Happy Monday! Is it just me or now that the kids are back in school and Fall is in the air, are the weekends flying by for you, too? This one was over in a flash; but with Sweet Clover’s sale now being over, and the kids in school today, I’m enjoying a quiet morning at home. In those quiet moments sometimes I find myself staring at my walls and wondering what I could change. Do you do that, too? Everything looks fine, but you sit there wondering what you could do to stir things up a bit. Well this week I am teaming up with 18 other bloggers to bring you some ideas for your walls at home…. ideas that are not shiplap! We know that shiplap is all the rage, everywhere you turn, much thanks to Fixer Upper taking the world by storm. And I am not saying that I have anything against it (heck, I have planked walls in my own house that I’ll share below, too!), but I just get tired of seeing the same thing all too often. So today, I’m sharing one of my own favorite wall treatments that is not shiplap. If you are stopping by from Rain on a Tin Roof, welcome! Jenna has some of the boldest walls around!
Our house is not very large, so finding space for “feature walls” isn’t exactly an easy task. In our entry, we have a very thin wall, that was the perfect space for me to try something different.
Photo from my Summer 2016 tour
Our main entry opens directly into a hallway, with the dining room to the right, and the living room to the left. I needed something fairly neutral that would work with all of my decor, but I wanted something a little funky. I eventually decided to stencil the wall with a sheep stencil I had on hand, and a black sharpie. (My stencil was similar to this one, and I just cut the sheep out of the sheet to use it individually on the wall). You can find the full tutorial here.
This wall is simple in black and white, playful, and a bit quirky. Because I enjoy going against the grain sometimes, I added a little black sheep going in the other direction.
The sheep are a bit of a nod to the rural area I call home, but last year wanted to give it a bit of a modern touch and added a live edge shelf. I simply added brackets that I painted gold.
And hey look! There’s a peek at one of those planked walls I told you I had. 😉
I’ve had the sheep on my wall for over 3 years now, and for someone who tires of things pretty easily, that’s a long time! However, I have no intentions of changing it any time soon… I still love my little oddball black sheep wall, and it was so easy to create.
Now, as I mentioned, I still do appreciate shiplap and planked walls, especially when it’s a little more unique. In our own home we’ve created two walls that are planked, and both of them we’ve left raw. Last year I had the opportunity to work with Cedarsafe and I turned our dark hall closet with broken doors into an open and light cedar planked mudroom.This closet still smells amazing, and the cedar grain gives it so much richness and character. At first I was a little nervous about all that grain and the red tones, but I absolutely love it.
After this closet built up my nail gun confidence, nothing was safe. Chris and I decided to plank a wall in our own bedroom. At the time we started the project, I planned on painting the planking white…. a la Fixer Upper planking. I searched high and low for the best deal on planking as well as considering location… I ended up finding pine planking on Amazon that was a steal, and of course, would be delivered right to my door. I had honestly looked at every store I could think of and was about to come up with plan B for that all; on a whim, I checked Amazon and lucked out.
I love the way the raw wood adds a more modern bohemian feel to the space. I kept the art modern and minimal to allow the beauty of the wood to shine.
Photo from my Fall Tour
You can read the full tutorial here if you are thinking about planking your wall… it really isn’t too difficult! I mean, I did it, and I am not super with power tools. Paint brush, yes. Power tools, no.
So what do you think? Are you ready to attack some walls in your home with something different? Head on over to Up to Date Interiors to see the unique ideas Kathy’s come up with for you!
And be sure to check out this week’s full line up for loads of wall inspiration. I hope you find something that speaks to you…. your walls will thank you.