Beadboarding the Family

Room that is with this easy 12 step plan!

I’ve been writing this post for over a week now!  My life has been a bit crazy with my switching to wordpress (ongoing) and oldest daughter fell at school this last week and we’re still (3 doctor visits later) in limbo on if it’s broken.  When my brain is scattered all over the place it’s hard for me to write up the detailed how-to posts as I’m always thinking I’m forgetting something.

A few weeks ago I shared with you guys the first part of my family room transformation…    beadboard wallpaper!

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE beadboard wallpaper!!  It really does look real and it’s super easy to work with.

For my project I used two different brands… Graham & Brown (purchased through an online store) and the other roll I purchased at Lowes which was the Allen & Roth brand.  The two biggest differences were that the Graham & Brown wallpaper was thicker and not prepasted and the Allen & Roth was prepasted.

Honestly, once the paper was on the wall I couldn’t tell which was thicker… so that difference is a wash.  Personally having it prepasted made a HUGE difference in ease and time.

{Beadboard Wallpaper Step-by-Step}

1st… Decide how high you want the beadboard to be.  With a level and pencil mark your top line.  My beadboard is at 70 inches, but we have 9ft ceilings.

2nd… I started on the left side of the wall and worked my way over to the right.  I cut a couple 70" strips of the beadboard wallpaper.  I filled my bathtub with a couple of inches of water.  The prepasted wallpaper is what I started with and when the paper is prepasted it needs to be "booked."  Basically it needs to be soaked (paste side down) in water for about 15-20 seconds…

then you fold the corners of the paper till they meet in the center, so the pasted side is on the inside.

Then it needs to sit for about 5 minutes while the paste activates.

(If you are using the beadboard wallpaper that is not prepasted then you will need wallpaper paste.  I found a Lowes wallpaper paste for putting up borders that came with a nifty sponge roller attached.  You just squeezed the bottle while rolling and it applies the paste nicely with minimal mess.)

3rd… 5 minutes later, open the paper up.  I started by lining up my paper at the base and the left edge.  The paper will slide around easily for a few minutes while you adjust.

#4… working the windows… before I soaked the window pieces in the water I trimmed out the window sections, leaving about an extra inch overhang.  You can see in the photo above how I left some overhang into the window space (this will be cut off once the wallpaper has dried).

#5… Once the piece is even and in the spot you want, use a damp rag to smooth out any bubbles, working from one side towards the other (to get the trapped air out).

#6… Repeat the steps until all your pieces are up.

#7… Once the wallpaper is dry (I waited till the next day) I used an Xacto blade to trim the overhang around the windows and the baseboard (where needed).

#8… Putting up the horizontal piece -  I used a piece of 5 1/2” MDF.  First find the studs.  I used finishing nails and a hammer to put up this piece.  Use a nail set tool to counter-sink the finishing nails.

#9… Place on the ledge piece… I used a 2 1/2” piece of MDF to create the ledge shelf.  This time I used my nail gun to attach the ledge shelf to the 5 1/2 inch horizontal piece.

#10… Filling in the nail holes… use some spackling and I used my finger to spread it on.  I love the one that’s pink when wet and once dry turns white.  Once it’s dry lightly sand over the spackled area to make sure the surface is smooth.

#11… PAINT… the MDF I used was primed, so just one coat of paint on the mdf and beadboard wallpaper.  Painting the beadboard wallpaper is a must.  Once it’s painted it really does look more real.

#12… decorate away!

What a statement it has made in our family room!

Would I used beadboard wallpaper again?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  LOVED it!

How easy was it to use?  Super easy.  Definitely a project that you could tackle in a few hours.

Would I do anything different?  I’d sand my textured walls a bit.  We have textured walls and when the sun is brightly shining on the wallpaper I notice a couple spots where the texture was apparently thicker to where it is poking at the wallpaper a bit.

I can’t wait for my next beadboard wallpaper project.  If you’ve got an area begging for some beadboard go pick up a roll or two and tackle it!