Faux Board and Batten {Part One}: The Bow-Chica-Bow-Wow Bedroom Makeover

Welcome back to my bow-chica-bow-wow bedroom makeover! {cue the jangle-y disco funk} 

Here's where we left off last time:

Needs a little more work, huh? Today, we're talking about getting the biggest bang for your buck (and your back!) by installing a faux fo' sho' board and batten treatment. 
Obviously, there are a few essentials that can't be faked, like the batten moulding, so the "faux" most specifically applies to the "board" aspect of this project. I knew I would buy the moulding at Moulding Direct -- their prices are seriously so good, it's not worth even trying to find a better price. Better prices just don't exist. If you're in the Bay Area, please buy your moulding at Moulding Direct and keep them in business! It's a win-win for all involved...and no, they are not paying me to say that....I just really believe that they provide a great quality product for the best price, and provide great customer service to boot! 
So, sourcing the moulding was the easy part. The not-so-easy task was determining how to address the "board" portion of the project. Many of you have heard me lament my orange-peel texture walls, so simply foregoing the "board" wasn't an option for me. For those of you who have smoother textured walls, you could realistically forego installing hard board. But, alas, my walls wasted their youth in unprotected sunbathing and now rock a weathered, citrus skin. So, I busted out my tape measure and my calculator and did a side-by-side comparison between wall liner (my secret weapon) and 1/8" hardboard wall panels. I figured both would equally impact my walls since they both require some sort of glue and/or adhesive. I needed to cover about 297 square feet of wall (a slightly generous estimate).
Wall liner runs $14-15 for a double 20.5" wide roll, measuring 33 feet. It's pre-pasted and often available with free shipping through Amazon.com or Steve's Blinds and Wallpaper (type "wall liner" into the search and purchase the pre-pasted option). A 1/8" 4'x8' wall panel runs $13.05 a piece at Lowe's. At the end of the day, the wall liner won, with a final cost of just over $87 for 6 double rolls (after some coupons and handling fees) from Steve's Wallpaper versus $130.50 for 10 of the hardboard wall panels. Additionally, the wall liner is MUCH easier to install around electrical outlets, windows and around curved corners -- that's what really sold me.    
Brian and I installed two rows of wall liner (remember, wall liner is installed horizontally, not vertically like it's wallpaper cousin). We added an additional half row, so that top of the wall liner would come up to about 55" from the ground (which would eventually be neatly hidden by my batten moulding). 

To make the half row, I taped around an entire roll of wall liner in three spots: around either end, and directly in the middle where I planned to make my cut. Brian dropped the roll in the miter saw and cut it in half. We tried using a sharp chef's knife and even an electric knife first, but neither worked very well.....so we did what we always do in this situation: skipped our way over to the "mighty" saw. 

The cut was perfect! The saw made a freaky-shrill banshee sound as it cut through the paper, and smelled pretty funky afterwards... but with a gassy dog in this house, funky smells are, well... pretty commonplace. It really could have been the dog. Her timing is impeccable. {What? I got a dog so I could blame the dog!....and no, no one farted during the sawing of this paper. It really was the saw, I promise. } 

Don't be alarmed if your edges aren't perfect. Remember, we'll be covering up these discrepancies with moulding later on. 

Once the wall liner had a chance to dry, I used a small amount of spackle compound to smooth out the seams between the rows of wall liner.

 ...and then I painted the wall liner at this point, because -- let's face it -- it's easier and faster to paint flat surfaces, as opposed to painting after the moulding is up. I think we can all agree on that.

Here's where we're at so far....you can see the color concept starting to come together in the room.

I have to take a moment to commend my AMAZING husband for being an excellent helper. I really couldn't have completed this project without him. He was instrumental every step of way. 
I also have to take a moment to recognize my dog, for sitting outside of the bedroom door during the ENTIRE project.....{cue Aybee montage}

Come back soon for the second installment of the Faux Board and Batten project!

Cheers!