It all started with our third child’s nursery. I wanted a modern boho theme, and I had been on Pinterest like crazy finding the perfect look for our baby boy’s room. My husband took a look at some designs I found and we settled on one design we could do similar but also make it our own. The challenge was that this room had a window on that wall.

To start, we took a photo of the wall we wanted to make an accent wall. We drew out then design we wanted to do on the wall. From there, you’ll have to figure out how much wood you’ll need. Take a tape measure on the wall to measure out how many inches of wood you’ll need for each line. Wood is NOT cheap right now, so you’ll want to underestimate rather than overestimate if you don’t get it exact (which you likely won’t). We went to Home Depot and got select pine 1×3 boards. We chose select pine because the edges are sharp, and there’s less knots in the wood.

You’ll need a small miter saw, a yard stick to measure your boards quickly, a tape measure, a writing utensil (we used a felt tip pen), stud finder, a nail gun (we used one with an air compressor), a circular sander, wood filler, painter’s caulk and caulk gun, a scraping tool, paint, paint roller, paint brush, and painter’s tape.

We started by using the stud finder to find all the studs in the wall. We used a black felt tip pen to draw a small line where the studs are. From there, we looked at the photo and picked a part of the pattern to start with and measured out the boards to go on the wall. Be mindful of the angles and take the tape measure to the furthest point on the wall where you think that board should end. We constructed the pattern and nailed the boards up with the nail gun on the wall as we went. If an angle has a large gap, you’ll want to set that piece aside and use it somewhere else. Large gaps are hard to fill and won’t look right.

We filled all the nail holes and cracks with wood filler. Try to use as little wood filler as possible because it will be much easier and smoother to sand. Next, we caulked the cracks, especially the edges of where the boards meet the wall/ceiling/trim. Make sure the cracks are smooth with no gaps. Next, we took the circular sander and sanded the wood filler and boards down nice and smooth. Use a 120-150 grit sand paper because it’s coarse but smooth enough to make the wood smooth. After this, we cleaned the boards with the saw dust. We vacuumed and wiped the boards down with a damp towel. Now it’s time to paint! We always choose a satin paint for our accent walls. We love love love Sherwin Williams paint. It goes on smooth and typically in one coat. Make sure you tape the edges by the ceiling, surrounding walls, and trim. Check out how our accent walls have turned out! We love the dimension and geometric, modern look they add to any room. They can be a BOLD statement (like our green walls) or more subtle, like our white accent wall. What do you think of our accent walls?