Sometimes the cheapest option isn’t always the best option. We learned that lesson the hard way on our latest playroom project.
We’ve officially hit Week 4 of the 6 week One Room Challenge! The last time I shared our DIY built-ins, they had this look going on for our playroom makeover. See that blank spot in the middle? Oh yeah. That’s getting some action in this post.
UPDATE: See the full playroom makeover reveal here!
I had the plan to incorporate a wood plank wall between the two bookshelves to add some contrast and texture to this otherwise very white space. (All thanks to Rachel’s gorgeous living room from Shades of Blue Interiors.)
We sort of have a love affair happening with wood walls. We installed one behind our tub in our master bathroom a couple of years ago (which we still lurv) and then in our foyer, above our fireplace, in our master bedroom, on our kitchen bar. See? Total head-over-heels wood wall crush happening at our house.
We’ve never done any of them exactly the same way.
But I wanted to find the most frugal way possible to make our playroom wall happen. And then I discovered this old wood fencing for free on Craigslist. All we had to do was haul it away. Done.
I convinced myself the fencing could be scrubbed and cleaned and looking like a million bucks… that was 3 months ago. This mess sat in our garage all summer until we finally dug it out to do something with it.
After really looking at the wood though, we realized how much mossy moldy grimy not-so-lovely stuff was growing on it and asked ourselves if it was really worth possibly introducing mold into our house. Um…no. No amount of money saved is worth that.
So Plan B. It was more than I wanted to spend (which was $0 in my original plan), but I spied this Rustic Collection in the lumber aisle at Lowe’s recently and ended up being pretty excited to try it out. (Look at you, Lowe’s. Catching on to the whole rustic lovin’ scene.)
We ended up spending $117 on the wood, but the good news is the planks were already stained and they were grooved, so they were already much easier to work with than plain pine boards.
Supplied Used: (Affiliate links are provided below for convenience. For more info, see my full disclosure here.)
- 5.5″x8′ barnwood pine wall planks
- Circular saw
- 1 1/2″ finishing nails
- Tape measure and pencil
- Hammer
- Jigsaw
The whole thing took about an hour tops with Robert and I mostly just measuring the width of our wall to cut the planks the lengths we needed using the circular saw.
We nailed the planks into the studs in the wall with the finishing nails as we worked our way up the wall.
Some of the boards were tricky since we discovered not all of the planks were perfect. A couple of them were warped and we had to knock them into place with the hammer so they’d fit into the groove of the plank below it.
But having the ready-t0-go already stained planks was really worth it since we were able to have a family Saturday out at the park and not be cooped up in the playroom doing projects all day. (Ahem… since we’re often guilty of that. #WeekendWarriors)
When we got to the top where we had added the trim on the built-ins, we had to hold up a plank and mark and cut the places out with the jigsaw to make it fit. We could have installed the plank wall before adding the trim on the built-ins, but we didn’t think ahead on that one.
We ended up with about a 2 inch gap between our last plank and the ceiling, so to make it look more finished, we nailed a 1″x2″ board into the gap.
I later caulked around the 1″x2″ and painted it with the same white paint I had color matched to the built-ins.
Now that wall doesn’t look so bare and adds heaps of character to the space. Hello, pretty wood grain.
This is eventually where the TV will end up too so Olivia can watch cartoons and we can have some casual movie nights as a family. (And probably watch Frozen for the billionth time. Let it go already, Elsa. Let it go.)
Do you see the striped cotton rug we ended up with?! It feels like it was made for this room. I ended up painting our wooden crates too that I still plan on adding a little something something to.
I’m still moving things around on the shelves and figuring out the best places for everything. Olivia has free reign with toys and games behind the doors on the built-ins, but I’ve had fun styling the shelves a little bit.
And… the ceiling fan is officially up!
Minty vintage-y modern-y ceiling fan! It’s so different from anything I would have picked, but that’s the joy of a playroom. We don’t have to take ourselves too seriously in here.
This playroom is shaping up to be a huge blessing for our family since we’ve lately been turning off the electronics and spending evenings after dinner in here together to play games and make music and dance and completely unplug at the end of the day. I can’t wait to see what more possibilities this space will bring for us.
Here’s where we are on the playroom to-do list now:
- DONE: Install built in bookcases
- DONE: Paint and install desks
- DONE: Paint walls
- DONE: Find a great colorful rug
- DONE: Install ceiling fan
- DONE: Install reclaimed wood wall
- DONE: Frame and paint window (more on that later)
- DONE: Paint wood crates
- Replace sofa with a slipcovered one
- Make oversized storybook art
- Hang curtains
- Finish decorating shelves
- Implement and organize a toy storage system
We have so much more going on in here, but I don’t want to give away too much too soon. Wider room shots will be happening in the near future though. Yay!
Sonya ~ at home with the barkers says
October 27, 2016 at 6:37 amI LOVE the plank wall! I totally feel you on trying to do it for free, I’m doing my ORC family room makeover on a budget but I also know time is money! Love the ceiling fan by the way, FUN!
Lauren says
October 27, 2016 at 9:48 amThanks girl! I know what you mean. If we didn’t have a deadline, I probably would have tried to find a different cheap option. So glad it’s done though. 🙂 Can’t wait to see your family room all finished!
Nancy @ Slightly Coastal says
October 27, 2016 at 8:35 amLauren! Your room is coming together so well! You are making it look effortless…which I know it is not. I’ve done two ORC’s and it can be so stressful but you look cool as a cucumber.
I spied that lumber at Lowe’s the other week and I thought it was fab too. Glad to see what it looks like up on a wall. Totally worth the extra money.
Nancy
Lauren says
October 27, 2016 at 9:44 amThanks, Nancy! At this point, I think it’s because we’ve had a lot of practice at this DIY thing. 🙂 Robert is a trooper handy guy for sure.
Kristi says
October 27, 2016 at 8:53 amWOW!!! It looks incredible Lauren! Look at you go!
Lauren says
October 27, 2016 at 9:41 amThanks, Kristi!!!
Kristine says
October 27, 2016 at 8:56 amLove that wood wall! I’d so much rather allow my budget for already stained wood. To me, that’s a big time saver. When you ran short up top, did you not have any more wood planks that you could have cut to fill in that 2″ gap, or did you specifically want it to be white to look like your bookshelf trim? You note that when you got to the end, you ended up with a 2″ gap….so not sure if you were just short planks, or the white trim was what you had wanted?
Lauren says
October 27, 2016 at 9:39 amThanks, Kristine! We had one more plank but we actually wanted the white trim piece to finish the top and blend it with the shelves. You could do it either way really. 🙂
Sherry says
October 27, 2016 at 10:18 amThe playroom looks incredible! Thanks for the tip on rustic wood from Lowe’s. We’ve been planing a stained planked wall between bookcases behind our TV, but I never would have thought to look at Lowe’s for pre-finished planks. You just saved us a lot of work!!!
Mia Gafner says
October 27, 2016 at 10:51 amWow! Love that rustic wood idea from Lowes! Gives me an idea for making a faux headboard in my son’s room! It’s so beautiful – your room – thank you for sharing such amazing tips!!!
Jessica | Petal + Ply says
October 27, 2016 at 11:32 amLooks great Lauren! That fun is so fun.
Jessica | Petal + Ply says
October 27, 2016 at 11:34 am*FAN
Linda says
October 27, 2016 at 11:42 amYou always surprise me! LOVE THIS ROOM! That ceiling fan is amazing!
Colleen says
October 27, 2016 at 11:54 amLooks great! I didn’t know Lowe’s carried that wood…I’ve been tossing around the idea of doing a wood wall over my fireplace. Gonna have to check that out this weekend. Oh yes…get hubby a ladder! Lol…safety first 😉
Andi says
October 27, 2016 at 11:56 amWell now I am definitely going to have to have a look at the new reclaimed wood section in Lowes! Looks great, and I absolutely love the fan you chose! Very fun!
Meg @ Green With Decor says
October 27, 2016 at 1:59 pmThis looks so good!! And I love the color you painted the crates. What a fun room for you guys!!
Nancy says
October 27, 2016 at 3:24 pmI love reading your posts. Your sense of humor always gives me a lift. Your playroom is looking great. What a wonderful space for your family. The wood-planked wall is great. Love it! Looking forward to seeing the whole finished project.
Mary-the boondocks blog says
October 27, 2016 at 4:57 pmLauren that plank wall has anchored the room. It looks fabulous and the blue is so pretty. The whole room is shaping up beautifully!
Amanda says
October 27, 2016 at 5:07 pmI absolutely love the wood plank wall. Have been considering it as a focal point in my one room. Decision made now. Oh as a side note: my sides are hurting because I laughed so hard at the Frozen comment. You definitely have my sense of humor.
Lauren says
November 13, 2016 at 2:14 amHaha! After watching that movie 100 times over, you have to develop a sense of humor, right? 😉
Emy says
October 27, 2016 at 5:25 pmOooh! I haven’t seen that wood at Lowes yet! I saw some gray shiplap at Home Depot, but that’s it. I love how it turned out!
Chelsea @ The Johnsons Plus Dog says
October 27, 2016 at 7:55 pmI love how it’s shaping up. The rug and ceiling fan you chose are perfect! Good job!
Karen says
October 27, 2016 at 10:01 pmMy favorite rug! Fun to see it in a real life setting. Everything is coming together so well. Exciting to watch! Maybe, come spring or summer, you could power wash the fencing in the driveway with a bleach and water mixture to clean it up and use it for an out door project…Unless it’s already gone to the transfer station!
Lauren says
November 13, 2016 at 2:12 amOh no it’s long gone. I wish we could have used it but I was too afraid it would cause issues.
Melanie says
October 28, 2016 at 7:48 pmWow! How do you constantly know just what to choose to get the perfect look? I’m so jealous. lol. Great job!!
Jess says
October 30, 2016 at 9:41 pmThat fan is the best, I’ve never seen one like it before! In our house we NEED fans so this is such a stylish option.
Kate says
November 5, 2016 at 9:23 pmI really like the contrast between the dark planks and the white shelves. So pretty! Great work!
Kate | TheOrganizedDream.com
Lauren says
November 13, 2016 at 1:25 amThanks, Kate!
Melissa Galbraith says
December 26, 2016 at 11:32 pmwhat color did you use for your crates!! I love!
Lauren says
January 3, 2017 at 11:02 amThanks! I used Rustoleum Winter Gray on the crates.
Carli says
April 22, 2018 at 2:39 pmHow did you hang the tv? Directly though the wood planks on the wall? Any concern with it ripping out??
Lauren says
April 22, 2018 at 9:32 pmHi Carli. We anchored it with a TV wall mount screwed between the planks so it would hang directly on studs on the drywall behind.