DIY Horizontal Plank Wall

The first floor of our house is filled with wood planked walls. We've painted some plank walls white and others remain untouched, but I'm growing more and more fond of the white plank wall look and wanted to bring some of that texture to the second floor of our house. Switching it up with a horizontal paneled look seemed perfect for an accent wall. See the how-to below.

Materials (for a 8x5 ft. wall)

Two unfinished 4x8 ft. hardboard wall panels, cut into 5" horizontal pieces
Nail Gun
Finishing nails
Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-Base Primer
Benjamin Moore paint in Simply White

Instructions

Measure your walls to get an idea of how many panels you will need. If any sections of your wall are longer than 8 ft., you'll have seams. Go to your local hardware store and snag a few unfinished 4x8 ft. hardboard wall panels. They are usually under $10 a piece. Utilize the in-store wood cutting service and kindly ask them to rip the boards length-wise into 5-inch strips.

Using a circular saw, cut your panels according to the width of the wall, and begin placing the boards horizontally starting the top of the wall, working your way down. Using a nail gun, put a 3/4 inch finishing nail at either end of the board and one in the center. After you've nailed all of the boards to the wall, start priming using a shellac-based primer. It dries very quickly, and you will only need two coats for full coverage. Make sure to use an old, or cheap, brush with the primer. Once the primer is dry, put on a coat of the white paint.