Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Do It Yourself Framed Shiplap

If you follow me on Instagram you know I've been busy putting up shiplap in our half bath and on another wall at the bottom of our steps.  I am in love with it and could just keep going all through the house but figure I better stop and get used to what I've done so far and then decide if I want to add more.  A solution to give me more shiplap was to frame some!  I had a wall that needed updated artwork on it in my dining room so I made a frame and framed the shiplap and added a magnolia wreath.  Easy as pie!
I thought I was in love with the walls I did but now I'm so in love with the framed shiplap that I may have to do more of these.
 Because I was going to be laying my frame on top of the shiplap I taped off the ends so I could stain the ends to match the stained wood so it all looked like one piece from the side.  I cut the boards at a 4 inch width and then used a paint color I had custom done to be sort of an off white.  Any color would work of course.
 Once I was done with the paint I took the tape off and stained all the ends of the boards just in case they showed from the side when the shiplap was hung.
 I drilled 2 pocket holes on each end of 2 boards and screwed the frame together.  This ensures it holds together really well but you could use nails and wood glue too. I just did square cuts and not mitered corners but you could do that instead.  I then used pre-stain to coat the wood frame and then stained it in Minwax Espresso which is my favorite stain color.  Once that was dry I added the corner braces.
 To frame the shiplap I flipped the frame over so the right side was against the ground and then lined up my shiplap and used a staple gun on either end to attach it to the frame.  I should have taken a photo of this step but got so excited I forgot.  I was going to add braces to the back of the shiplap to make sure they stayed nice and supported but once it was hung on the wall there was no need to do that.
 I added sawtooth hangers to either end of the frame and used anchors to hang the frame since it wasn't on a stud.  This worked great and it's very sturdy on the wall now.
 To put the wreath on the shiplap I drilled a tiny hole where I wanted the top to go and then ran floral wire through it and through the slat of the shiplap above the hole and then wrapped the wire around the wreath and pulled it as tight as I could on the back side of the frame and it worked perfectly.  Personally my favorite thing about this framed shiplap is the magnolia wreath!
 This was such a fun project to work on and I can't wait to do more of them!  I'm actually thinking about adding them to my online shop because they are so fun and you get the shiplap look without the commitment of installing it on your walls!