Simple DIY Wood Wall Treatment Ideas

Find out how to add character to your home with these classic, simple DIY wood wall treatments!

I get the question so often: how do I add character to my home? And, whether for my own home or interior design clients, I believe that wood wall treatments are almost always a good place to start.

But what if budget is tight? Or you aren’t sure you’re ready for something especially ornate? Or you just want a little hint of texture and interest?

In that vein, I’ve gathered the best DIY wall treatment ideas that are simple enough for almost any skill level. Whether you’re just beginning the home improvement process or you’re an old pro, you can’t go wrong with any of these classic wood wall treatment ideas.

Board and Batten

I love the simplicity of board and batten. It has a craftsman charm and offers a solid base for hanging artwork or hooks for coats, bags, and other accessories.

Traditional board and batten involves smooth paneling (the boards) with trim work to cover the seams (the battens). However, faux board and batten, where you simply install the wood trim over sheetrock, is a great easy project, especially if your wall texture is smooth.

It’s a beautiful wood wall treatment running from baseboard to crown, like we did in our dining room at the ranch.

And it provides the perfect spot for hooks or a picture ledge if you want to stop it partway up the wall, which makes it a functional wall treatment for bathrooms, mudroom, and entryways.

Get the full tutorial on board + batten here.

Wood Plank Wall

Call it wood paneling, wood planks, tongue and groove, or a shiplap wall… Technically speaking, all those terms mean different things about how the boards fit together. But whatever name you want to give it, planks are an excellent wood wall treatment to provide a texture and interest to your walls.

Installation is simple, and the look works in bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, entryways, and more. Stylistically versatile, the effect can be a fairly rustic texture or a more polished look. It can especially be eye catching when installed in a nook or as an accent wall.

Here’s a step by step tutorial for installing horizontal planks (aka “diy shiplap”).

And don’t miss this tutorial on how to paint wood paneling.

Bead Board

An even simpler option is bead board.

Traditional, real wood bead board could be installed similar to tongue and groove wood planks, but bead board wall panels are also readily available and easy to install. These panels usually come in 4×8 sheets (or sometimes even in a kit with a pre-determined height and included cap molding) and can be installed right on top of the sheetrock with some glue and finishing nails.

Bead board can act as an accent behind shelves or cover a whole wall for a subtle texture. It can be taken 2/3 of the way up the wall to create an art ledge above, or it can be used as a traditional wainscoting.

For a traditional look, you can top it off with curved chair rail molding, but for a more modern look, you could finish it off with a simple 1×4 similar to the board and batten.

Other DIY Wall Treatment Ideas

These wood wall treatments are simple and classic. But they are certainly not your only DIY decorative wall options! We love more dramatic wood walls like picture frame molding, as well as painted accent walls like stenciled walls.

Whatever diy projects are next on your list, I hope you enjoyed these easy wall treatments! Tell me, which accent walls are you excited to try?