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Wood Slat accent Wall
I am taking this alcove in my basement and revamping it with a wood slat accent wall. This easy DIY project will transform this area into a well decorated area with some key decor elements.
Wood slats for wall
I first went to Lowes to find wood slats for this project. I picked out a wood sheet, that I was going to cut down to the length I needed (62.5″ x 1.5″) We waited by the wood cutter fro 10 minutes only to have an employee tell us the cutter was broken. Good thing there was a home Depot right next door and that were we went!
I found these precut 8’x1.5″ pine boards. These would be perfect for my project! I spent about $100 on my wood.
Using my neighbor’s table saw, we cut each 8′ length of wood to the length I needed for this project which was 62″. Now that I have all the additional wood pieces left over, this will server for another project in the future!
Prepping wood slats for wall
After all my wood slats are cut, I then seal them by using Minwax polycrylic. It’s easier to do this before installing to get the front & sides. Once they are dry they will be all ready for installation! I am leaving the natural wood color to keep the area bright and give it a more modern wood slat accent wall look.
How to measure the wall for your wood slats
My main wall that I will be adding these wood slats measured 62″ in height and 56″ wide. Since I want to leave a 1/2″ space between each wood slat, I divided 56 by 2 and ended up buying 28 wood slats for my accent wall.
I used 3 painters sticks taped togther to give me a half inch measurement. One I nailed the first wood slat to the wall I placed my taped painters tape in between the the next wood slat to be nailed so that I had a perfect measurement every time!
To make sure I didn’t run out of room at the other side, I nailed that wood slat down then worked from the outside in.
started on one end with my cut wood slats 
used a rubber mallet to help push slats into place 
finished wood slats at center to make sure spacing was correct
Wall color behind the wood slats
In order to make the wood pop on this wall. I decided to paint the wall in a dark navy color so that it would make for a nice contrast of the wood against the wall and add dimension. Because my wall are was very small I was able to se a tester size amount which cost me $8.00
Wallpaper to coordinate with my wood slat accent wall
Since I was using wallpaper on the other two walls I wanted this to coordonate. For my wallpaper for this project I used NextWall Tossed Leaves Peel and Stick Wallpaper in Navy Blue. I needed two rolls. Keep in mind when you are wallpapering a wall that you have to match up the repeat, so you may have some waste because of this. Total cost of the two rolls was $70.00.
I did a separate post on 9 Peel And Stick Wallpaper Ideas. You could get lost in all the options that this comes in today. So with all these options you have a wide range of choices.
Installing wood slats to your wall
Now that the walls have been painted, I am ready to install the wood slats onto my wall! So using a cordless power nail gun and nails size 1-1.5″, I attach the first board to the wall. I measure a half inch space, then attach the next wood slat. I continue to so this until my whole wall is complete.
Using wood for accents- home trend
Check out my previous post, where I took wood dowels and created this frame. Wood Dowel Mirror Frame- DIY. Wood slats and wood dowels have become a great way to add into any interior for the current wood trend.
Modern wood slat accent wall ideas
Before I even got started, I did the following. I cleared the space out then brought my image into photoshop where I played around with three different color schemes and wallpaper prints. See below for my options.
The first two was trying to use a green colorstory, but the navy in the last just worked so well! My image looks exactly like my finished project!
Finishing touches for my wood slat accent wall area
Once I have completed the wood slat feature wall, I then got to work on the bench! I bought foam and sized it to the seat area. I picked out my fabric and got to work on an easy upholstered cushion. This totally finished off my vertical wood slat accent wall. I found this perfect canvas fabric at my local fabric store in the sale bin. at $1.99 yard. So I bought the balance of the 2.5yards that was left on the roll costing me $5.50 for my fabric.
I then took out my sewing machine and sewed together a very simple case, then slipped the foam in. After adjusting it to fit, I hand sewed the back to fully encase and close the fabric around the foam.
Materials used for my wood slat wall
Check out below for the list of materials and supplies I used for my slat wood accent wall.
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- PORTER-CABLE 20V MAX* Cordless Brad Nailer Kit with 1 Battery. I borrowed my neighbors, but this is going to be my next power tool investment! Super easy to use and handle.
- DEWALT Brad Nails, Heavy Duty– Check to make sure you use the correct size that is longer than the thickness of your wood boards.
- Interior Paint– This one is supposed to be comparable to Benjamin Moore. Measure out your surface to know how much paint you need. Because my area was so small I got away with a tester size and even did two coats!
- NextWall Tossed Leaves Peel and Stick Wallpaper– I used this in Navy to match back to my painted accent wall.
- Forest 2 Home Ash Bundle -1 X 2 X 48 inches – 8 Board Pack This is an example of what type of wood I used, not exact. It will all depend on your space, the wood look that you want, also thickness and spacing.
- Minwax Matte Crystal Clear Polycrylic– I use this for all my wood projects. The matte finish dries without any sheen. You can purchase different finishes. It’s just p to what your preference is.
- Polycrylic Wood Stain Brush– for painting on your polycrylic. I also use foam brushes which work great as well!
- Wicker Cube Baskets– Perfect to tuck under my bench. The wicker finish complements the pine wood I used for the wood slats.
- Milliard Upholstery Foam– Because I already had a built in bench I wanted to finish it off with a cushion. I custom made mine to fit the exact size I needed. This specific one was 2″x24″x72″ I then cut it down to the size I needed with a Utility knife.
- Canvas fabric– You can buy this in any color, or pattern just depends on your look.
Completed Wood Slat accent Wall
Check out the before and after and see how this small nook was transformed into a perfect spot in my entryway. Loved how this came out! Super easy and affordable. Great way to transform any area of your home into a focal point!
Share your projects! I love to see how people transform spaces. All it takes is a little visiona and some work!
Complete your wood slat wall with these Faux fur pillow options
I love these fur pillows against the wood slats. It gives off a scandinavian vibe. Check out some options below to finish off your wood accent wall.
Related Posts
Check out some additional posts if you liked this one. Adding new posts every week so check back regularly. Below are some additional fun DIY projects that I have recently created.
Please note that I am not a professional installer of anything! I experiment and learn as I go.
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