Today, we are continuing our series, From Flat to That. I started this over on social media sharing how we are adding texture to the walls in our home.  We started by adding bead board wallpaper and trim to a few walls in our kitchen a few weeks back.  The next project on the list was the fireplace wall.  I wanted that wall to be accentuated and really be a focal point.  The plain white wall wasn’t doing it for us, as it blended in with the wall behind it.  So we decided to add shiplap on the fireplace in the kitchen.  And man what a difference.

Shiplap on the Fireplace in the Kitchen

When we built our home, I knew that I wanted all types of different textures on our walls.  I have so many ideas – horizontal and vertical shiplap both, textured and patterned wallpapers, bead board, lots of trim, etc.  But, I wanted to do the jobs ourselves, room by room.  Number one, we do enjoy this part of owning our own home. Number two, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted where, and thought it would be a good idea to live in our home for a bit and then decide.  I am glad we did.  Because what I thought we were going to do is way different than what we did.  

I originally thought we would add real wood bead board in the kitchen and I’m so glad we went with the wallpaper.  Wood bead board panels would have been a huge job.  The wallpaper was so much easier.  I had no intentions of adding shiplap on the fireplace wall either.  However, it just made sense.

What We used as Shiplap

Deb first started with 1 x 3s and added them to the top and down the sides of this area.  She used a nail gun to attach them. We ended up buying 1/4″ –  4′ x 8′ sheets of sanded maple plywood at Lowes.  Deb cut them down in 6″ strips for this wall. She also attached the strips with a nail gun using nickels between each piece to have a consistent gap. She then caulked the nail gun holes.  And then I painted it using a putty knife to keep the gaps clean from build-up paint.  I painted it the same color as our walls, which is Sherwin Williams, Pure White.

One Thing Leads to Another

As we all know, one thing leads to another during home improvement projects. And, since I have never been a fan of where our television was hung, we decided to change that.  It was actually hung too high and they left a 6″ gap beneath it.  Since our televisions are Frame TVs and can be a picture as well as a TV, I like them to look like they are setting on the mantel.  I don’t want a large gap beneath it for decor. Some people may like that but personally I don’t for our own home.  Also….it was also hung 3″ too far to the right which also drove me nuts.  Ha!  When I decorated this mantel, I disguised it pretty well, but once there was nothing on it, it was very obvious. (See above pic.)

Also, our fireplace mantel has never been officially painted.  I literally slapped a coat of paint on it really quick after the guys installed it because it looked awful.  We had some leftover paint in the color Swiss Coffee that is creamy white, which is what I used for that. Since I still had that left and I loved the color, I gave it another coat making sure it was painted well this time, since I wasn’t in such a hurry.  

I cannot tell you what a difference adding the shiplap to this fireplace wall did.. as well as moving the television down and centering it did.  It is definitely one of those things that you reflect back on and say, “I am SO GLAD we did this.”

Stay tuned because I have a few more walls to finish here in the kitchen.  Also, I used the leftover wallpaper that I had from the kitchen project in the laundry room.  I should be finishing that really soon.. like over the next couple of days.  

What do you think?