Shiplap Tutorial with Lindsey West

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today I'm switching things up a little and am so excited to be having Lindsey West from @BluffParksDesign on the blog today to share with you an amazing DIY project that she's done in her home as part of our #ChixWithTools series! Take it away Lindsey! 

Hi friends! Thank you so much for stopping by and joining in on this fun little DIY! As we all know shiplap is HUGE in the interior design and decorating world! So what better way to kick start our #ChixWithTools series than with a shiplap tutorial! I'm almost certain I would line the inside of my toilet with this stuff if it would work! I could be a trendsetter right?

Let me start by saying.... I am obsessed with tearing stuff up, pretending like I know what I'm doing and anything DIY! I'm not an expert but I am a perfectionist! I can tell you what works for our home but most importantly what works for our budget! While I dream of the day original shiplap covers every square inch of our home. For now, I will gladly make plywood the next best thing!

With this shopping list below the best advice I can give you is HAVE THEM RIP DOWN YOUR PLYWOOD!  This will make it much easier to transport and cut your turn around time in half. I recommend either 6" strips or 8" strips and that way nothing gets tossed to the side! In my home, we walk on the wild side so we use 8" strips! So are you ready?

SHOPPING LIST: 
Portable Compressor
Hitachi Circular Saw
Underlayment Plywood
Compatible Staples
Wood Filler of Choice
Paint Color of Choice

Honestly, there isn't a starting point that is an absolute must for this project! Some people say it's best to start from the ground up due to settling but I've done it both ways and it turns out the exact same! Grab you some big money, a quarter or nickel to be exact and use this to help with spacing. Or if you want to get wild, use your eyes and go for a little more spacing than what your big money can offer! In our entryway, this is what we did and I was much happier with the finished project! Out of all three rooms that have been shiplapped this was my fave! To me, the key is spacing and staggering! Shiplap is simple but always adds depth to your space and it never fails, it's always a conversational piece.

A quick rundown, start at the top or bottom of your wall. Most people would recommend removing crown or baseboards before starting but it's your home so you do what works best for you. I would work from left to right or right to left! Since this was our third go round we decided to lay all of our long strips first and come back in with our shorter strips.

Now, if you want to drive your staple gun into the studs please do! However, in my experience the strips aren't heavy enough and will withhold going into sheetrock. I promise, we don't have flying shiplap over here so your home should be safe too! Once all your strips are hung you now get to putty every single one of those holes! You should be prepared, it's a whole lot of fun and you will want to turn it into a living! Do you have to putty these holes? Absolutely not! If you use a brad nailer the holes are much smaller and you may like the rusticness it has to offer. If you want cleaner lines than this is definitely the way to go! Once this dries, gently sand each area smooth and remove all dust!

Roller in hand, paintbrush on standby?! She is definitely ready for her first coat of paint! Personally, I didn't want paint in the gaps so I kept a plastic knife close by for this. I needed the gaps to be visible and if paint partied in between it wasn't going to happen. I always roll on two coats of paint and for me, it's the perfect coverage! Once this is completely dry you can come back in with trim for your corners or caulk. For this project, we used caulk and it finished it off perfectly!

Thank you again for stopping by and thank you sweet Megan for allowing me to hop on your blog for the day! I hope you all enjoy this series and we look forward to each of your projects!

Until Next Time,
Lindsey West
@BluffParkDesigns