DIY Plank Wall

Plank walls are all the rage right now and I wanted one.  I have nowhere in the house to do it so I decided to work one into my new studio space.  I want the space to be pretty and it will make a great backdrop for photos of my finished pieces.  The space was previously used for random storage, a complete waste of valuable space.  It was mostly half empty boxes of crap that we just didn't know what to do with.  I started the project about three months ago.  I've been able to work in here for the last month but I haven't quite finished beautifying it yet.  

I wanted my plank wall to be random with all different widths, depths and textures of wood.  I didn't buy any wood for the wall it was all boards that people had given me & things I had in my stash.  It's hard to tell but I even threw in some pieces of molding, plywood strips and bead board for some of my planks. 

To install my boards I started right in the middle of the wall cause that's how I roll.  I made sure the first board was level and used my nail gun to attach it to the wall.  It probably would have been smarter to start at the bottom.

Being random is kind of challenging.  Since I had so many different widths of boards I had to use my table saw to rip down a few pieces. Gaps are not a problem for me on my plank wall, it just adds character.  

Can we just talk about my new garbage can for a minute.  I love him.  He has wheels.  I wanted a cute small garbage can and this old wash bucket fit the bill perfectly. 

(before I painted)

After I installed all the boards I went back and painted the ugly ones.  I used some chalk paint I had on hand.  Paris Gray, Country Gray and Duck Egg Blue.  The white is a latex. Some boards I sanded some I didn't.   I left the nail holes. It's really an easy project that just takes a little time to piece together.  Like a puzzle. 

The table is one I have had for over a year.  I planned to paint it to sell but never quite got around to it.  I am using this studio for my upholstery work and furniture painting.  I think this table will be perfect.  It's big enough to fit large chairs and ottomans on and I can open it up and add the leaf for larger pieces like headboards and settees.  Also it's round so I wont be constantly bumping my hips on the corners.  Do you do that?  I swear when I'm in creative mode I just get so into it that I bump into and trip over everything. I'm leaving the top unpainted because I know me and it will be covered in paint drips before long.  I'll eventually sand it and wax it. 

Next up will be finishing the window and cabinet wall to the left.  The rest of the walls and inside of the garage door are painted a soft white to keep it light and bright.  Hopefully I will get everything finished up in the next few weeks and be able to reveal the whole space soon.  So far I'm loving it.