After doing so many updates around the house, it left our bathrooms feeling a little dull. We left them mostly untouched since they were completely renovated when we bought our house. However, the blue-gray hues and nickel finishes really left something to be desired.
Renovating a bathroom can get costly - in fact, kitchens and bathrooms are some of the most expensive rooms to remodel. Sometimes it's really worth a complete overhaul, but in our case it didn't make sense to spend a lot of money since the bathroom is still updated. Instead, we got a little creative and installed some faux shiplap and farmhouse towel hooks on an otherwise unused wall.
Before this transformation, this wall had a single towel hook. It wasn't very practical for a shared bathroom, so this update note only gives the bathroom a fresh look, but it's also more functional. Win-win! Oh, and the best part? The whole project cost around $20.
Here's how we got this look:
**The section of the bathroom wall we used was about 45 sq. ft.
Materials
- 1 1/8" 4'x8' sheet of white primed hardboard
- 7' of 1"x6" poplar
- Towel hooks, we used these
- Construction adhesive
- 1 1/4" brad nails
- Paint, we used this
- 2 nickles (for spacers)
Tools
- Table Saw
- Miter Saw
- Brad Nailer
- Spackle or Plastic Wood
- Water-Proof Caulk if the shiplap will be near the tub
- Screw driver for hardware
Instructions
Step 1: Rip the hardboard to final width. Using the table saw, rip the sheet of hardboard down into strips that will form the faux shiplap panels. We cut ours to 5" inches. You can cut them to whatever size you like.
Step 2: Cut hardboard to final length. Using the miter saw, cut the hardboard strips to the final length. We cut ours to 58" to give us a final height around 6' (accounting for the baseboard and the 1"x6" poplar). We held the (uncut) poplar board in place where we wanted it to make sure the hardboard panels were the exact length we needed before we cut them. We wanted to have the paneling go up about 2/3 of the wall. This creates this illusion of taller ceilings, but it also was the best height to hang the towel hooks.
Step 3: Paint the surface. We painted the wall before attaching the wood. We know there would be some space between the boards, and we didn't want the blue-gray of the walls to come through. It also gives it a more polished and truer-to-shiplap appearance. This isn't absolutely crucial to the project though.
Step 4: Attach the panels. Use the construction adhesive and brad nails to attach the hardboard strips to the wall. We rested them flush against the top of the baseboard and used the nickles as spacers between boards. Hardboard is thin, so be sure to back the power down on your nail gun so you don't shoot nails straight through.
Step 5: Cut the poplar. Cut the poplar to length using the miter saw. Our design wrapped around a corner, so we had to add an extra 3/4" overhang so the two edge pieces butted up flush against each other.
Step 6: Attach the poplar plank. With construction adhesive and brad nails, attach the poplar board above the hardboard strips.
Step 7: Fill in and sand nail holes. Fill any holes (or voids) with a wood filler, we used this. Let dry completely and then sand.
Step 8: Paint. With the paint of your choice, paint the poplar headboard and the faux shiplap strips.
Step 9: Attach hardware. When the paint is totally dry, attach your hardware to the poplar board. We found these farmhouse hooks on amazon.
Step 10: Enjoy!
This turned out to be a perfect weekend/after the kids went to bed project. The materials were inexpensive and easy to use. The longest stretches were waiting for things to dry. Overall, we think it gave our bathroom the boost it needed to bring it to life.
- K
p.s. If we're being completely truthful, sometimes our kids are awake while we're working on projects. But it's okay, they like to help!
Happy DIYing! What inexpensive makeovers have you done?👇