Adding board and batten in the kitchen
January 19, 2015
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I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue the board and batten that we have in the family room into the rest of the kitchen:
We don’t really have much wall space in there anyway so I wasn’t sure it would be needed. But then I realized it looked a little odd just having a few tiny walls without it…so this project was started.
The bay window and the pantry wall is what I’m talking about today:
(To see more about that glass pantry door, go here. To see how I made the glass more private for cheap, go here.)
Sorry for the bad iPhone pics – I didn’t realize how bad they looked till I got them on here. There were a few things I wanted to do in this area – the old baseboards had stain all over them (that would normally be covered by quarter round) but I’ve been redoing the base in here anyway. That wall was still the old wall color – a Ralph Lauren color called Sisal that I had mixed at Home Depot nearly 11 year ago.
And finally, I wanted to redo the door trim to match the craftsman look on the rest of the main floor – this was the last door to tackle, whoot!! I still have most of the doors upstairs but I call that progress!
So the first step was to remove the baseboards around the door – which I’ve told you is a total pain in the butt. One, because our base was installed incredibly well and it’s hard to remove anyway, but two, because we were lazy (see one) and didn’t take the base off before we had the hardwoods installed years ago. It’s hard to get down under there to get it out. But I got it done, then took the old trim off:
I explained that process and how I do the craftsman trim in more detail in this post.
Next up, I measured how high the board and batten would go and then painted the semi gloss white up to that point. Three coats later and it was ready to go!:
If you remember this is a no spend month for me – the door trim was sitting in the garage. I got it a couple months back to do the trim around our bedroom window, but I realized after the fact that it wouldn’t be worth it on there. With the roman shades hung high and the drapes on the sides, you wouldn’t see it anyway. SO…some of that trim got used here.
I started the upper part of the board and batten look with some scrap I had leftover from the family room. So far I’m THRILLED with how it looks:
So here’s the thing – you don’t even have to do the whole board and batten look to get a big impact like this. Just the white walls and the trim along the top makes a big statement, right?
I still have a lot to do that I hope to get done this week. The baseboards still need to go in – but I will probably stop at the bay window since eventually there will be a window seat there. Maybe I will just continue it so it looks nice for the time being. I did start painting the trim on the bay windows:
Only one coat on one window though – only eight more coats left (on all the windows). And the lower part of the walls need two more coats of white in the bay window as well.
It will take forever but I can already tell it’s going to look so good!:
In a couple weeks I’ll get a bit more trim to add the board and batten look to these walls too. I don’t think I’ll do many vertical pieces though -- at least not as many as the rest of the room. The walls are too small and I don’t want it to get too busy.
And of course, I need to hang my fork and spoon back up! I get asked about those a lot – I found them at a thrift store years and years ago. They were black and I sprayed them a silver color.
Because I love before and afters (they show me how far it’s come) here’s what we had yesterday morning:
And here’s what we have this morning!:
Lots left to do but I’m so excited to get this whole area finished up after months of in between!
Doesn’t the white paint and trim look so fresh? Love it! The painting takes forever but it’s a cheap job for sure – and it makes such a difference! Now I cannot wait to get that window seat started! :)
It's amazing what a significant change you made with just painting the lower part of the wall around the pantry door white and adding the new trim. We just had board and batten installed in our hallway (slate gray is the color of the boards and trim) with Swiss Coffee (which is white) at the top and I'm in love with it!!!!
ReplyDeleteBertie DeWane
You are so incredibly talented! I LOVE your home- thanks for sharing! I want to do the board and batten at my house, but we have orange peel texture on the walls. Do you think it would look bad if I kept that texture, or should I cover it with some sort of board or a thin coat of drywall plaster?
ReplyDeleteConnie I get asked that a lot and I've had many readers over the years send me pics of this with textured walls -- it always looks great! You have to use caulk to hide any gaps but I think it looks good. I suggest painting a section of the wall white to see if the texture bothers you. If it does you could cover it with a think board to make it super smooth!
DeleteWow it looks so gorgeous! I've been using your tutorial for the window trim because its so easy with the diagram. We are getting ready to do our doorway though and I think it looks like you left the "reveal" that was there before. Is that right?
ReplyDeleteThank you Kimberly! Which part do you mean? I took all the old molding down but left the doorway the same otherwise. :)
DeleteIts a little gap between the casing and the door jamb. LOL its hard to explain but I think I see it now that I zoomed in on your picture :-)) Thanks!
DeleteAwesome addition and it looks great! I love your house and following along as you do projects. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteWow - I can't believe what a difference it makes!
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful transformation! Are you waiting for the no-spend-month to be over before you buy more trim and window seat material?
ReplyDeleteYes! I think I'm starting the island first though. :)
Deletelooks great!! what a nice improvement even if you're not done yet!
ReplyDeleteIt looks amazing, Sarah. Isn't it something how a little paint can transform a room? Love the new trim as well.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great!
ReplyDeleteGood move, Sarah! It looks fabulous!! So pretty!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so pretty! Your pantry looks like a destination now, especially with your sweet little bell there. When you finish a project I imagine you sit in your "office" chair (or best vista point) and just enjoy how well it's all coming together.
ReplyDeleteDo you actually ring the dinner bell or is it just for show? My grandfather used to ring a dinner bell every night and it's one of my fondest memories of him.
ReplyDeleteSometimes my son does ring it -- he LOVES the bell. :)
Deleteso fun!
DeleteI'll be honest.... I didn't love the black door so much before. With the beautiful white chunkier molding around the door, it really pops! I'm so glad you are showing the little updates and not just finished projects. It's really a breathe of fresh air for us mere mortals. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love how some fresh white paint always brightens things up. It looks great!
ReplyDeleteI think it was worth it. Looks great. Your dinner bell is adorable. Where did you find it?
ReplyDeleteIt was a HomeGoods find but it's been years now!
DeleteI love that even without the batten the room flows from one side to the other and appears the same even though it's not. The Craftsman style molding that you have been slowly adding throughout your house is my favorite style. It looks substantial without being fussy or elaborate and is so much more custom than the typical builder's grade molding that goes into most homes nowadays.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy the change paint can make. It looks amazing already, can't wait to see when you have it all finished!
ReplyDeleteI love it! It looks great. Takes a ho hum corner to something special. I've been wanting to do some trim in my house but am afraid to start a "if you give a mouse a cookie senario", if you know what I mean.;) I also love the in progress updates. because we all know that is the normal way to do things. With my projects around the house, I feel like everything is always in progress. Haha!
ReplyDeleteMe too! :)
DeleteWow that really looks nice! Great job.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I have seen the jumbo fork and spoon sets at Target in the decor section. In case any of your readers are looking!
What a gorgeous change with the white walls and molding. I just love seeing your room transformations!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog. Made my brother, who is a contractor and built our retirement home recently, go to your blog to see how I wanted the windows. They look very similar and I LOVE them. Everyone who comes to look at our house says that the windows just make the whole look. Didn't realize that it was called Craftsman but now I can tell anyone who asks. Keep your blog rolling Sarah.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog...and your doors and this new molding look great. Is it really as simple as just painting and adding the trim?!
ReplyDeleteYes it is -- the white makes a big difference right?
DeleteIt looks amazing! I love the look of the white trim!
ReplyDeleteLove how this looks! I'm starting a project in my kids bathroom and I think I'm going to do something like this up there -- thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteOH MY goodNESS!!!! You had me with the words "board and batten". It looks SO good!!! I told you how you inspired us to do 1 of our bathrooms and LOVE it so much. After seeing this, I'm thinking we need to do more. Keep up the great work!!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Shows off that pantry door. Love the dinner bell. I hadn't noticed it before. Approximately how long are the fork/knife?
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference it makes--you're so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you decided to do even the small walls in the kitchen--100% gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteLooks great :)
ReplyDeleteSeeing the before and after pictures together makes me hate plain walls. I love the fresh white board and batten look so much, especially in your home!
ReplyDeleteI love it! It looks so good. I love the board and batten look, its just so clean and elegant in my opinion. Its killing me to rent right now because I keep thinking of all the places I would put it up... but can't. Ill just live vicariously through you! ;) findingyourjoyinthejourney.com
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love it. The color palette is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous! It's all about the details and this is on point.
ReplyDeleteAny ideas on how to make oak trim look pretty? Such as paint colors, etc. I do love the tutorials on your beautiful home. Would love to see more suggestions on working with what you have. I feel most blogs feature homes the average person does not have. Lol. Love reading your blog and oogling over your photos.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of white pant do you use for all your modling
ReplyDeleteSo, so good!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous enhancement to your home! Very classy!
ReplyDeleteLove the new addition :)
ReplyDeletexo
Maggie A
LOVE MAVIN
WOW! Cannot believe what a difference the molding makes! Can you tell me - on the top - how far the top and lathe pieces stick out from the straight edge? I LOVE how this looks and I'd love to copy it.....but I like to be precise :). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Wow....I just cannot believe the difference with a little trim change-up! Can you tell me how far the top pieces go past the straight piece?
ReplyDeleteYes they go out about a 1/4 of an inch past the middle piece on each side. I measure the middle piece and then measure those two out at half an inch longer each total.
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