DIY board and batten walls!
We made another small step forward with our bathroom updates using a Home Depot gift card. Progress is slow, but steady—and that’s what counts.
Before I dive into the kids’ bathroom, you might remember I mentioned some items we planned for the powder room. Last weekend we picked up a simple, classic tilt mirror from Home Depot for that space. I love its clean, timeless look.
Not long after that, our master bathroom toilet stopped flushing, so we might need a new toilet—because why work on just one bathroom at a time?
Back to the kids’ bathroom: we’re making steady progress.
The wall color is undeniably bright. I plan to balance it with accessories and white trim so it doesn’t overwhelm the space. The bathroom is generally dark, so a lively wall color adds brightness and energy—perfect for a kids’ room.
Swine Swine Everywhere Swine!
Yes, some of the woodwork currently looks pink (more “swine” than I’d like). Our contractor must have had a different color vision when he chose paint. It’s on my to-fix list.
What I’ve done so far in this room?
I’ve painted the walls and ceiling (before I had my new ladder, so I painted from a chair) and we started installing the board and batten. I also changed the cabinet hardware.
Yes, I painted the ceiling
I painted the ceiling the same color as the walls because 1) I like painted ceilings; 2) there’s no crown molding in this room; 3) in a small room, a painted ceiling creates cohesion; and 4) I’m not great at keeping paint off the ceiling when cutting in, so painting it the same color made the job easier.
Board and batten the easy way
I was nervous about adding board and batten, but a trip to Home Depot with measurements helped a lot. They cut the battens for me. I used 2-inch primed MDF battens, which made installation quick—no cutting, sanding, or priming required. Just adhesive and nails.
Primed board and batten.
You can nail the battens up without a nail gun
We don’t own a nail gun, but my husband used a nail setter and a hammer to sink the nails. It wasn’t difficult. The trickiest part was precise measuring and keeping everything level. We used Liquid Nails on the battens first for extra adhesion.
Disclaimer: We used battens only, no full board
We skipped installing full boards behind the battens this time. I would prefer the look of boards behind the battens, but because this is a second-floor kids’ bathroom, I chose to save that step. Once painted, I expect the finished result will look cohesive. If this were a main-area room, I’d likely add the boards for a higher-end finish, especially over slightly textured drywall.
I’m also not a huge fan of MDF, but it’s affordable and easy to work with, which is why we used it for this project.
I painted the ceiling too! The pinkish woodwork is still bothering me.
What’s next?
Next I’ll get another piece of MDF for the top molding near the door. Then we’ll fill nail holes, caulk seams, and paint the board and batten and trim a crisp white. Right now the pink and blue combo looks rough, but things should come together once everything is painted.
The other side of the room
This side of the room is chaotic and needs attention.
Half pink, half blue, and lots of clutter—definitely not a calm combination. I haven’t decided whether to continue the board and batten around the cabinet. It will require removing the side/back splash and fitting battens around the countertop, but it’s doable.
UPDATE: We added a backsplash on that side of the wall.
The toilet and tub room
More pink walls to repaint. I’m leaning toward a pleasant white for the small adjoining toilet/shower room to keep the overall space from feeling too blue. The pink trim keeps popping up everywhere, and it needs a fresh coat of white.
I made a paint color mistake earlier.
When I wrote about the blue color I used, I initially gave the wrong paint name. With so many similar blue samples around, I mixed them up and shared the incorrect color. If you happened to buy that color because of my post, I hope you still love it—it was a beautiful shade regardless. I’ll be more careful double-checking paint cans going forward.
The wall paint is Lagoon by Martha Stewart, purchased at Home Depot, which supplied most of our materials for this project.
UPDATE: See how this bathroom evolved in later updates.
Three cheers for Home Depot!
Thanks to Home Depot for the gift card that helped us get started on these bathroom projects.
More progress reports will follow as we finish the trim, paint the pink away, and bring this bathroom together.
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The Home Depot provided some products for this project. All opinions are my own; I double-check details and share honest updates as the project progresses.