Woven Wood Accent Wall: Part 2

Welcome back! I hope the crazy prep for this project didn’t scare you too much. The final results are ah-mazing and so worth the time and effort that is put into something truly original.

I have people comment on my accent wall all of the time. The wood accent wall is one of the first things people see when they enter my home. It has definitely made a positive impression. After many friends and acquaintances commented about how I should start a blog for all of my projects, I decided to give it a go. Basically, this is the project that started my entire blogging adventure. What?! I know, so wild.

Are you guys ready to get started on the second half of the wood accent wall project? I think you are. If you clicked on to this post and are wondering about the first half with the preparation and staining, here’s the link where you can get caught up, find the supply list and find a few dinner ideas.

Instructions:

Step 1:

Measure to find the center of the wall, for both the height and width. Make foot long markings with a colored pencil. This will be covered up, so don’t stress too much about it. The markings basically formed a big letter “t” with the intersection as the center of the recessed archway. I drew out the pattern in pink chalk and then fine tuned it in pencil to get an idea of how it would all lay out.

Drawing the entire pattern out was pointless because not all of the wood pieces were exactly square. I had to adjust as I went so that it would look right even if it wasn’t perfect. What can I say? This is an experiment where I try things out to see what will work best for you. Now you know that chalking out the entire pattern isn’t worth it. You’re welcome. 😉

Looking closely, you can see the faint “t” that marks the center of the archway. First I quickly drew out the pattern with the pink chalk and then centered things up with the pencil.

Step 2:

Lay a tarp down in your work area. Proceed to cut off the tip of the Liquid Nails tube with your utility knife at a 45 degree angle. Be sure to cut away from your body. Load the tube into the caulking gun, and insert the long nail to puncture the seal on the end of the tube nozzle. Don’t squeeze the trigger of the caulking gun too much just yet.

If applicable: To release the pressure of the caulking gun that pushes into the back end of the tube (in case you squeezed the trigger too hard), just push the little tab on the back end of the caulking gun. Do this each time you finish applying the liquid nails to prevent the adhesive from oozing out everywhere when not in use.

Cut off the end at a 45 degree angle with your utility knife. I usually cut it at the 1/4 mark on the plastic tip, being sure to cut away from my body with the blade.

Insert a long nail (or wooden skewer) into the cut end of the adhesive tube. This will puncture the seal and allow the adhesive to be extruded.

Step 3:

Apply Liquid Nails to the backside of one of the stained squares and then adhere it to the wall with the corners lining up with the cross lines you originally drew on the wall. It will be on a diagonal.

I used small picture nails to keep gravity from working against me and to brace the wood in the correct place. Nail right under the wood so the wood piece rests against the nails for a few minutes. This gives the adhesive time to start bonding and keeps your pattern from shifting.

( I know that in the picture all of the additional lines make it confusing, sorry about that. Also, the squares were not perfect squares so I had to make the best of it.)

Use picture nails to prop up the wood panel on the wall in the correct position until the adhesive sets up.

Step 4:

This part is a little tricky until you see the pattern develop.

The longer planks will be added and will measure roughly 4”x 20”. Essentially the length of two squares plus another plank width. You need to keep track of the color pattern and how they are placed on the wall.

Line up the side of the square with the cut edge of the wood plank. Have the length of the plank butt up against the length of the square. Do this with all four sides, it will kind of look like a star with the square in the center and the planks sticking out on the four sides. I know, it’s sounds confusing. Look at the picture, it’s worth a thousand words.

Test out the wood plank to measure before making cuts and adhering to the wall.

Do you see the pattern starting to evolve? It will look more and more like a woven wall as more pieces are added.

Getting a little carried away with the Liquid Nails at the beginning. I applied the adhesive more sparingly as time went on. Mastering self control here, people.

Once you get the pattern correct, glue it to the wall with the liquid nails. I used way more liquid nails than I needed to in this first picture. Adjustments for correct adhesive amounts were eventually perfected.

**Side note: I removed the original picture nails that were holding up the first square before I added the planks around it. Then I used additional nails to secure the newer pieces. This was mostly needed for the pieces on the bottom and not so much for the ones on the top that were resting on pieces already firmly in place.

Step 5:

Being sure to space out the values of the wood (light and dark) so that no one tone runs parallel, or too close to the same tone, continue the pattern.

I didn’t cut all of my planks before hand, I cut as I went. Holding up a piece and marking it to be sure it fits just right was easier than assuming it would fit and then have that piece go to waste. Not all of the planks were exactly 4” wide, so I had to adjust some of the measurements. A quarter of an inch can make a difference! It was pretty exciting to see the pattern emerging. Hooray that the idea from my head was working out like I imagined!

Continue the pattern. Be sure to keep the same color wood plank for each diagonal to maintain consistency and the illusion that the wood planks are woven.

Step 6:

As you can see, I left the edges empty because I wanted to be sure that the main section was filled in before I made any drastic cuts. I also threw in a few of the “tiger striped” squares because I would otherwise run out of pieces. If I wasn’t being frugal, I would have returned to the store and bought more plywood to have all of the squares match. But if I did that, I would have a big piece of scrap wood that I wouldn’t know what to do with. Oh, well.

Filling in the pattern and leaving the more complex cuts for later in the process.

To figure out the angle of the curved top pieces and the side pieces I used a little creativity. I was not about to dust off the part of my brain that would figure out the degree at which the cuts needed to be made. Instead I grabbed some paper. Using the paper, I put the edges along the 90 degree inside corner made by two pieces of wood. I then ran my fingernail along the opposite edge of the paper where it meets the corner of the wall when flush against the back wall. (See photo.)

Placing the corner of the paper into the corner made by the two pieces of wood, use a fingernail to crease the measurement of the arch into the paper. This was later used as a pattern and transferred to the wood needing to be cut.

Step 7:

After creasing the paper, I cut along the crease and put my pattern back into the empty spot to make sure it would fit. If correct, I would then trace it onto the wood and then cut the wood piece with the saw. I used my miter saw since it was already set up, but I could have gotten out my jigsaw just as easily. In general, multiple cuts were made to achieve just the right angle or curvature. Remember to always wear proper safety attire like eye protection, ear protection, etc and to read the operating manual before using a power tool. Safety first!

First, I cut the top angle of the slight curved line with the miter saw.

Second, I cut the additional angle of the bottom portion to make a very slight curve to fit the wood piece into the arch.

The slight curvature, or change in angle, can be seen along the edge of this wood piece.

Finally it’s time to test the piece prior to gluing it to the wall. It fits beautifully!

Step 8:

Basically, I continued with this method until all of the pieces were up. Now to contend with the outlet.

First, I estimated how far over it was from the corner of the square to the edge of the outlet- should have just measured it. Second, I cut off that corner. Third, I drew out the measurement of the outlet onto the square and drilled holes in the corners so the saw blade wouldn’t cut into the finished wood square piece. Then I used my jigsaw to cut out the rectangle for the outlet. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be because the outlet cover hid the imperfections. Once I tested the wood piece in the area, I affixed it on to the wall.

Cut off the corner of the square, measure out the height of the outlet and the width. Use a drill in the corners to aid in cutting 90 degree angles.

Glue wood to wall but pull out the outlet so it rests on top of the wood for future access. Make sure the electricity is off before handling the outlet.

The outlet cover hides any slight imperfections. This standard outlet was later changed for a dark brown recessed outlet.

I ended up ordering a recessed outlet that was dark brown so that the buffet lights could plug in without the plugs pushing into the back of the buffet. The dark color helps to blend the outlet into the tones of the wall. Here’s the tutorial for installing a recessed outlet.

Step 9:

Well, at this point you should be about done. There were a few spots where boards didn’t align perfectly, or where there was a tiny gap between the wood and the wall. In those areas with a tiny gap, I used a Sharpie and colored the wall to fill the ⅛ of an inch space with a dark color. Having a light wall color and the dark wood created too much contrast that drew the eye to the tiny gaps. Filling those gaps with a darker color eliminated the contrast and therefore eliminated attention to the imperfections.

The completed wall. Just needs the baseboard replaced, the outlet changed, and furniture moved back.

Well my friends, we now have a beautiful finished wall, a small pile of wood scraps left over, and a bunch of tools to put away. Haha!

Hooray! The completed look. It makes me smile to have a project work out and fit the space.

I loved this wood accent wall project for its complexity, puzzle-like challenge, and especially for the awesome results. Adding the wood feature wall has definitely helped me make a house a home. It was an idea that came straight from my brain, not Pinterest! That always feels like an achievement, ha ha.

Enjoying the learning process as well as the creativity that was employed was a perk of this project. I love how creating can invigorate me and get me ready to take on more projects. That is a good thing because I have many more to do to get this room and house where I want them to be! 💙