Shiplap accent wall
Looking for creative options to spruce up your space? Experiment with shiplap, and you won’t be disappointed. Shiplap is a fun and aesthetic way to change up any wall, backsplash, or even furniture in your home to introduce new and different colors, patterns, or textures that add dimension, style, and comfort. Now that many of us are finding ourselves spending more time at home, it’s now more important than ever to create those comfortable self-care spaces that are worth living in. For me, that means that my space needs to be inviting and functional at the same time. If I’m going to spend hours sitting in it and looking at it, I want it to be attractive, comfortable, and fit my needs.
Shiplap-style table
I first learned about shiplap when renovating our cottage. The builder we used recommended shiplap instead of drywall for much of the cottage’s walls and ceilings given the cold winter temperatures in northern Michigan (where the cottage is located). His theory was that the shiplap would not crack like drywall — just in case we did not want to heat the cottage year round. He was right that shiplap has an incredibly long lifespan!
Shiplap is wooden planks (that may be stained, painted, weathered, rough, smooth, etc.) that fit together in a tongue and groove way where one piece snugly fits into the piece before it. The way that shiplap fits together helps create a clean and uniform look so that the eye can focus on the other fun dimensions of the wooden planks like color, texture, and patterns.
What I love about shiplap is its versatility and functionality.
Versatility: Shiplap can come in different shapes in sizes ranging from stick-on shiplap tiles to rough, weathered stained and unstained wood planks. It even comes in wallpaper designs!
Functionality: Shiplap works to cover up those stubborn stained walls, cracked drywall, or ugly layers of wallpaper that you just can’t get rid of.
We put shiplap in much of the cottage (see pictures here for the finished look!), and fell in love. We then started using it everywhere in our next home renovation project.
Kitchen accent wall in progress
Given these experiences, I have learned of five great ways to use shiplap to create cozy and modern self-care spaces at home:
(1) Create an accent wall. Self-explanatory — see above! Here you can play with colors, textures, and patterns.
(2) Design a nook. Examples include applying shiplap to a wall behind a wine rack or desk / study area.
Wine shelf design next to shiplap accent wall
(3) Install a backsplash. Examples include behind a bathroom vanity or kitchen countertop. Stick-on shiplap wall tiles are perfect for this type of project.
(4) Cover an outdated table with shiplap wallpaper. Can you believe that shiplap designs even come on wallpaper nowadays? It’s true — wallpaper is making a comeback, and it can be used in non-conventional yet stylish ways.
(5) Build shelves out of shiplap. We inherited some cracked walls in the home we are renovating now. Building shelves out of the leftover pieces of shiplap we had from our cottage helped us cover up some true eyesores in old bedroom walls.
Bright, airy, and cozy spaces related to neutral colors and inviting textures go well with shiplap, but shiplap designs are so plentiful nowadays that you can really find any design to complement your current style. Not sure about shiplap? Try making over just a small area like a study corner or top of an end table. Shiplap is also easily removable if applied with nails (common for affixing wood planks to cover walls) or some other adhesive (in the case of furniture or a backsplash) — just in case you aren’t a fan at first. My favorite places to shop for shiplap are Home Depot and Wayfair.
Have fun, and leave a picture or two of your own shiplap design!
First image above: Shutterstock.
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