Master bedroom Accent Wall
I love a beautiful bedroom that is clean, cozy and not too cluttered. I knew I wanted to make and create an accent wall in our master bedroom. It takes time trying to decide what I want. Especially if I’m not sure what it is I want. If you’re like me I usually know what I don’t want more then what I want.
I love bead board. I love the way it looks and the feeling it creates for me. It is pretty and adds so much to a space without investing a lot of money. I also like adding wood elements to a space because it creates a beautiful texture.
When I finally decided how I wanted the bead board to look I enlisted Montes help to figure out how to make it happen. I decided I wanted to create equal sized squared but alternating the direction of the bead board. We did some measuring and figured out how big of bead board squares we were going to build.
Off to Home Depot
With our measurements in hand we headed off to Home Depot to purchase the necessary materials for this project. I’m so glad there wasn’t a hidden camera in the aisle as Monte and I discussed maybe argued a little about how to make it work.
We were purchasing 4′ x 8′ sheets of bead board and were going to get it ripped by the Home Depot staffer since we didn’t have the best saw for the job. Since we were rotating the direction of the bead board we had to do a little figuring of how to make it work.
This is where the arguing came into play. We only argue because Monte thinks like a man and I definitely don’t. You would think I would be better at thinking like a man after 30 years of marriage and raising 4 sons. I’m just more aware that we think differently. We were wanting the same result we just had a different way of thinking to get there. Thankfully Home Depot wasn’t busy and the employee was I’m sure entertained by our craziness.
Getting Started
I finally convinced Monte that what I was saying would work and we’d have the necessary material cut the correct way to install our accent wall. Usually it’s me that has to trust what Monte is saying.
Our master bedroom has a beautiful large window and a patio door that goes out to our back yard. We also have 2 tiny windows that serve no purpose other then letting in light. They are too high to see out. When I was deciding on an accent wall we had these windows to work around. It worked best to build an accent wall between the two windows serving as a headboard for our bed.
Because of the height of the wall and the size of the squares I was wanting we had to fudge the bottom one so it was smaller then the others. Since it was going to be behind the bed no one would ever see it so it was worth adjusting for it.
Bead Board Installation
We started at the top and worked our way to the bottom. The plan was to add a boarder around the whole thing and also between each square. Monte located all the studs behind the wall so we had something to secure the boards. It makes the installation much easier if you locate and mark the studs before you get going. We have never owned a stud finder Monte chooses to uses a hammer and tap along the wall and listen for the different sound of the studs. He then takes a nail and hammers it into the wall to see if he hits the stud. A stud finder would be faster and easier but I don’t want to take away Monte’s fun.
Having the two smaller pieces without the bed in place doesn’t look great but I knew no one would ever see them. I was wanting the bead board squares to be a larger size so we just had to make it work. We also had an electrical outlet in the middle of the wall which required Monte to cut around. It would have been a problem without the bed because we couldn’t used an extender. The depth of the trim and bead board didn’t match so an extender would have created more issues. Because the bed would be sitting there it wouldn’t be seen.
Framing the Squares
We ran a piece of 3 1/2″ moulding trim up both ends of the accent wall. Then we ran a piece up the middle of the space. We measured and did some math to figure out the necessary space to leave for the bead board.
Installing the vertical trim was quick and easy once we had the measurements figured out. After the vertical trim was installed we started working from the top down installing the bead board. It wasn’t hard figuring out the pattern. We just rotated the direction so no two directions were together.
Monte used a level to make sure everything was square as he went along. If things aren’t level it can go down hill in a hurry. We installed the top two bead boards then added the horizontal trim following these steps and working our way to the bottom.
The Finish
To make the project look custom and finished we used paintable caulking along all the seams. Whenever you do a wood project that you are painting it is imperative that you caulk all the seams. If you don’t it will not look finished. It doesn’t take long or require a lot of skill. I usually leave the caulking to Monte because he prefers to do it. If I’m doing the caulking I know he is wanting to take the tube out of my hands and do it himself.
The paintable caulking doesn’t take a lot of time to dry. After it is dry I started painting the accent wall. The bead board and trim were all primed so it made the painting super easy.
I use a good quality brush to get all the edges of the moulding and along the bead board. I then use a small foam roller to paint the bead board and face of the moulding. Using a foam roller works really well because it gets the paint in the grove of the bead board.
I am so happy with the end result. The accent wall created a beautiful headboard. This was a simple way to make and create charm in our space. We picked up all the necessary building supplies at Home Depot for $200.
I have been wanting to add some decor to the bead board but wasn’t sure what I wanted, I don’t mind it without decor. I have come up with an idea I just need to find the elements. There hasn’t been much effort put in too looking for the decor but seeing this pictures gives me a little motivation.