Board and batten is such an easy and inexpensive way to update your space. It’s also a great way to add extra storage to your drop zone with this DIY mudroom wall.

A few years ago we replaced the single coat rack we had in our mudroom space with some custom mudroom built-in cubbies. It’s a small area but we made the most our of the space with our own mudroom design. We have a coat closet at the opposite end of the narrow hallway but it’s not convenient since our drop zone is on the other end on the way to the kitchen. Having a dedicated mudroom is definitely something families with kids need and this DIY mudroom wall helps! 

Mudroom organization.

I love the look of mudroom lockers but that just would not have worked in this space. We were able to design a functional space where each family member would have their own section for coats and a shelf and basket for “stuff”. I even added sections for backpacks when they are little which grew with them as they entered high school.

 

 

For the material, we used MDF to build the boxes. My brother had this great idea to use leftover flooring for the top of the bench seat and in between the cubbies to not only save money but also add some contrast to the pretty green color we chose. I would have liked to add a storage bench to the area but there just wasn’t enough room.

This has worked great so far but I’ve always wanted to add something to the blank wall between the cubbies and the garage door. We added board and batten to our front door entryway a few years ago and it turned out great so I thought that would be perfect for the mudroom area too.

How to add board and batten.

Board and batten is so easy and relatively inexpensive.  You can create all kinds of looks with it from simple vertical like we chose or many boxes.

 

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The best part of doing the board and batten on this small wall in our mudroom was that all of the boards are connected at a 90 degree angle which meant no angle cuts. In fact, this was just 6 boards total. (4) 1×3’s and (2) 1×6’s.

Here is the boring before. Look at all that wasted space! 

 

 

Where to start – choose the size. 

Start by deciding how many sections you want and how tall you want them to be. We wanted the section to go up high enough for coats to hang. We went up to 67 inches including the base board and top horizontal board so the vertical boards were 61″ tall. 

We cut the boards to length and I spackled the knots so they wouldn’t show through. Then they got a coat of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore Adirondack Green paint. 

Then I removed the original trim along the bottom so we could replace it with one of the 1×6’s. Then I painted two coats of the Benjamin Moore paint. It’s important to paint the wall BEFORE you put the boards on because it’s SO much faster and easier than doing if after. 

 

 

Kevin used a stud finder to find the best place to nail the upright pieces to using a brad nailer. Normally you would take the width of your space, subtract the width for each upright board and divide the number of uprights you wanted to use to get the space in between the boards.

For example, the width of the wall is 72″ the vertical boards are 3″ wide so since we wanted 5 sections we would need 4 boards. The math would look like this: 

4×3=12 inches for the boards

72-12=60 inches left in the wall

60/5= 12 inches in each section

We started with that but it kind of got thrown off a bit with the outlet cover. 

 

 

Don’t forget to paint the outlet and switch plate covers

After we had everything nailed in place, I used wood filler to fill in all of the nail holes. You could also add wood glue in the joints and on the backs of the boards.

 

 

You can see our other room makeovers here. 

 

Then we added black wall hooks on the top board for coats.

 

 

I also touched up the wall paint above the board and batten, added some digital prints from Etsy in thrifted frames. 

 

 

Then I added the black bench (you can see the original piano bench makeover here). Notice the repetition of the black with the black frames. 

 

 

The next step is to add some extra shoe storage. I picked this wooden shoe rack up at a garage sale for $3 and spray painted it black to go with the rest of the space. 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we added the rug back in. You can find a similar rug here.

 

 

I absolutely love the finished look of this DIY mudroom wall! This board and batten mudroom wall makes for a much more functional mudroom. It’s perfect for extra coat storage for our family and when guest come over. In fact, it’s making me want to search the rest of the house for places to add more board and batten. I’m thinking the living room, LOL!

PIN IT! 

 

If you have a small space, adding DIY board and batten is a great way to add not only a bit of extra character but also some extra storage space with coat hooks. It’s a also a great option for adding some character to any space. 

I hope you found this inspiration to try your own DIY mudroom wall or board & batten project. 🙂 

Happy DIY’ing! 

Col

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