Fireplace Makeover- DIY Planked Wall

Before I get going on the makeover, I have already been asked why we are continuing to complete projects on our home when we are thinking of moving. Well here is the update on our moving- unless our dream home appears or we are transfered with Mr. Front Porch's work we will be staying put and continuing to make our current home our dream home. We had a lot of fun though looking around and finding where one day we hope to move to.

Now on to the makeover!:)

Last week I shared the makeover of this mirror. If you missed it you can click here to see it. When I placed the mirror back above the fireplace I felt that something was missing. After touring model homes last month with the fireplaces built up I knew I wanted to do something similar so I began looking for inspiration pics that would fit in with the style of our fireplace.

I came upon this pic over at  Southern Living! As soon as I saw it I knew that planking the wall above the fireplace was the way to go. 

After a little convincing and telling Mr. Front Porch I would pay for the entire project off to Home Depot we went. I purchased two sheets of Birch Plywood 1/4 inch thick. I purchased two sheets because we had to have them cut down to fit in the back of my Flex and we wanted to be sure we would have enough. If we had a truck we probably could have gotten away with just one piece.

We came home and cut the plywood into 5 foot long by 5 inch wide strips. 

I made sure to measure how far up I had my screws in the wall for wreaths and mirrors so I could be sure to place them back once we were thru.

Now planking the fireplace meant that we were committing to adding crown molding all around the living room so I purchased some crown as well as the plywood. The crown was the first thing to go up. Tip for planking the wall is to always start with the planks first and NOT the outside trim pieces. Mr. Front Porch and I drove ourselves mad trying to figure out why our wall looked crooked even though we used a leveler to put up our trim pieces first. We ended up taking it all down and planked first. Lesson learned!

Once we figured out planking first was the way to go the rest of the project was very simple. To space each plank we used pennies and then just attached each one with our nail gun. I used some builders adhesive on a few of the boards in the middle knowing that I would be hanging things from them. I then filled in the holes and sanded them down. After sanding them down I got out the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed out in between each plank.

Next up I started painting and this part drove me mad a bit because I was having a hard time keeping the paint from going into the slats. I ended up painting each individual plank with a small brush to pretty much prevent this from happening. I used a paper clip to get this mess all out.

Here is what we ended up with! Now of course the crown molding portion of the entire living room is not completed yet but if I waited for that to be completed before I shared the planked wall who knows how long it would be!;)

I have to say the planked wall makes a wonderful backdrop for pics.

Mr. Front Porch was opting for me to paint all of the planks white but I felt that it would stand out far too much. I decided to stay in keeping with my inspiration pic and painted the inside planks the same color as our walls- Classic Khaki by Olympic One. Using the same paint as the walls saved me from having to prime the boards since the paint already has primer in it. It took me three coats to cover it all since I was painting with a small brush.

This project cost me approx $76 with some plywood left over for another project I have up my sleeve!;) A lot of wow I think for just $76. If you would like to see the evolution of our fireplace you can click here. It certainly has come a long way in the last 5 years.

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