Dark gray board and batten accent wall
March 31, 2014
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Our long wall behind our bed in the master was calling out for something to make it stand out. A huge board and batten wall in dark gray was the answer!
It’s looked like this for some time now, about nine months:
I painted it before we got our new bed and I installed the DIY headboard last summer. I was in such a rush to get it done I didn’t even cut in at the ceiling or the baseboards. And it sat.
I was telling a friend the other day that know when I’m not sure about a project when I let it sit for months. I’m talking six months to a year, or even years, like the powder room. If I’m loving the direction it’s going I’m pretty good at making it happen fairly quickly. (Granted, quickly in my time is still pretty slow.)
So I knew within a few months that I wasn’t feeling the light color on that wall, or I would have finished it up. I told you here how I was waffling between a dark or light bedroom – I love both! And I finally figured out how to make both happen. :)
I had been thinking of how to make that wall a little more dramatic and had a plan in mind. Then it was solidified when I saw Sarah’s wall in her office. Her dark wall was so striking, I loved it!
So that’s what I did. I was at the fancy mall a few months ago and the wall behind the cashier at Pottery Barn was a beautiful dark gray – I asked what it was and that’s when I knew Peppercorn was the color I would use:
I got the swatch a couple months ago and checked it in the room – it matched the dark gray in the rug perfectly and the new mirror over the fireplace too. It was meant to be!
I started by painting the wall Saturday – no cutting in needed, my favorite!:
I had this mixed in an eggshell finish – I love a dark color in a matte finish but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’ll see every little scuff and want to be able to wipe it easily.
After the wall was painted I moved on to the trim work. I used simple mdf boards from Lowe’s – they come primed white. I got 13 boards so the total cost was around $80. I go back and forth on painting before installation and this time I did:
But I’ve decided I still think it’s easier to just paint it all after the fact. You have to spackle all the holes and gaps and even though I tint it with the paint color, you still have to sand/wipe it down and then do at least one more coat after that:
And eventually I’ll probably caulk this whole wall (I haven’t yet) and I’ll have to paint over that too. So, I think I’ll always be a paint-after-install girl. :)
I did a “frame” around the whole wall – mitering the corners like you see above. Then I did a board and batten look on the rest of the wall:
And I LOVE IT.
Like, stand in the room and stare at it, LOVE. My husband can't stop talking about it too, that’s when I know it’s a home run for us. :)
It is just perfect as an accent in this room. The headboard pops off of it even more than with the lighter color and even the navy blue lamps still look good:
I never ever take pictures at night but I couldn’t resist – it looks so good during the day but I think I love it even more at night:
You can see above that the other three walls are still their original color – that’s the next step. They will be that light gray that was on the bed wall soon – as soon as I get the ladder and extender paint pole out. :) I’m SO excited about how this room is coming together now, I’m thrilled with it.
This is how it looks during the day:
I still have to touch up smudges on the ceiling too, so ignore those. :) I couldn’t decide if I wanted to paint the base the same color as the wall, but I like it as is.
I planned the two segments on the wall so I could clear the headboard. I’m considering adding another line of the boards to make a third (bottom) segment – but I’m not sure. If I do it will mess with the headboard so I think I’m just leaving it:
It truly makes that wall a focal point now, which is what I think the room needed. Love it so much.
This room is really coming together now but there’s still a lot I want to do! The priority is to finally get the rest of those walls done – two coats on each wall which is going to be SUPER FUN. :)
Do you prefer a light or dark bedroom? I think when I’m done this will be a good mix of both. I especially love the board and batten look in this dark color – have you ever done something similar in a dark paint?
I love it! And I really love that you only have the one horizontal row-- sometimes these walls seem too busy to me, but this is really perfect!
ReplyDeleteThat is beautiful!! Do you have the item number for the mdf boards?
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness Sarah!! I LOVE it!! The way it frames the headboard is perfect - don't change a thing! Pinning this! Might just have to try something similar in our upcoming master redo. Blessings!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is simply freakin gorgeous! You have given me so many ideas just from reading your blog and looking at your pictures. Thank you so much for your inspiration and your wonderful ideas.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Now I'm sitting here trying to figure out where I could do that in my house :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks wonderful! Very dramatic which looks great in a master bedroom.
ReplyDeleteWow that looks amazing! I love it! such a nice job. I would love to do that in my house now to decide where.
ReplyDeleteTammy @ the colored door
I am IN LOVE with that wall!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic Sarah and I always LOVE a contrast between light and dark. I did almost the same thing (not the moulding though) in my recent bedroom makeover: http://www.sasinteriors.net/2014/02/master-bedroom-refresh-reveal/ Changing the color of the wall makes such a big difference. xo Jenna
ReplyDeleteWow that's gorgeous!! I love a dark and dramatic statement wall especially with board and batten. I painted the upper half of my small upstairs bath a dark dramatic gray a year ago and I still love it. I smile every time I see it. Maybe your new wall will give you the ooomph you need to paint those other walls. Can't wait to see how everything turns out.
ReplyDeleteWow, this looks great! I think it'll look even beter with the other walls light grey.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!! And I have to say I love a darker bedroom. Just feels cozy to me. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOOOOOVE when someone's ideas come together so beautifully! I get (almost!) the same thrill as when I manage to pull something off myself. It looks just great!! I absolutely love it!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Reminds me of Chris Loves Julia's old living room-and I agree with the above re: not adding another row of mdf, this looks good just as it is.
ReplyDeleteThis looks SO amazing! And thank you so much for the shout out - I'm glad I helped persuade you in going to the dark side ;) Love, love, love this!
ReplyDeleteYES. I'm torn between dark and light bedrooms, too, but this is the perfect solution. And how funny, I was considering a dark accent wall in our room too!
ReplyDeleteIt look so good! When I scrolled down to the finished image, I said out loud "oh, wow!".
ReplyDeleteWOW! That looks fantastic and adds the right amount of drama! I'm all about a dark bedroom. And I don't think you need to add another row of the MDF.
ReplyDeleteI love that so much!!! Awesome. You are inspiring to do something with our master bedroom.
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! I love how this room is coming together. I may have to do this in my daughter's room :)
ReplyDeleteI don't usually like board and batten, but you may have just converted me with this. It's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteLOVE!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea! I love the panneling that you added.
ReplyDeletewww.basicallybrandy.com
What a fabulous project! I am in love with the finished product. I can see why you stand and stare.
ReplyDeleteWow I am seriously so impressed! The area looks so cozy and sophisticated. I can't believe what a difference it made to define the area like that with the dark color and boards. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis. Is. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWow that looks really good. I am not a huge gray fan, but this could change my mind. And I like the boards the way you have them..I agree a third row would interfere with the headboard too much.
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing! Question for you: I often get inspired and want to start that idea right away. If it's not in the budget and I have to wait, sometimes my enthusiasm fizzles by the time I can get to the project. Do you ever have that problem? You seem to stick to a budget so how do you handle that situation? Do it now and take an advance on next months budget verses waiting until next month and not being as excited. :/ Any suggestions would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful room! I love the dark and light as well, and my husband and I have been going back and forth about it. Maybe this is our answer! Also, for what it's worth, I like the way you have it with only one line for the top third above your headboard.
ReplyDeleteLove this! Such a great idea and really pops.
ReplyDeleteLove it! I painted our master bedroom dark gray and light gray too, you can see it here: http://onemilehomestyle.blogspot.com/2013/07/master-bedroom-paint-colors.html
ReplyDeleteI love the extra detail you added to the wall, great job!
oh i love it! so chic and dramatic!
ReplyDeleteMy jaw literally just dropped open. I LOVE it! This is exactly what I want to in my living room!
ReplyDeleteOne of my very favorite things you've ever tackled, Sarah! Love it!
ReplyDeleteI love it. It looks very sophisticated. Dark Gray+linen+wicker = lovely combination!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I'm showing my husband tonight and fingers crossed he'll say let's do something similar! The peppercorn color, TO DIE FOR!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe dark grey and wall treatment looks amazing! It adds so much to the space!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea! This makes me excited for all the projects I can do in my own home within the next few years!
ReplyDeletehttp://absolutedoll.blogspot.com <3
Oh! that's my grey!! I have the same colour behind the beds in my 2 bedrooms, and its my bathroom colour, and my half bath downstairs too. In every room it goes with quite different colours, and looks fab with every one of them. I understand why you love it, and you have made such a lovely job of the panelling - well done, well done! It's fab, and so classy.
ReplyDeleteWOW! AMAZING! What an impact!!!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the look, completely changes the room. I can understand why the hubby hasn't stopped talking about it. I love when you can make such a dramatic change in a room, when you walk in it actually takes you away, like you are vacation somewhere.
The wall looks great. I am not a fan of dark walls in general. I have a small house though and I don't want my walls feeling as if they are moving in on me, so I'm keeping with light!
ReplyDeleteI love it. I've been tempted to go dark gray on our bed wall for several months, but then decide I like white just as much. I love everything :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE your dark grey board and batten wall. Outstanding in every light.
ReplyDeleteJoy
just gorgeous! I want to try to make a b and b headboard for my bed and this color would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing!! I love it!
ReplyDeleteI also really LOVE what you have done, here. At first I was thinking, "mmm, dark grey ...?" and then Bam! Board and Batten, WOW! It looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteIn my mind I'm now decorating my bed head wall like this and thinking about how to use that top batten as a picture rail. Awesome.
Thank you for this inspiration!
oh my word Sarah!! I love it so much! I've been wanting to do that in our 2 story family room because I think it needs a focal point. I think you may have just pushed me over the edge and convinced me to do it!!
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS, Sarah!!!! I love it.
ReplyDeleteMore pictures showing the full half of the room please!! This looks amazing!!!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely BREATHTAKING (from a 'beige' gal)!
ReplyDeleteDenise
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!!!!! Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteYour wall is absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to see the rest of the room. I LOVE the wood and how it is on the wall.
ReplyDeleteI never comment on anything, but this is worthy of one.
ReplyDeleteWOW. It's stunning; I love it!
Wow, it's so dramatic. I love it!
ReplyDeleteWow wow wow!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat wall and color is BEAUTIFUL!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!
ReplyDeleteDark walls are usually not my favorite, but this wall is stunning. And the wood treatment really sets it apart! Be proud!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Home run. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat gray wall is beautiful. Love the color gray. Your bedroom is absolutely gorgeous. My daughter & I are thrifters too. I share a lot of thrifty decor ideas as well. Hope you check us out sometime. Momandihookedonthrifting.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThis looks really amazing. I too did a grey wall in my spare bedroom but I didn't pick a dark enough grey. It looked dark at the store but once I painted it I should've went darker. Great job!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, I wasn't expecting that! For myself, I can't live with dark walls anywhere - it is just me - I like it at first then I notice my mood sinking lower and lower. Having said that, this looks AMAZING! I wish I could live with dark colours as I would totally try that. Seriously one of my favourite updates of yours!
ReplyDeleteits great wood wall. its make very simple and color matching with bed is great. its looking wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThat's really an amazing and creative change you have made. The dark grey wooden wall is looking stunning making the room beautiful with fabulous interior decoration. This is one the most inspiring update of yours.
ReplyDeleteThe wall looks fabulous. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous! PLEASE do a "how to" post! I would love to do this to my master but I don't know how to attach the boards to the wall! :)
ReplyDeleteI'M. IN. LOOOOOOVE!!! I would love to do this sooooo very much in my house but my room only has one window. How do you think that would look? It seems like you have a good bit of light in your room. Do you think it would be too dark in my circumstances?
ReplyDeleteWow, very chic! You are fearless and I love you for it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! Did you buy the MDF boards pre-cut? What is the width? Thanks
ReplyDeleteSeriously Sarah, I was just dreaming of this type of wall yesterday as I was making plans for my master bedroom! I really hope you feel flattered when I totally copy this :)
ReplyDeleteSara, I absolutely LOVE just about every project you do and thats why you are my fave blog. But, seriously, this one just hit it out of the park for me. I am moving in about two weeks and I am so doing this in my bedroom!!! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteSarah, your bedroom turned out so beautiful! It looks so much richer now. I absolutely love it!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks AMAZING!!! I really wanted to do this in our bedroom, but did a plank wall instead... you're making me second guess my choice now! :-) It's seriously stunning!
ReplyDeleteLove this! I have been thinking about pulling the trigger on doing a dark gray accent wall in our master bedroom, but this is way better than what I had planned. I'm a novice though, so I might just start with the paint ;)
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteWow Sarah, Your bedroom looks just fantastic. I love what you did.
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS Sarah! I love how this is all coming together - such a great focal point, and architectural statement too. Plus, if you ever get tired of the dark, you always have the option of going lighter, and I like that too. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love this. The master bedroom is always the last place I put my time and effort into, sadly, but I know my rooms needs a facelift. This is a good inspiration to get started!
ReplyDeleteThis has officially entered into my top three favorite projects of yours. It's gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous! If it were me, I would NOT add another piece of framing, because the current layout seems to frame things perfectly. It makes the headboard and lamps, etc. pop, but another horizontal line would interfere and break them up. I think it's perfect just the way it is. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful! Amazing job! Another home run for sure :)
ReplyDeleteThis is stunning! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteStacy
www.anygirlcandoit.com
I love it! Such a great idea.
ReplyDeleteUm, WOW!!! That's about all I can say. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely one of my favorites that you've ever done!
YOU HAVE KNOCKED this out of the ballpark!!!!!!!! Doubt this could ever be improved upon. I am stunned.
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! I agree that this is the best of both worlds when wanting a moody dark bedroom, but not wanting it to look dark. I know you know what I mean lol!
ReplyDeleteLooks terrific! I love it!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh this is gorgeous!!! My Husband wanted our bedroom to be grey and I just couldn't picture it...now I totally can! Great job!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Joanne
I love a dark bedroom. I painted my room in kendall charcoal, I think that was the name. Its like being wrapped in a warm blanket :). Love the board and batton! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love it! One question though, do your walls have any texture to them? I always wonder how this look looks with textured walls even lightly textured like orange peel. Great job!
ReplyDeleteLaura we don't, it looks like it close up but they are smooth. I've had many readers with textured walls over the years who have sent pics and it turns out pretty great! But I've not seen it in person.
DeleteSo true what you said about if months have gone by and you haven't finished up a project, you're probably not in love with it. What you ended up with is just gorgeous. I love board and batten treatment on a whole wall. Your room just went up twenty notches with the board and batten plus the darker paint. My bedroom is a dark chocolate brown, and I love the coziness of the dark color. I had thought of doing a board and batten wall in there, but my bed wall has two windows, so it has enough going on already. The wall across from our bed has no doors or windows and could use some extra oomph, but on the other hand, it would be strange to create a focal point on that wall. Aaaaanyway, love love love what you ended up with.
ReplyDeleteThis might be my favorite project of yours ever! I absolutely love how the wall looks bold and romantic and cozy all at the same time :) Plus the board and batten look makes it even more wonderful! I vote for not adding a third row of planks- it looks gorgeous as-is and the boards really compliment the headboard and make it look even better than before!
ReplyDeleteThat wall is amazing....could you come do mine? :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks wonderful! Great job and I, too, vote for leaving as is, as far as not adding any more battens. I also have a question on the textured. From afar I thought the wall was smooth, but the close up of the mitred corner shows texture. I want to do 2/3 up my wall with battens in my office/craftroom. I'd like to keep it low budget without using boards, but my walls are textured. I wondered how it would look. I'd appreciate your feedback.
ReplyDeleteLisa our walls aren't textured, they just look like that when I take a close up. It's just the normal bit from painting. But I have had many readers tell me they've done it and I've seen pics that look pretty great! You can also install panels on the walls first, then the board and batten over them to cover the seams. A bit more work but it would be nice and smooth. Let me know if you do it!
DeleteI'm trying to avoid using the boards to keep cost down, but we shall see. Thanx for replying and I will definitely let you know. It's on my list for this year!
DeleteIt looks so great! I love that you went with a moody color -- it really makes this space romantic! I'm with you, I like both light and dark when it comes to bedrooms... It would be a hard decision to make but I am so happy you went the way you did -- it's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHoly Crap! I love it so much! I think it's the board and batten treatment that makes it! Looks so good!
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful. I was thinking of doing something with my long wall in the livingroom and this is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love it and it might be the solution that I need for our bedroom. Questions - what is the color on the other walls, where did you find that comforter and rug?
ReplyDeleteAnother amazing project, I love it!
ReplyDeleteAny suggestions for a master bedroom with crown molding? I would love to achieve this look but have a piece of crown molding at the top of the wall.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo I looked at the FAQ but I can't find seem to find where you purchased the shades in this room in particular (saw the others listed:) Any ideas? I LOVE your style:)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Those are from Home Depot. :)
DeleteHello! What size boards did you use for the board and batten. Love what you did!
ReplyDeleteThank you! The mdf is about 3 1/2 inches wide.
DeleteThis looks great! How did you decide the measurements of the top panels versus the bottom panels? What is the length of your top and bottom panels (floor to ceiling measurement)?
ReplyDeleteThis is so gorgeous. I am trying to do this in my master bedroom, and just contacted my carpenter. I also would appreciate some dimensions if you have time to respond. Is your bed a Queen or king? Ceiling Height? Total length of the wall behind the bed? Thanks!
ReplyDelete