanks!
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