Dining Room Wall Upgrade

I am so excited to finally share our updated dining room! Check out those gorgeous walls!

Remember what it used to look like? Bleh.

When we moved in...

Gray walls... randomness...

I saw the idea for horizontal board and batten on Pinterest from Milk and Honey Home: She used a bright orangeish/coralish color for the top but we went with a light taupe color.

Source: milkandhoneyhome.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Here's how we did it!

We went to Lowe's and purchased a bunch of 1x4x8 boards. We have really wonky walls (as in crooked/not flat/not straight), so we used a nail gun to pop those suckers into studs. Since we have really long walls, we had to do some putting together of boards and we had to cut some smaller pieces as well.

The walls are still gray at this point and the boards are not primed/painted yet. 

Next, we used caulk to fill in some of the gaps, the nail holes, and any extra spaces that needed some refinishing. When we put two boards together, there was obviously some overlapping. We sanded those spots down after the caulk dried. It was our first time to use a caulk gun and that thing is super nice: very forgiving in messed up places!

Progress shots: first coat of paint and the dining room in complete disarray! 

And after a second coat of paint and setting the furniture back out, it is complete! This is the space that we hope to turn into a reading nook... add two matching chairs, a tall bookcase or two, and a coffee table. With cute accessories and a rug, of course!

A shot of the empty wall where our shelving will go (someday!) next to my menu board that I made (old mirror, chalkboard spray paint on the mirror, Silhouette cut out pieces mod podge'ed on!) once upon a time. I moved a table from the living room into this space. It really works!

Wide angle shot: need that shelving (mentioned above) and some art.

Doesn't it give the room such depth and dimension? It actually feels like it belongs now!

Peek towards the kitchen: looks great together! And you can see a peek of our butcher block island we purchased from Ikea a few weeks ago. 

We are so pleased with the results! The room actually flows with the house and makes sense. Hooray!

See where I link up: What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots, Craft-O-Manic Monday @ Craft-O-Manic, Link Party @ Uncommon, Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts, Show Me What Ya Got Linky Party @ Not JUST A Housewife, {Wow Me Wednesday} @ Ginger Snap Crafts, Link Party @ Destination: Craft, The Creative Spark @ Clean & Scentsible, Before & After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick, Weekend Wrap-Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello, What I Wore Wednesday @ The Pleated Poppy