Uncategorized

Do you have a space in your home that is complete with furnishings and decor yet it still feels like it is missing something? That is exactly how I was feeling about this family room and I knew just how to fix that, board and batten! I teamed up with WoodGrain to show you how to easily apply a wall treatment to add a ton of character to your space.

We have eight foot ceilings in this space and applied 1×4 pieces of primed mdf in a plaid pattern. The horizontal boards boarder the ceiling and floor trim and are spaces 16″ from each leaving a 48″ opening in the center. The verticals are larger with 40″ and 80″ spacing. I found it easiest to install the vertical pieces then cutting the horizontal pieces to fill the gaps.

The install – after cutting each of the vertical pieces, they were attached to the wall using 2″ brads and a brad nailer. Be sure that each piece is level and don’t plan on using the walls/ceilings as guides as the are often a little off square. After the verticals are in, measure each of the horizontal spaces and cut them to fit. I chose to instal the verticals first as my walls are over 8′ wide so I would not have been able to use one piece for them anyway. I wanted to fill the least amount of seams as I could. If your wall is 8″ or less wide, you could install vertical or horizontal, whichever makes more sense for your space.

Once each of the boards have been secured to the wall, I used a nail punch to inset any nails which did not fully submerge into the trim piece. You do not want any nail heads sticking out of the trim pieces if you are looking for a nice smooth finish.

Next you are ready to fill the cracks and seams. I use caulk to fill any cracks between the trim and the wall/ceiling and I like to use plastic wood to fill the seams between the trim pieces. You are able to paint over both, but you are not able to sand caulk, so you do not want that on your flat surfaces. Once everything is dry, sand the seams smooth to the touch and add a second layer as needed. Give a quick sand to everything that needs to be painted, to be sure the surface is nice and smooth.

Finally, you are ready to paint! I like to cut in each of the trim pieces with a paint brush first and finish with a smooth roller on the surfaces to get the best finish!

After the holiday season is a great time to spend decluttering and evaluating what you are keeping in your spaces. I love the fresh start after taking down all the holiday decor and take some time to consider what pieces I would like to decorate with for the remainder of winter. I love to pull in some fun new textures and use a soft palette that will transition well into spring. I have teamed up with Bed bath and Beyond to show you how their line of home decor can help your space feel both beautiful and organized. A few statement pieces mixing textures and a soft palette will make your space feel renewed for the new year. I started by adding a few cozy layers including and beautiful simple stone ware in a mix of muted colors and finishes. An oversized vase, such as the round Blooms vase on the media center creates a beautiful focal point without adding clutter. My favorite formula for a space is something vertical, something horizontal, and an object. These piece perfectly fill the space and allow each piece to be appreciated without over crowding.

Items in this space:

White round vase

Long bowl

Blush Planter

Candle Sticks

We pulled items from the same color palette into the desk nook to keep a cohesive design in the space. I added a couple of candles and a bowl to the top shelf along with a coordinating planter to pull the space together. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to sign up for Beyond+ at Bed bath and Beyond where you will receive freeshipping and 20% off your purchases all year long.

This post is sponsored by Bed Bath & Beyond

The fall season is a time of year we sink back into routine with busy schedules from school, sports, and the start of the holidays. I have been trying to find ways to make my days flow smoother and one way I have done this is is by ensuring our spaces are well organized. One of the places in my home that was in need of some organization, was our pantry. We use this space multiple times a day and it needed to be a space that was useful and easy to access.

Let’s take a look at where we started. You can see, packages are stacked and layered creating a difficulty to see what you have and easily find what you need. I found that I was over buying items and later finding a stale duplicate. Snack bars and bagged items would fall out of their boxes or not be properly sealed and spill or go stale, causing a ton of food waste! I started by taking inventory and deciding what I would want to store in a bin, basket or canister. I then cleared everything out of the space and wiped down the entire pantry.

I decanted and canistered anything that comes in a bag or can go stale if left open, I used small bins for everyday items such as snacks and coffee supplies. I used the clear bins to hold bulk items and individual packages that would not be decanted (cake mix or flavored rice), lastly I used large bins below to hold back stock as well as garbage bags and party supplies. On the upper shelves it can be difficult to see what is in the back so I added a lazy Susan to the hard to reach areas to better see what we have stocked.

I wanted the fruits and vegetables to be easy to grab, yet contained so I placed them on wooden trays to keep them from rolling around. One tray for fruits and one for vegetables, but these could easily be combined if you wanted to use just one tray. I used many of the OXO Pop Canisters while organizing this space. The shape and size offerings in the line are sure to meet any space need. I found the square 4.4 qt canister to be a great fit for bulk baking such and flour and sugar, as well as large bagged snack items, such as chips. The square 2.8 qt I used for smaller snacks, pretzels and boxes crackers. I love the rectangle 2.7 qt canister for grains and pastas, it fit two bags/boxes of each comfortably.

On the counter I added a few items that are both decorative and useful such as these coffee canisters and a great smelling pumpkin candle!

I am so excited to see my little girl grow in this space! I was a first timer installing board and batten, but I loved the process and I learn A LOT! It is definitely a project I will be doing again. It creates a high impact with such a low budget, it is an perfect choice for anyone wanting to add that wow factor to a space!

I started off with a mood board to help me determine colors and finishing touches. This was very helpful in the process. It helps to hone in on what you love and not be overwhelmed with making selections along the way. I already had the bookshelf and sconce so it was very convenient to have those work again in the updated space. I knew I wanted to board and batten to be a dark color so I chose a color that complemented the wallpaper.

So I tested out which process worked most efficiently for installing the board and batten – including painting the wall before or after as well as painting the boards before or after.

I did not paint the sides until the final wall but you can see how much cutting in had to be done on all of these. When the sides are painted, a quick swipe to cover the painters caulk was much easier. I also prefer the texture of paint applied with a roller vs. a brush.

To summarize – paint the wall and roll the sides of the 1×3’s as well as all exposed sides of the 1×2’s as step one.

I then used my nail gun to install the horizontal board (1×3) and propped up the verticals to determined what spacing I wanted between the boards. I tried to find a distance that was both visually appealing and also avoided things such as corners and outlets. The spacing for my vertical pieces is 17″ from board to board.

You can see there is wood putty on the joints. I used caulk for the corners and putty for the flats. I also put a thin layer of spackle over the wood putty after sanding to provide a very smooth finish. I also used spackle to fill the nail holes (caulk or spackle both worked fine). I painted over all corners with a brush and used a 4 inch roller to paint the flats of the boards.

Now for the fun part! Installing this amazing peel and stick wallpaper I was gifted from Rocky Mountain Decal. Be sure to follow the instructions to prep your wall prior to putting up the paper. I like to start on the left side of the wall and Rocky Mountain Decal does a nice job of numbering the panels so they don’t get out of order.

The wallpaper adds such a huge wow factor and it goes up so quickly and easily. It is also removable, which is great as childrens’ personalities can change over time so it is easy to change it up in the future (unlike the dreaded wallpaper removable from our prior home that was coated in 1980’s permanent wallpaper).

Supplies I used for this DIY board and Batten with removable wallpaper:

• Primed MDF boards in 1×2 and 1×3
• Paintable caulk
• Nail gun
• Miter Saw
• Wood filer
• Spackle
• Benjamin Moore Ashland Slate in Regal Matte finish
• Rocky Mountain Decal – Moody Floral Wallpaper